Adriana-Georgia Calcan on Courage, Values and the Power of an Authentic Personal Brand

Adriana-Georgia Calcan met on November 12 with students from School of Computer Science for Business Management, School of Tourism and Hospitality Management and School of Finance and Accounting at the Romanian-American University, as part of the Meet the Graduate program. The discussion quickly turned into a lesson about courage, perseverance, and the way in which professional experiences, no matter how diverse, can shape a solid and authentic career path.

Adriana told the students that she started working at just 16, first in modeling, at home and abroad, and later in television, both as a presenter and as a producer. Although she once aspired to become a diplomat, life opened different doors for her, doors she chose to walk through with determination. She taught herself Spanish, constantly looked for ways to involve people and attract funding for productions, and managed to complete her studies while working full-time, covering all her expenses on her own.

The 10 years of television, in which she “worked 48 hours a day”, with live filming, scripts, actors and directors, managed to mark the most beautiful experience in her career that shaped her and prepared her for the next steps in her career.

Career Shifts and Continuous Learning

After her time in television, Adriana moved into the real estate industry, where she spent three years working in marketing and sales for areas that have since become some of Bucharest’s most sought-after locations. She learned firsthand how challenging it can be to convince banks to support final buyers and how critical trust is when building a project from the ground up.

She later entered a defining stage of her career, working for nine years at a well-known waste management company, in the professional sanitation segment. Entering a completely new field was a major challenge, but she approached it with patience and curiosity, learning everything from zero. The first event she organised, a Christmas party for 350 people, was a success and marked the beginning of a period in which she developed large-scale educational and informational projects nationwide.

At that time, the company she worked for was the only one in the sanitation sector that had a marketing department. Adriana took messages about environmental responsibility across the country, reaching schools, universities, companies, and the media.

Her first ecological action was organized together with students from the Police Academy, in the Băneasa Forest. Later, she produced the first TV spots in Romania dedicated to recycling and promoting a healthy environment—at a time (2009) when the topic seemed unappealing to the general public. “The moral? You need courage in your approach.” The result: she changed public perception of the company, of professional cleaning services, and, most importantly, of the importance of respecting the environment.

She also collaborated with influencers to demonstrate how complex and demanding the work of keeping cities clean truly is and how essential it is to appreciate those who perform it.

Marketing, Sustainability and Personal Branding

For Adriana, marketing is not just a promotional tool, it is a powerful educational instrument. She admires the stories of businesses built from scratch, continuously adapting to the market and to the times, and she emphasizes the responsibility companies hold when discussing sustainability, greenwashing or recycling.

She spoke to the students about the importance of personal branding, whether one represents a company, a product or one’s own values. “Every student is the business card of the brands they will represent.” And a well-built personal brand can be an enormous advantage when cultivated with care, authenticity and perseverance.

Entrepreneurship, Values and Role Models

One of the most difficult decisions in Adriana’s career was to leave a job after 8 years, when the company was the market leader in the transfer of responsibility for the collection, recovery and recycling of packaging. She chose entrepreneurship, viewing it as an act of courage and a natural step for someone who seeks freedom to create and innovate. She opened her own Marketing and PR agency, through which she could capitalize on all the experience and knowledge she had acquired in all the fields in which she had worked: from promotion strategies, CSR campaigns and workshops, consulting, brand advisory to customized business development and positioning services.

She shared with the students the values she considers essential in any professional journey: integrity, respect, and gratitude: “always remember to say thank you.”

Adriana also discussed the importance of mentors. From each she learned something different – from “there’s no such thing as ”it can’t be done’” to “before you communicate, learn.” Her first mentor was her grandfather, who taught her a set of principles she never strays from.

Her message to the 20-year-old version of herself? “Dare more, and listen more to what you want rather than what others expect of you.” For everyone present, the conclusion was clear: we all need role models, meaningful challenges, and the desire to leave something valuable behind.

About Adriana-Georgia Calcan

When Words Become Actions

With an impressive career of over 10 years in television, working with national and international teams to develop innovative concepts in Romania, Adriana-Georgia Calcan has built an extensive portfolio of projects. She has been the face of several renowned brands and has produced notable TV, film, and artistic content.

Throughout her career, she has built strong personal brands, organised large-scale events and national campaigns, developed rebranding strategies, and coordinated integrated marketing initiatives.

Adriana is a pioneer of CSR in Romania when it comes to environmental responsibility. Since 2008, she has developed and promoted informational and educational campaigns that have received valuable recognition from authorities and prestigious organizations in the field, both nationally and internationally.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriana-calcan/