Episode description

In episode 9 of The Recursive Podcast, we welcome Diana Stefanova, Vice President Regional Communities Strategy at VMware.

Currently, VMware is the biggest IT company, operating in Bulgaria.

In love with math from an early age, Diana Stefanova has a solid background in finance. Her expertise is in the strategic and business development of both startups and global companies. She started her career in technology startups in the US and quickly rose to leadership roles.

Currently, she is also a partner in the venture capital fund BrightCapVentures and has supported and mentored a lot of startup companies in the SEE region.

As a female leader, Diana Stefanova is a vocal supporter of gender equality in the tech world.

In her conversation with Irina, she shares lessons and learnings from her leadership path. You’ll hear how she outgrew micromanaging as a new manager and learned to let go.

You’ll also learn how she learned to anticipate the future and make sense of the megatrends both as a corporate leader and as a venture capitalist. Being capable to detach from details and easily switch contexts are her key learnings in nurturing a big-picture mindset.

Diana Stefanova discusses what qualities she looks for in the next generation of leaders, with people being open to try new things and adapt quickly being on the top of her list.

Stefanova talks about her experience at VMware leading remote teams, retaining talent, and adapting processes for the future of work. Technology is key in managing distributed teams according to Stefanova, but managers must compensate for the lack of tete-a-tete meetings with more conversations and openness.

She shares about her transformative experience in the US, what made her come back to Europe, and what she learned from succeeding in another culture, both personally and professionally. She goes back in time to share how she overcame her natural shyness to be able to demonstrate confidence and get her point across.

Subscribe for The Recursive newsletter to get the episodes before anyone else.