Meet the team with…Head of Programme Management, Rita Lutikova

With a passion for travel and continual learning our Head of Programme Management, Rita Lutikova is highly motivated by taking real business problems and finding elegant solutions.

Denis Koloshko, chief technical officer (CTO) discussed some of the IT cost-cutting mistakes to avoid with Top Business Tech. You can read the full article here:

How did you first get into the world of tech?

The world of tech has been attractive to me since childhood. It was always associated with something very innovative, cool and modern. I remember how I felt when my parents bought our first computer. Although games back then were primitive, and there was no social media or internet, we still managed to spend a lot of time enjoying it. 

At the time, I didn’t think that I would end up working in this field. But being good at math and analysis, and having studied tech as my specialty at university, I feel that my talents and interests naturally brought me here — which I’m very happy about!

And what was the biggest attraction for you?

After graduating from university, I was desperately eager to start applying everything I learnt in the tech world. It was so great to start working with actual business projects rather than using theoretical examples. Taking real business problems and finding elegant solutions was what motivated me most. And I found it all to be so different in reality, when compared to all that theory : )  

What’s the one quality you need to thrive in this environment (especially at IDS)?

Flexibility and non-stop learning. The IT sphere is changing so fast that you have to learn again and again, each and every day. Every product has its own challenges and it’s important to be creative in order to solve these, all while adapting company processes to meet the needs of new clients.

And what is the biggest challenge that the industry currently faces? OR What’s the biggest challenge in your role?

With the start of the remote era, businesses have had no choice but to adapt. Now, not only do we need to consider the ways in which user interests and values have changed, but also the fact that the internal processes of companies have shifted too. 

At IDS, we are no different and have had to evolve our own internal processes — not only to ensure that our communication capabilities remain at a high level, but also to keep our company culture alive. 

Though there have been challenges, now is also a great opportunity to start something new. In fact, and rather excitingly, 2020 even brought us fresh ideas for our own IDS start-ups!

What are the key things that make IDS stand out from the crowd?

The first thing is people. We’re not just colleagues, but also friends! We love what we’re doing and enjoy working together, which makes it much easier to achieve common goals. 

The second thing is flexibility. We know how to deliver great products, and we’re always ready to adapt to every new challenge! 

What is your favourite IDS project so far?

Choosing a favourite project is like choosing your favourite child 

I do recall being particularly proud of the TLM Questionnaires platform, which helped to reveal physical and mental health problems in children. We were pleased to see that the product helped so many young people to write about things that they would never feel comfortable enough to say out loud.  

I’ve also been lucky to support the birth of eviFile — to watch it grow, pivot and to find its place within the market. After a significant investment of technical resource in this SaaS product, there’s still lots of potential which encourages the team a lot.

What do you get up to, away from work?

My biggest passion is travelling. Although I’ve already been to almost 30 different countries, there’s still so many on the ‘to visit’ list. 

A positive of 2020 for me, was that it gave birth to new hobbies! When not visiting new countries, I’m taking part in sports, playing the piano or trying my hand at water colour painting. 

Thank you, Rita. Up next, is IDS Group’s Valentina Petrashkevich, our Business Analyst sharing with us her dedication to personal and professional development.

 

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