For Ondrej Šafář, the energy sector was never a sudden career choice or a fashionable pivot, he said in a conversation with Gabriel Avăcăriței at Energynomics’ WATTs Next podcast. It was, quite literally, part of the family legacy. Growing up in a household where both parents were trained in electrotechnics, electricity was less an abstract system and more a daily reality. As he recalls, “the energy sector was something which I was growing [up with] in the family — my father [was an] electrical designer, my mother as well, she studied electrotechnical university”. By the time he reached high school, he was already helping with basic electrical designs, following what felt less like a decision and more like a natural continuation.
That continuity shaped his path almost without friction. The same technical high school, the same university as his father, and then a natural entry into the electricity distribution business. What followed, however, was far from linear. After joining a local distribution company that was soon acquired by ČEZ, Šafář became part of the Czech group’s international expansion. Romania was one of its first major foreign acquisitions. Later came Bulgaria and Turkey, each market adding a new layer of complexity to what had initially seemed a straightforward technical vocation.
Today, as Country Manager of EVRYO România, the former CEZ distribution business in Oltenia, Šafář speaks less like an engineer and more like a systems thinker. He is careful to downplay the idea that a technical background automatically makes a better executive. On the contrary, years spent leading complex organizations taught him a form of professional humility that now defines his leadership style. “The worst thing is to have the CEO which believes that understands everything and then it’s sharing that wisdom with the employee and enforcing it”, Šafář says. In his view, the role of a chief executive is not to dominate expertise, but to create the conditions in which specialists can do their best work — often better than the CEO himself.
Years spent moving between countries taught him that lesson quickly. Arriving as a representative of a large shareholder, armed with experience and “best practices,” can create the illusion of certainty. Reality tends to dismantle it. Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey may share some regional characteristics, but each market has its own institutional rhythms, cultural reflexes and constraints. What works in one place may fail quietly in another. Management, Šafář learned, is less about imposing solutions and more about listening, filtering and creating the space for better answers to emerge.
Romania occupies a special place in this journey, not because it is unique in every respect, but because of its scale and openness. Compared to Bulgaria, he notes, Romania’s size, geographic position and linguistic openness to foreign ideas have accelerated its development over the years. Compared to Turkey, EU membership brings an entirely different framework of rules, expectations and long-term direction.
After more than a decade in Romania, Šafář does not hesitate to call it home — though not in a conventional sense. “I spent 13 years in Romania. I would… I’m considering it as a home”, he says, before reframing the idea altogether. “Moving between the countries made me really feel that I’m home where I’m doing what I like.” For him, belonging is tied less to geography and more to purpose: enjoying the work, the people, and the challenges ahead. In a sector undergoing profound transformation, Romania offers exactly that sense of forward-looking meaning. The electricity distribution sector is undergoing a transformation comparable, in his words, to the moment when mobile phones reshaped telecommunications. Grids, generation, consumption patterns — all are being redefined at once. For someone who thrives on long-term challenges rather than static routines, this is precisely the kind of environment that creates a sense of belonging.
There is no nostalgia in his account, and little sentimentality. What anchors Šafář in Romania is not comfort, but relevance. The energy transition, with all its uncertainty and unfinished answers, offers something rare in executive life: the chance to build systems that will matter decades from now. That prospect, more than any address or title, is what turns a country into home.
About “WATTs Next”
“WATTs Next” is the new podcast by Energynomics dedicated to energy leaders, designed to provide a clear understanding of the people shaping the industry, their visions for the future and emerging challenges. Its main goal is to go beyond standardized answers and delve into the personal and professional perspectives of the interlocutor.
The interviews are structured in three essential directions:
- Shaping a personal and professional profile, providing an authentic picture of the career path and values of the interviewed leader.
- Analysis of the most current topics, to understand what’s next in the industry, what the implications are for companies and consumers, and what we should prepare for.
- Explanation of some essential concepts, by debunking myths and clarifying complex notions for a wider audience.