Difa Niculescu

Difa Niculescu has a diverse and extensive work experience in the field of information technology. Difa currently holds the position of Chief Technology Officer at MAK-SYSTEM International Group since November 2020. Prior to this, Difa worked at Tandem Bank, where they served as IT Director from November 2016 to March 2019, and later as Head of IT from March 2019 to November 2020. Difa successfully modernized the technology platforms, managed cost, optimized team performance, and drove continuous improvement.

Before joining Tandem Bank, Difa worked at TUI as the Head of IT Operations - Specialist Holiday Group from August 2013 to November 2016. In this role, they led the operational IT teams and unified the service offering to meet and exceed business demand across multiple transactional web platforms and offices in 12 countries.

Prior to their role at TUI, Difa worked at AIRCOM International (A TEOCO Company) from July 2011 to August 2013 as an IT Director, managing the global IT department and controlling the IT budget. Before that, they held various roles within the company, including Technical Operations Manager and Infrastructure Manager.

Difa's earlier work experience includes roles as IT Support Manager at lastminute.com from 2002 to 2005, Systems Engineer at Online Travel Corporation from 2000 to 2002, and Junior Consultant at IBM from 1999 to 2000. In these positions, they managed IT support teams, provided server support, and deployed Microsoft Exchange and upgraded infrastructure for various companies.

Overall, Difa Niculescu has a proven track record of successfully managing IT operations, modernizing technology platforms, and driving continuous improvement.

Difa Niculescu completed an MSc in BIT (Information Technology for Business Management) from Kingston University between 2008 and 2011. Prior to that, Difa attended Roosevelt High School in South Africa from 1992 to 1997. Difa has also obtained certifications including Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) from Scrum Alliance in November 2020, and additional certifications in ITIL Operational Support and Analysis (ITIL-OSA) and ITIL Service Strategy (ITIL-SS) from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.