Roman Durka, PhD Eng
Gained experience working for major multinational corporations in senior executive positions for more than 20 years. Won the status of one of the most experienced and recognizable leaders in the ICT market. Successfully restructured companies, restoring profitable growth. Was responsible for the implementation of many projects (including those ranked the biggest in Poland) in the government, banking/financial, telecom and energy markets. Nurtured many managers into successful business leaders.
CAREER
Roman Durka embarked on his career path in 1982 at Wrocław’s Institute of Computer Automation and Measurement Systems (IKSAiP) as programmer specialized in the Assembler language in the IBM 370 XA technology. Four years later, he was promoted to the position of Manager of the Mainframe Machines Development Unit. In the following year, he became Director of the Microcomputer Systems Division, where one of the first Polish microcomputers, Elwro 800, was designed. In response to a growing demand for such products, Elwro set up a department focused on the design, engineering and manufacture of microcomputers. In 1990, Roman Durka was appointed head of the department.
In the face of dynamic development of technology and a continuing demand, many microcomputer manufacturers emerged in the 1990s. One of them was Wrocław-based REX Business Operation Systems where Roman Durka assumed the position of Marketing Director.
A rapid market growth prompted multinational corporations to establish their branches in Poland. They included the then global IT leader, IBM. In 1991, Roman Durka started working for the company as sales adviser in the banking/financial sector. In recognition of his excellent performance, Roman Durka was tasked with the development of regional offices in Katowice, Wrocław, Poznań and Gdynia.
On completion of the project, he was promoted to the position of General Business Sales Department Manager, which he developed for 12 months, reporting a 120% sales growth in the sector. The success was highlighted by the fact that the majority of the department’s personnel became eligible to membership of the “Hundred Percent Club”, which grouped together and provided an experience sharing forum for employees boasting above-average sales performance. In view of those successes, in 1996 Roman Durka was promoted to Deputy General Manager of IBM Polska, with direct responsibility for professional services and coordination of resources. Within a short time, the Services Department reached more than 20% of total sales reported by IBM Polska.
Having regard to his achievements and reputation in the IT market, he was offered the position of CEO & President of the Board of Dell Poland. Over a period of 8 years, the company saw a more than tenfold growth in sales, moving from the 17th to 3rd place in terms of PC and server units sold. It is noteworthy that during Roman Durka’s tenure as CEO at Dell, the company, unlike its competitors, did not sell its products in the consumer market. While operating in just a segment of the IT market, Dell Poland reached one of the highest growth rates in sales and profitability among all local branches in the EMEA region.
In 2006, Roman Durka accepted the position of Country Manager and President of the Board of the technology startup Clearwire, a provider of WiMx-based broadband wireless Internet access. Within two years, a network of base stations and maintenance facilities were built in all major cities of Poland.
Due to his experience in the telecom business, Roman Durka was offered the position of CEO and President of the Board of Nortel Networks Poland. His main responsibilities included boosting sales and profitability as well as acquiring new customers from the Enterprise sector. Consequently, Nortel’s product sales grew by more than 50%, which directly translated into profitability of the Polish branch.
In 2009, Roman Durka accepted the position of Managing Director and President of the Board of the Polish branch of Fujitsu Technology Solutions with the task of improving the company’s profitability and developing the sales of professional services. During that period, the sales of services increased by more than 100%, bringing the company back on the profitable growth track.
With a similar mission in mind, Roman Durka took over at the helm of Kapsch Poland as Managing Director and President of the Board. As a result of his activities, the company saw a 60% sales growth YoY and significantly improved profitability, adding many new accounts to its customer base.
In 2015, as Vice President of Sygnity, a company listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange, he carried out a deep reorganization and cost restructuring scheme. The outcome was a significant reduction of the company’s operating costs, combined with optimization of sales and production processes. This directly contributed to winning new, large contracts and the delivery of solutions deployed in the banking/financial, government and energy markets. At Sygnity, Roman Durka was responsible for the supervision and implementation of the largest IT projects in the Polish market.
The results generated at Sygnity S.A. were the direct reason behind signing a contract for the restructuring of the services department and optimization of processes and operations at Mellon Poland, a provider of advanced payment solutions.
EDUCATION
Roman Durka has an extensive educational background in engineering and business from the world’s leading universities. In addition, he has completed numerous courses in sales, management and marketing.
CURRICULUM VITAE
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