Meet Tomasz Ciuła - Project Manager at Crustlab

Hi, I’m Tomek. I am 26 years old and although I have been working in the IT industry for over 5 years, I joined the CrustLab team in September 2020. I have a scientific approach to the world and I am interested in everything related to science, especially fields such as astronomy and evolutionary biology. Apart from work, my passion is internet marketing and in my spare time I still carry out projects in this field. I like animals very much, I have a cat at home. Even though I have a lot of contact with people at work, I privately recharge my batteries, devoting myself to my passions.

Yep, this is me, Tomasz ✌️

How long have you been in IT Project Management and when did it start?

My commercial career in IT started in 2015. Before, I was always thinking about working for digital companies but never expected to be a PM. In November 2015 I joined a small interactive agency where I was responsible for coordinating small digital projects, mostly the display campaign - in-stream video campaigns on partnership websites.

The particular project took 1-2 weeks (design + development) but usually, emission of ads have been planned for 1-3 months. Campaigns themselves covered a lot of different industries - beauty, games, food, automotive, and movie premieres.

It was my first real job as a PM, I learned a lot of things, but the most valuable for me: self-organizing, time management, and being detail-oriented. I currently have +5 years of professional experience.

Why did you start working at CrustLab as a Project Manager and what kept you in this company?

I joined CrustLab at the beginning of September 2020. I liked the flat structure within the organization, agile and kanban as the main methodologies, and the feeling that CrustLab is making software for millions of people around the world - it meant that we're good at what we deliver.

What projects have you worked on as a Project Manager and which one gave you the most satisfaction?

I work for Sportech - one of the strongest worldwide players in the betting industry. The greatest value that it brings to me is satisfaction - our products are being used by millions of users and we're helping Sportech with digital transformation. I'm responsible for two key projects for this partner.

What is the one thing you value most about working at CrustLab?

Young passionate team that I can fully trust.

What is your goal/dream not related to the work of an IT Project Manager?

I'd like to build my own product. Although I don't have a specific idea yet, I would like it to be something that would help some group of people, something that will make life easier. Investigating and verifying users' behavior, improving and adjusting the product to users' needs would be very satisfying for me. Of course, I'm doing it on a daily basis but in this case only for clients, not myself.

How do you spend your time outside the office?

I like traveling - meeting new cultures, trying new food, my big dream is quite strange but I'd like to visit all post-soviet countries. Currently, I visited Estland, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine. My next trips aim to visit Russia and Armenia. I also like to spend free time with my family - living in a big city is comfortable but sometimes it's good to visit the family's small-town and relax in nature.

I like watching good movies (especially Science-fiction) because they're not limiting my imagination. I'd rather watch movies at home instead of going to cinemas. Playing online team-oriented computer games is the last hobby, but currently I don’t have enough time to go deep into it. My big passion is astronomy, policy, and futurology.

It’s always nice to get one with nature to unwind from the city life.

What is the most important book you have read in your life, and why?

The book that made a strong impression on me and opened new horizons is The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan. Autor tries to combine human history, astronomy, psychology, biology, math, and computer science to give some overview of the evolution of humanity in the future. It's not a book written these days (1977), but impresses in predictions and speculations even now.

What is your life motto?

I don't have the general motto in my life, trying to live with a set of my 'internal rules' - not hurting anyone, helping others when I may, and fight till the end.

If you could spend a day with any famous person (living, historical or fictional) who would it be and what would you do?

It's definitely not easy to say, but perhaps I'd like to meet with somebody from the future and hear about changes in the world, humanity, and the newest discoveries especially in the universe.

Who would you be in your professional life if you were not a project manager?

In high school, I was planning to be a software developer, later on, I was interested in digital marketing which is currently my great passion. Anyway, I always wanted to work with people and for people.

Meet Tomek and ask him any question! Tomek is a very talented project manager, which can be seen throughout the organization with his own work and the work of the development team. What also speaks volumes is the progress and results achieved by our clients thanks to his work. Contact us if you have any questions for Tomek - whether they are related to his work or hobby!