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Vivid Questionnaire

Alexandra Gatej

What might Alexandra Gatej, the head of Unilever in the Balkans, be reincarnated as?

Posted: 14/07/2006

As the head of Unilever in the Balkans, Alexandra Gatej is one of Romania’s most powerful women, overseeing an empire with a turnover of more than 150 million euros in Romania alone. Her appointment in November 2005 was one of several that saw Romanian women accede to the uppermost ranks of multinational companies here. She lives in Bucharest with her husband, the artist Florin Muresan, and her son, Petru.

So, how’s life?
Miraculous. Overwhelming. Tiring if you try to compete with it too aggressively. And worth it all if you are thoroughly dedicated and can enjoy all that comes your way. After all it is the only show we have. My life is lived along these lines.

Do you, or have you, ever had a nickname, and if so, what?
My husband sometimes calls me “The General”. There’s no need to explain that.


What is your earliest memory?
Long summer days spent at my grandparents in the Transylvanian countryside, working in the fields or helping in the vegetable garden with my grandmother.

What were you like at school?
Bossy. And in winter I had some great snowball fights with the boys, and in summer threw water bombs over schoolmates from our classroom’s third floor window. Then I think I somehow became a little lady when I noticed I was getting attention.

Are you a good dancer?
Yes, but lately pretty lazy.

What is the last good book you read?
Questa Storia by Alessandro Barricco. I still read a lot in Italian and I buy a lot online or when I travel. I read every day and I like talking about books. I still have to initiate my long-standing project of a private book club.

What is the last CD you bought?
A Claude Challe collection.

If you went on ‘Mastermind,’ what would your special subject be?
History. Particular modern European history and the second world war.

Do you collect anything?
Airline boarding passes, good wine corks, glass water bottles and picture frames. Good olive oils also, and would collect cheeses if possible.

Have you ever had a near-death experience?
Yes, I almost drowned when I was six, during a summer camp at Eforie Nord. There had been a storm the day before and there were strong currents where we were swimming. The salvamar (eng: lifesaver) was very effective.

Would you bungee-jump?
I already have, during a training session in the Czech Republic, three years ago.

You might be the first person who has ever done the Vivid Questionnaire and bungee-jumped. Have you got any scars?
Many, some visible, some not. I admire people with scars and wrinkles – they are proof of the battles you fight in life. They make a face expressive.

Where did you spend your most recent holiday?
Berlin, just for a few days, to be at Designmay, the design festival.

If you could holiday anywhere, where would it be?
India because I have been there and been smitten by the country and the people, Japan and Peru because I have not been there yet and they fascinate me as diverse and far from Europe, my comfort zone.

If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
Anywhere in Italy, Barcelona, or Berlin. These are places built by and for people that appreciate quality of living first and foremost, places that give energy rather than take it. Bucharest I guess used to be such a place in between the wars. It’s a vampire city now. In fact it does not have any characteristics for a true capital in my view – there is no vision for the destiny of this city.

What is your greatest personal sporting achievement?
Reaching the semifinals of the Universities Badminton Championship, Bucharest, 1986.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
I stay away from weird culinary experiences. I consider myself a gourmet and I think there is plenty to explore around the world without getting weird.

Describe an enjoyable meal.
The table setting, colours, cutlery, glasses, and flowers must be perfectly attuned with each other and with the surroundings. The food’s ingredients must be of the highest quality, as must be the artistry of the cook. I go to great lengths both in terms of travel and money to enjoy a good meal. Good food is very important to me – I read about it, I experiment with it, I talk about it.

Describe the best party you ever went to.
A party that was thrown to mark an event. Two years after we can still remember every detail of it. Parties, like food, and like advertising, have to be memorable, otherwise it means they were not good. It was a New Years Eve.

What is your most recent extravagance?
Drinking champagne and eating oysters in St Moritz at 2000 m.

What is your favourite musical instrument?
The flute. I used to play the piano until I was eight, then my parents sold it when we moved to a smaller place.

What are you best at doing?
Taking people with me on a journey I believe in. I believe it is called leading.

What would you personally like to achieve in the future?
I do not want to disclose this. Personal dreams are not and should not be public. You should change this question.

What five words best describe you?
I love life and respect people.

What do you like least about yourself?
I can be too persistent.

What do you like least about yourself physically?
That I have couple of kilograms more than I would wish.

What qualities do you most admire in a man?
Intelligence, humour, reliability and gentleness.

What qualities do you most admire in a woman?
I like women that are women and stay women despite their work. There are not very many around. Women can have great power if they do not try to be somebody else. A bit like brands that copy or change their nature, and their positioning.

Where were you on 31st December, 1999?
In Italy, skiing.

Where were you on 22nd December, 1989?
In Sibiu, filming the events on the streets.

What do you do passionately?
Almost everything. This helps me enjoy most of what I do – especially the most difficult tasks. But it also has the disadvantage of draining my energy resources, which constantly need recharging. I am learning the art of detachment in passion, a long controlled act that the most effective leaders and most talented artists are born with.

What is your most prized possession?
A painting, done by my husband for me.

What is your worst addiction?
Cigarettes.

What do you always carry with you?
A notebook.

What is the most you have ever paid a hairdresser?
The only important thing is how you look and feel after being at a hairdresser. It took me a long time to find mine, but I would not change him for anyone else.

What was your first car?
A beige Oltcit, which I bought 12 years ago, second-hand. It did the job.

What do you do in hotel rooms?
Sleep.

What is your all-time favourite television show?
Cap si Pajura (eng: Head and Tail) on Realitatea TV. It’s a pity it’s not on any more, as it raised the intellectual standard of television to European levels, seamlessly.

What is your all-time favourite work of art?
Pierro della Francesca’s Duke of Mantova.

With which literary character do you most identify?
Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha.

Have you had any interesting jobs before this?
All my jobs were interesting to me.

How much money have you got on you now?
Not much.

What is your favourite website?
Ebay.

Is the art of letter-writing dead?
It might be slowly dying, although I still take great pleasure in writing letters. Writing on paper carries more thought and weight to the sender than pushing buttons.

What are the most important steps an individual should take throughout life?
Any person should live so that they get old beautifully – this requires attitude, character, poise, making the right choices and having someone to share good stories – the telling and the listening.

How important is experience?
People you meet can change your life, shape you. If you are lucky you can have two such serious encounters in your entire life. I’m not talking about how many times you fall in love.

Can you recite a line of poetry?

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
(William Wordsworth, 1804)

When was the last time you were in a fight?
A long time ago, in primary school, when two classmates tried to rub snow in my face. I fought very hard!

Who is the sexiest person in the world?
Sean Penn.

Who is the sexiest person you know?
My husband.

Describe your most recent dream.
Dreams are part of the mystery of men and women and should remain thus.

Do you talk in your sleep?
Very rarely.

What is the best rock concert you were ever at?
AC/DC, in Prague three years ago. My husband picked me up from work and there I was in my little manager suit amongst a huge crowd of fans very differently dressed. But I had a great time.

If a film was made of your life, which actor would best play you?
Giulietta Massina, who was married to Federico Fellini.

What is best about living in Romania?
My friends.

What Romanian would you most like to meet?
Gheorghe Dinica.

What question would you most like to answer?
Have you ever failed?

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