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In this interview, Denis Dolovac, who has been part of the torq.partners team for over three years, provides exciting insights into his diverse range of tasks as a Principal and explains the qualities required to successfully fulfill this role. He also shares his impressions of how the company has developed since he started and reports on how his own career has progressed during this time.
I am a Principal and take on complex finance projects for our clients as well as managing project teams. In other words, when senior management needs to be filled, I step in. My tasks include carrying out post-merger integrations, i.e. the integration of acquired companies into existing structures. I also manage financial due diligences, for example, which are carried out in the run-up to a company acquisition by investors. Due diligences are used to identify potential risks that could be relevant for the buyer in the course of a purchase process.
Internally, I support the development of my colleagues. I look at where they are in their career path and how I can help them achieve their professional goals. I am also involved in an area that deals with the creation of internal structures. This includes setting up standardized processes or finding suitable tools, including communicating with their providers.
Overall, I would say that although I am often involved in customer projects, I also have a lot of creative freedom for internal projects.
What I enjoy most is accompanying and supporting my employees in their development. I like the fact that it's easy to track progress over time. Some colleagues in my team started with us two years ago and are now at a similar level to me, having successfully completed large projects or specialized in areas that are very helpful for the entire team. I am very pleased to see this.
The challenge is that you are often driven by deadlines. As a result, it's not always easy for me as a family man to reconcile work and private life. For example, there are days when I would like to have dinner with my family, but at the same time I know that I actually need this time to complete a project.
I would therefore say that working as a consultant can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, the job is varied, you are constantly learning and gain new experiences from every project. On the other hand, it can involve a high level of stress, especially when things have to be completed quickly.
I had previously worked in auditing at one of the Big Four companies and was quite happy there. At some point, I was contacted by one of the Managing Partners of torq.partners, whom I knew from a previous job as a working student. He told me that he was in the process of setting up something new and was still looking for employees. Even though I wasn't actually looking for another job, I was attracted by the prospect of being able to take on more responsibility here. While I had to report upwards a lot in my previous position, the position at torq.partners offered me the opportunity to act as a driving force and make a bigger impact. That's why I ultimately decided to make the switch.
Above all, our way of working has evolved. We are now more structured and professional, have standardized many processes and have been able to learn from challenges. As a result, we now achieve even higher quality in our services.
We have also become more resilient as an organization. In the past, it was problematic if someone dropped out, as various tasks and areas were strongly tied to individual people. Today, we have a broader base and have found good ways to share our knowledge with each other.
I was a principal at torq.partners from the very beginning.
From my previous job in a larger company, I knew everything from a corporate perspective, so the switch to the start-up world was initially a big change for me. I had to familiarize myself with the structures and working methods at torq.partners and develop a feel for our customers.
While a lot of things were formalized in my previous professional environment, here I was given the confidence to tackle things myself. Right at the beginning, I took over the management of a team, which I had previously only done at project level. From then on, it was also about professional and disciplinary leadership, which was definitely a step forward for me. The creative opportunities and the close exchange with the Managing Partners were also new to me. I gradually grew more and more in the various areas, especially in terms of entrepreneurial thinking and managing employees.
I have also learned to take on more responsibility. In my projects at torq.partners, unlike before, I am the final authority and therefore responsible for the customer's results.
While many things were formalized in my previous professional environment, here I was given the confidence to tackle things myself.
Yes, in the future I would like to reduce the operational part, i.e. the work with customers, and get more involved in the vision of torq.partners. For me, this means not only ensuring that day-to-day business runs smoothly, but also being involved in the strategic part. This includes defining the direction in which we want to develop and determining which steps are necessary to achieve this.
As a principal, you have to be versatile above all, as you have to deal with complex issues and think outside the box from time to time. It is also important to be able to assess the impact of your actions: If I do something in one place, what does it mean for other areas? This requires good intuition and a certain amount of experience.
You also have to be independent. Both internally and with customers, you are expected to take responsibility, solve problems independently and proactively drive things forward.
Good communication skills are also essential. It is important to be able to openly address difficult topics within the team, for example if something has gone wrong on a project or an employee feels ready to move up to the next role but is still missing some aspects from a leadership perspective. This also applies when dealing with customers, as problems can sometimes arise, for example if they are dissatisfied with a service. Then it's about looking at what didn't work out, clarifying the situation and ensuring that the customer continues to work with us with a good feeling.
I live in Berlin and therefore close to our office, but I'm still very grateful that we work remotely. I go into the office from time to time, but for me there are far more advantages to working from home. For one thing, it makes it easier to organize my everyday family life. I take my children to nursery in the morning and can still be at my laptop at nine o'clock on the dot. I also save myself the travel time in the evening. On the other hand, I enjoy the peace and quiet of working from home. Unlike in the office, there are few distractions, so I can concentrate better on my tasks.
I have to say that I hardly know of any other company that lives the remote-first principle as consistently as we do. For me, this is a real game changer and I would find it difficult to have to commute to the office several days a week again.
I don't have a real routine, but I always try to take a lunch break at noon. Other things that help me are internal meetings. As you're often alone on projects, you can quickly lose touch with your colleagues. That's why a regular exchange is important.
In my team, for example, we have a daily meeting to discuss the current workload and project distribution. If this is done quickly, we also like to use the time for a brief exchange on topics outside of work.
In a group that has come together as part of a development program, we meet regularly without an agenda to bring each other up to date or talk about challenges. It helps a lot to know that you are not alone with certain phases or problems. Such conversations make it easier to overcome stressful times.
I particularly remember our Company Offsite 2023. It was the first time that almost everyone from torq.partners came together in one place - not just the Finance department, but also colleagues from People Consulting, the Benelux team and internal departments with whom we usually only have irregular contact. One of the highlights for me was a joint soccer match, where the originally planned 20 minutes quickly turned into two hours. I also really enjoyed having dinner together in the open air at a long table.
Another event that I remember very fondly is the first one with my own team. We went bowling and had dinner together afterwards. Seeing how the team that I helped to build harmonizes with each other, celebrates and looks back on the journey together was very nice and also made me a little proud.
For me, torq.partners is characterized above all by its open communication. It starts with the fact that the company's figures are regularly shared in all-hands meetings, salary bands are communicated transparently and challenges are not swept under the carpet, even at management level. This openness is exemplified by the partners and runs through all levels of the organization. This creates an environment in which, for example, junior colleagues also dare to address difficulties openly without fear of being judged. I would also like to convey this approach in my role. After all, you can only actively move things forward if you speak openly about weaknesses or problems. Hiding them doesn't help anyone. On the contrary: they either come to light later or put such a strain on the person concerned that, in the worst case, they could leave the company.
What I also appreciate is the way we deal with change. Decisions are communicated to everyone in a comprehensible way and are often agreed in advance in a larger group. Once a decision has been made, there is always the opportunity to express your opinion afterwards. You have the feeling that your opinion is really being heard.
Another thing that makes torq.partners special for me is that we look out for each other. For example, we have a value that we can use to assess the workload of employees and we actively ask colleagues at regular intervals whether they need support. In this way, we have found a good way to counteract overload at an early stage. It is really important to us that everyone in the team is doing well. You can also feel this in our day-to-day work.
