It all started with a conversation. One that would quietly spark a revolution in digital healthcare. 

Almost 40 years ago, in Germany, a young IT enthusiast named Frank Gotthardt was listening to his girlfriend - who would later become his wife - talk about how inefficient and fragmented the medical system was. What if technology could fix it? What if lives could be saved with better access to medical information? Frank didn’t just nod and smile. He built CompuGroup Medical, with a clear mission: 

„𝑁𝑜𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔.”

Fast forward a few decades and CGM has grown across countries and continents. But in 2016, something new was born: CGM Software Romania, a small but ambitious software hub in Iași. Back then, we were just a handful of dreamers on one floor, with one kitchen, one meeting room, and a few chairs. Today? We're The Center of Expertise for Software Development with nearly 200 CGMers in Romania, part of a global team of almost 10,000 people shaping the future of eHealth in 60+ countries. 

And as we turned 9 years old in Romania, on July 7, we’re not just looking at where we are - we’re celebrating the people who helped build it from the very beginning. So, meet three CGMers who have been with us from those early days, back in 2016: Claudiu Tamaș, Alexandru Covașă and Mălina Iurcu. 

Claudiu Tamaș – Android Developer, Original Vibes Included

It was August 2016. Claudiu was on vacation when he got the call. CGM was just opening its doors in Iași and looking for pioneers. He joined the minute he got back and became part of history. 

“𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑜 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑠, 𝐼 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠.” 

His CGM journey started with a small challenge: the company was so new that his work laptop hadn’t arrived yet. For the first two weeks, Claudiu brought in his own laptop from home, eager to get started and be part of the adventure, even before the logistics had caught up with the vision. 

He joined for the product work, but stayed for the people, the relaxed pressure-free atmosphere, and the sheer fun of it all. Over the years, Claudiu’s path took him from Cross Mobile Platform projects with CGM Austria, to HIS, and eventually to CLICKDOC Patient Apps, where he now focuses on Android Native development. 

What kept him here for 9 years? 

• The chance to learn something new every day, especially in the fast-evolving Android world; 
• A stress-free environment with no outsourcing-style pressure; 
• Amazing, friendly teams and meaningful work on CGM's own products; 
• Events and initiatives for CGMers that go beyond work: team buildings, theater nights, and improv evenings, his favorites; 
• And above all, that warm feeling of being part of something that matters. 

“𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 9 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑. 𝐼 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝐼 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑡 5.” 

His advice for newcomers? 

• Take every opportunity that comes your way; 
• Don’t focus on the money in the beginning, focus on growth; 
• Be involved, give your best, and trust the process. 

Looking ahead? 

“𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐶𝐺𝑀 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 18, 𝐼’𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐼’𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 𝐶𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 300 𝐶𝐺𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 300. 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑”, Claudiu laughs. 

Alexandru Covașă – Nine Years, Zero Interviews, All In 

Alex joined CGM thinking it’d be a 3–4-year stop. Nine years later, he hasn’t even opened LinkedIn for job hunting. Because he found what so many look for but rarely get: purpose, balance, and community. 

He started as a Junior Java Developer on the License Management project and worked his way through international projects in Sweden, the HIS team, and eventually the Pharmacy project – CGM Stella. He joined just before the pandemic hit and quickly rose to become Scrum Master and Team Lead. For a while, he even wore three hats: Back End Developer, Scrum Master, and Team Lead. 

“𝐼 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑠. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑑𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.” 

He helped shape CGM’s processes from scratch, mentored colleagues, and led technical initiatives. He remembers 2016 waiting in line for coffee in the tiny kitchen, sharing one meeting room for lunch, and now marvels at how CGM Romania has become structured, mature, and focused. 

Why did he stay for 9 years? 

• Zero overtime in 9 years (except one hour on one Saturday);
• Real work-life balance and family-first culture;
• Long-term support, learning opportunities, and freedom to grow;
• A company that builds its own products with quality and vision.

„𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑦. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑠.” 

His advice to juniors? 

• Be patient. Titles come with time;
• Be curious and ask questions;
• Take initiative. Quality over speed, depth over surface.

“𝐶𝐺𝑀 𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑤. 𝐼𝑛 9 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠, 𝐼 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝐶𝐺𝑀 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝐴𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒, 𝐼’𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟, 𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑟… 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒.” 

Read more about Alex Covașă in the article about him from Leaders of CGM series. 

Mălina Iurcu – The Courage to Change, The Will to Grow 

When Mălina joined CGM in 2016, everything was new: the company, the industry, even her role. She came from a background in hospitality and events and was now stepping into tech with nothing but curiosity and courage. 

“𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑠. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑒𝑡. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜... 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜.” 

But she found warmth, humor, and mentorship in her colleagues - especially in Alex Covașă, whose jokes lightened the mood. Starting as Executive Assistant, Mălina did it all: documents, budgets, events, communication. But she was fascinated by the testers' world and their structured daily rituals. 

With CGM’s support, she pursued certifications, trained with the QA teams, and transitioned into a Junior Manual Tester role. From CLICKDOC Mobile (where she fell in love with iOS and served also as Scrum Master) to CLICKDOC Web, and now Pharmacy, she has continued to grow. 

Why has she stayed for 9 years? 

• Because CGM believes in people and invests in them; 
• Because she feels stability here, in a shaky IT market; 
• Because she feels seen, appreciated, and part of a team; 
• Because the people are "super-cool"; 
• Because the general vibe is calm, chill, and collaborative. 

“𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.” 

Her message for newcomers? 

• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. People will help you; 
• Be curious. Read, learn, experiment; 
• Be persistent. Keep going, even when it gets hard. 

“𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 9 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔: 𝐼’𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 𝐼 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.” 

Looking ahead? 

“𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝐶𝐺𝑀 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑠 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒-𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑛𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑡, 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟.” 

9 Years Later… Still Building. Still Growing. Still CGM 

Some companies celebrate numbers. We celebrate people. 

At CGM Romania, we’re proud of our products, but even prouder of our people - the ones who grow roots, build careers, and shape the future with us. 

From three desks and one meeting room to a 4-floor center of expertise, CGM Romania has grown because people made it grow. Claudiu, Alex, and Mălina didn’t just stay for 9 years. They transformed alongside CGM. They built, adapted, laughed, learned, mentored, and shaped what this place is today. 

Their journeys are a testament to what’s possible when you mix meaningful work with the right people and a shared sense of purpose. 

And we’re not done yet. 

So, here’s to all 3 of them and to all the CGMers who have been part of the journey - past, present, and future. 

Because at CGM, we grow together. And we stay. 

Want to be part of the next chapter? Check out our open roles 

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