Meet the CxO – Codruț CHERESTEȘ, CEO at DosiTracker
Codruţ Cheresteş is a physicist-entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in the field of ionizing radiation, founder of one of the companies of reference in Romania. Acknowledging that the value of a business is given by the quality of the people working for it, Codruț promotes competence and integrity, trust and respect, as principles underlying any action, raising the quality standard in individual dosimetry and gaining recognition at the level European. In 2015, Codruţ sold the leading market company he built to an international corporation and made the exit in 2017 to meet new challenges. His new “challenge” is called radon and is related to the health level of the population and employees as a result of their exposure to indoor radon at home or in the workplace. Although the impact of radon on health is in the attention of the European Commission since the early 1990s, monitoring of radon in Romania is a new field, with specific legislation being adopted only this summer. Thus, in a market that is only in the making and where the level of information about radon oscillate between ”shocking”news and ignorance, this new project calls for involvement, passion and responsibility, that is, those values that Codruţ has always been building on. He is also a member of the European Radiation Dosimetry Group and the European Radon Association, actively involved in the harmonization of procedures specific to the field of radiation dosimetry.
Tell us a few words about how your company started.
Being an entrepreneurial doctor in physics, after the exit from the company that I built into market leader in the regulated business of dosimetry, I embarked on a new journey called radon, the no. 1 cause of pulmonary cancer among non-smokers according to the American Cancer Society. Radon is a worldwide important topic for decades and starting 2013 it’s being standardized and regulated by the European Commission into the EURATOM Basic Safety Standards (BSS) Directive 59 that has to be applied to all European Union (EU) Member States. The health risks of long-term radon exposure are not widely known in Romania and even less the necessary steps towards radon mitigation. So, in a way we are the Evangelists of the matter, concentrating our efforts into increasing the public awareness, especially the one of the authorities and local decision makers.
What drives you each day?
The passion for science, but most of all for the way we can translate it into the benefit of professionals and general public.
What do you believe are the 3 main accomplishments that brought you here today?
There are three values that are guiding both my life and the way I do business: passion, involvement and responsibility.
What do you believe are the 3 main failures that brought you here today?
My academic evolution was quite sinuous and it was hard to find my way, at some point made me feel like I was in caught in a vicious circle from which I strongly felt the need to get out. I had the feeling that I was stuck in the mud or that I was missing the boat, all of which made me more determined about what I had to do. This engine kept me going to this day.
Do you ever disconnect from the office? How?
I do, quite often I would say. I like to discover and enjoy remote places that are not on every tourist wish-list, preferably where there’s no GSM signal.
Do you have any books you wish you could forget just so you can read it again?
Dune, Frank Herbert
Education – classic or alternative? Both?
Both.
Now tells us more about the business you are running. Let’s start with the number of clients you currently work on (name them if possible)
DosiTracker is a Romanian start-up that offers top integrated solutions for monitoring the radiation exposure of the health and industry professionals in their work environments, for both domestic and international clients. Currently, the core business of DosiTracker is represented by RadonAir, the brand that encompasses the intelligent solutions we offer for radon monitoring in samples of air, water and soil.
At RadonAir we developed a smart solution for indoor radon monitoring that is currently testing in a pilot conducted in some selected locations in different cities. RadonAir is the proud partner of Alba Iulia City Hall in the Alba Iulia Smart City project, our solution being one of the +100 smart solutions implemented in which we are actively monitoring the indoor levels of radon in three different public buildings.
We are now concentrating to extend our pilot in few other cities apart from Alba Iulia and Bucharest (where we are currently present) so that we have a compelling and reliable showcase for all local authorities and private businesses that need to comply with the new set of regulations set in place this spring (Law no. 63/12.04.2018).
What is your most beloved project you worked on?
Since we are at the beginning, everything we do in relation to our latest passion, radon, is as exciting and beloved.
What project forced you to be creative and innovative (if possible)
Our smart solution for indoor radon monitoring that is aggregating in real-time the data gathered from our radon detectors and sends it to the building administrator, manager or employer to improve wellbeing and increase productivity by easily monitoring serious indoor air pollutants. Everything via RadonAir Dashboard, mobile app and an API option available for corporate use. This way, you are able to have a constant remote control of the radon levels in your building or workplace by getting automated alarms each time the average level of radon set to 300 Bq/m3 is breached.
What was the biggest struggle?
To detach myself from my previous business.
What makes your company different from others in your field of expertise?
As far as we know, RadonAir is the first private company offering integrated solutions for indoor radon monitoring in Romania along with being the exclusive provider of top detection and measurement equipments offered by renowned European companies.
Who is the biggest innovator for you?
Nikola Tesla
What advice do you have for a young entrepreneur?
To not allow people who say ‘it’s not possible’ to influence their business decisions.
What do you want to accomplish in the next year?
To become profitable and include at least 5 big clients in our portfolio.
What would you like to achieve in the next 5 years?
Our vision is to become the reference company in raising the standard of protection against indoor exposure to radon both in the private and business environments with a company value of minimum 5 M euro.
Why did you join Smart Alliance – Innovation Technology Cluster?
With our RadonAir App solution we use a variety of devices from the IoT area to collect data, being capable of communicating with the full range of smart radon detectors in our portfolio. By joining Smart Alliance we can only add our knowledge and expertise in a rather niche business to the assets of the other members, having in the same time the benefit of the synergies that can spring from other businesses that are at the beginning of the road like us.
How does it benefit you?
In this centennial year, I would quote few verses from ‘Hora Unirii’
Unde-i unul nu-i putere…
Unde-s doi, puterea crește…
(Where is one there is no strength…
Where is two the strength grows…)
Smart Alliance is the glue that binds different gems together into the most valuable piece of jewelry and, in the same time, it is the centerpiece that presents the jewelry to the world.
In other words, together, we are stronger!
How do you see your company as being part of the cluster?
As active ‘sharers’ of our particular expertise among members of the cluster and ‘gainers’ of more experience and credibility in the innovation technology area that is fundamental to our business positioning.
