Mirela Gavra, The Diplomat-Bucharest: Thank you for being with us on this amazing journey!

Dear Readers,

This month, The Diplomat – Bucharest and all its media brands celebrate its 15 year anniversary. It has been a long but amazing journey, both challenging and rewarding. But we don’t plan to celebrate this special day by ourselves. Instead, we want to share with you our story of courage, resilience and hope.

If I look back 15 years ago, two moments come to mind: I became a mother and an entrepreneur. The joy and the challenge of my life, all together. Today, I stand here, a caring mother of three, a loving wife and an optimist entrepreneur who lives for today, but mostly makes plans for tomorrow.

The first printed edition of The Diplomat – Bucharest saw light in December 2004. Over the years, the Romanian economy evolved, the economic setting changing dramatically, for the better, due to Romania’s accession to the EU in 2007, but also for the worse, as an economic crisis started in 2008-2009. But as we see it, the economy is like a living organism, it transforms and evolves, to reach the fittest and the most adequate shape to survive.

We felt that the industries in our economy needed dedicated media platforms, tailored publishing projects and a special designed space to convey their voices and messages to their peers and decision makers. That is why, during this period, we have brought to our family two new members, Outsourcing Today and Automotive Today, integrated online and printed platforms to sustain the Forums and the dedicated series of conferences. This is the story which we wrote together, the work we do, the media products, partnerships, business and the human endeavor.

We couldn’t have written this story without all of you: readers, partners, business supporters, friends and colleagues, and I am sure that we wouldn’t have made it this far without faith and a common drive: to build a better and safer world for tomorrow, and even though, for others, it may sound like a cliché, for us it is the meaning of our existence.

We are deeply grateful for the people which we have come across along our journey, the voices that shaped the evolution of our economy and the ambition of individuals to move things further and transform the world for each and every one of us.

Today is a milestone dedicated to all of us and to this amazing togetherness that makes us feel rewarded and ever more thankful for being present today and hoping for the best of tomorrow.