Romania’s new ambassador to Washington Andrei Muraru has met star billionaire entrepreneur Daniel Dines to discuss how to boost the country’s image in the U.S.
Mr Dines, called ”Boss of the Bots” by Forbes magazine, has an estimated net worth of $6 billion and is Romania’s richest person.
Robotic process automation
He is the cofounder and CEO of UiPath, a robotic process automation company valued by investors at $7 billion. It is considered the fastest growing and leading provider of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software.
It was the first Romanian company listed on the New York stock exchange in April this year.
The 49-year-old started DeskOver in 2005 in Bucharest, Romania. He later renamed it UiPath and moved its headquarters to New York City in 2018.
Entrepreneur
“This exceptional Romanian entrepreneur generated a revolution by producing software robots,” ambassador Muraru, himself the new face of Romanian diplomacy, said.
“Compared to his huge success, Daniel has remained a modest, kind man who inspires confidence as he’s straightforward and direct.”
“He inspires values that many times have been rejected or forgotten. He has courage and believes in the success of tomorrow’s Romania,.” the 39-year-old diplomat added after the meeting on Tuesday.
Avid reader
Mr Dines doesn’t spend all his time in the office though. He is an avid reader, telling Forbes in 2019 that he reads in the mornings, often not showing up to UiPath’s office until 11 am.
In October 2019, after a period of rapid hiring at UiPath, the company laid off more than 300 employees, or about 11% of its workforce.
Talent center
He plans to create a talent center in Romania, the ambassador said. One-third of UiPath’s 3,000 employees are Romanian. The company has offices in more than 40 countries.
Mr Muraru said the billionaire was “deeply attached” to Romania and his family there, adding the pair would have a “fruitful collaboration” in the coming years.
In their talks they discussed about promoting Romania in the U.S. and better defending Romanian’s rights.
Communist-era jails
Mr Muraru, a historian, made a name for himself after he brought to justice former prison commanders who ran Romania’s notorious communist-era jails where hundreds of thousands of political prisoners were locked up in brutal conditions. Thousands fell ill and died.
Before taking up his post this month, he was an adviser to President Klaus Iohannis.
Low-skilled tasks
UiPath’s software helps businesses automate repetitive tasks. It performs many low-skilled tasks that businesses once outsourced to workers in cheaper-wage countries.
