Gheorghe Iaciu is a graduate of the Polytechnic University and, although he started a Ph.D., he continued his studies with two MBAs – one in the US and one in Romania. While others were spending their time just making money, he chose to gain some solid knowledge.
Even though he had a lot to lose in the short term, his studies helped him tremendously when he started doing business. He had analysed successful business models in the strongest economy in the world, was able to easily follow financial developments and knew what organisational culture meant.
In other words, the strong theoretical basis he had formed gave him a huge competitive advantage on the Romanian market. This is how he was able to build his two major businesses, real estate developer Impact Developer & Contractor and Expo Market Doraly.
Education also had an impact on his business philosophy. Many Romanian entrepreneurs are obsessed with control and often engage in micro-management, even though they run giant businesses. Iaciu, however, used a Western model: he hired top executives to lead the day-to-day operations, and he contributes with strategic directions and analysis/evaluation.
Top businesses
Gheorghe Iaciu’s most dynamic company is the Doraly Expo Market commercial centre in Afumati, where he has a 50 percent stake. Two years ago, the centre began a repositioning towards cash & carry, retail and logistic trade and invested EUR 6 million in the development of two new pavilions. In 2017 a new investment programme began, worth EUR 15 million, which will continue until 2020, aiming to expand the project’s commercial surface.
Lately, after consolidating the management team and making huge investments in IT and programming, Doraly has had a high-performance online platform, built based on the idea of a marketplace. This way, retailers in the centre, as well as others, have the opportunity of selling their products online and have access to all the necessary logistics.
Great projects‘ moments
Another one of Iaciu’s important companies is real estate developer Impact Developer & Contractor, where he has a 49.48 percent ownership. The company has sold houses and apartments worth RON 62.2 million in the first nine months of this year.
Results are very good considering that Impact was recently one step away from bankruptcy, but the entrepreneur’s commitment and skills helped it recover. For some time, the investor has been analysing the residential sector and has acquired several land plots in very good areas of Bucharest.
This are added to a rich portfolio which includes very interesting projects. However, the most important one is the Greenfield project in the Baneasa Forest, which is the largest residential complex in District 1 and which currently has over 4,500 residents.
The complex will also include the Greenfield Plaza commercial centre, with a surface of over 10,400 sqm. But another project has been competing with Greenfield lately: Luxuria Domenii Residence, developed on 22,500 sqm in the Expozitiei area, will include 630 luxury apartments.
Besides his big businesses in Bucharest, Iaciu also owns the Moldova Center building in Iasi, a former mall turned into an office building, as well as the majority stake in Doraly Mall Constanta.
