Today we introduce you to our colleague Georgi Savev – a vital part of the iCard team, head of “DevOps and IT Monitoring”, and our systems guru. We invited him to the “Meet the team” column to tell us more about himself – about his wonderful family, favourite football team, puzzling movies, and travels to exotic destinations.
Find out more about Georgi in the following lines:
What are three things without which your life would not be the same?
My family always comes first. I have a great child and a wonderful wife, and my life would not be the same without them. Work is also an essential part of my life, which I greatly owe. And not to miss football, of which I’m a big fan.
What is your favourite destination?
Of all the places I’ve been to, Bali impressed me the most. It was the first exotic place my wife and I visited. The culture of the people is unique, unlike anything you’ve seen before. They are incredibly religious, and their daily lives are spent practising rituals and worshipping deities. There is a temple in everyone’s home; the wealthier a person is, the bigger his temple is. Interestingly, the people of Bali explain all natural phenomena with the moods of the gods.
While there, we travelled with a driver whose dream was to rise so high spiritually that he could see the true spirits. In Bali, I liked the combination of places of total relaxation, such as beaches, and exciting destinations for sightseeing. We rode elephants, swam with dolphins, and visited famous temples. Unfortunately, the western way of life is increasingly encroaching on the island, the number of visitors is growing, and things are changing there.
When my son is old enough to remember, we plan to start travelling again, but this time the three of us. I believe the trips will be even more fun despite the extra care and grumbling on his side, and all this will give a higher emotional value to the experience.
What do you like to do in your free time?
For a year now, my free time has been mainly in the evening, after we put the child to sleep. The options at that time are watching a game or a movie. During the weekends, we rediscover different places in Varna and the surrounding area – the Sea Garden or the beach. Now, we are still entirely dependent on our toddler.
What is your favourite movie?
My favourite movie is “The Prestige”. The plot is built around two magicians competing and playing tricks on each other. I’ve watched it a dozen times. The movie is by Christopher Nolan, my favourite director. Among his films are “Inception”, “Interstellar”, and “Batman”. I’ve seen all his movies. Interestingly, their storylines challenge the mind – they keep you thinking and on edge all the time.
Christopher Nolan always beats you intellectually on the first viewing of the movie. Usually, the first time you watch a film of his, you don’t understand what it’s about until the very end, even though there have been some hints. When you watch it a second time, things become more evident to you. However, I only disliked his last film, “Tenet”, because I thought it was too intricate.
We know you’re a football and, generally, sports fan. Tell us about your favourite team. Do you find time to play sports?
You often inherit your favourite team from your father, but it didn’t happen like that for me. My father is a fan of CSKA, but Bulgarian football failed to impress me. When I was 11, I watched a Barcelona match with Rivaldo in their team. He turned the score around, and I was very impressed. I started watching Barcelona matches because of him, and that’s how I became a team fan. I am happy that I was able to go to their live match. We bought tickets for a game I wanted to see and then went around the city. Ralitsa, my wife, was most impressed by the Gothic Quarter of the old town of Barcelona. We plan to go there again when the little one grows more.
I try not to miss FC Barcelona games. For example, while in Bali, I watched three of their matches at the airport before taking off or got up late at night. My mood is affected by the result of the last game. Football is an emotion, and only those who don’t watch it can’t understand it. Some time ago at iCard, we had a football team and my colleagues and I often got together to play. The company has grown, and we, “old dogs”, have slowly started to disappear. However, it would be nice if we could play again.
I also like tennis, but my emotion gradually started to subside. I am a big fan of Federer, and I used to want to watch every one of his matches. Unfortunately, his last few years haven’t been strong, and I’ve started watching only Grand Slam finals.
During your awarding at the iCard Awards 2022, the CEO – Yavor Petrov, said that you are the one person in the company he raised from a child. Tell us how your professional development started and what your job at iCard entails.
Before iCard, I had only worked as IT support for three months in the call centre of а telecom. A colleague from Technical University of Varna who was working at iCard at the time recommended me, and I was invited to an interview. I did not have significant professional experience, and when Yavor hired me, I was like a “white sheet”. He saw potential in me because I was already the head of the “IT Monitoring” department six years later. Everything I’ve learned professionally, I learned here, at iCard. Yavor has repeatedly trusted me and taught me many things as a leader.
My job is related to the maintenance of the system, which has to work perfectly 24/7. It is composed of perhaps over 100 other systems that are interconnected and function in synergy. We constantly monitor whether the processes are running correctly and try to avoid customer complaints. I strive to be neat in my work and do everything the best way possible.
What do you dream about personally and professionally?
Professionally, I dream of even more robust systems. I want the company to develop and launch new products and services and have even more customers. It gives me great pleasure to go to the office and see that we have a record of traffic and transactions for another week.
Personally, I dream that we will soon furnish our new apartment and be very happy there. We also want to resume travelling to exotic destinations, but now with the little one, and soon to increase the number of family members.
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