Manager Talks: Nikolay Bachvarov on Leadership, Team Motivation and Market Resilience at Baumit Bulgaria

Nikolay Bachvarov was born on May 14, 1962 in Sevlievo. He has served as the Manager of Baumit Bulgaria EOOD since 2000. Prior to this role, he held several key positions, including Consultant at Ernst & Young AFA, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of "Bulgaria" Privatization Fund, and Vice President of Finance at "Bulgaria Holding."

Additionally, he worked as the Chief Accountant at both the Insurance and Reinsurance Company "Bulgaria" AD and at Computing Machinery Works. In 1989, he graduated with a degree in Accounting and Control from the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) after completing his studies at the German Language High School in Lovech.

Please tell us a bit more about yourself and your journey at Baumit Bulgaria

As soon as I joined Baumit Bulgaria in 2000, my first task as a manager was to create a good and motivated team in order to establish a stable foothold in the Bulgarian market for building materials. We needed positive people, who were at the same time good specialists, and who would perceive the company's know-how and put it into practice. Fortunately, the new team members complemented our existing staff perfectly.

In those challenging years, the concept of thermal insulation systems was virtually non-existent. People stuck something on the facades and hoped it was for good. I dare say that Baumit was the first brand in Bulgaria that talked about system solutions in construction and took serious guarantees for their implementation. Thus, in a short time, by assuming responsibility, we positioned the Baumit brand successfully. This gave our associates confidence.

Nowadays, systematic thinking remains a...