IT COFFEE BREAK

Hosted by EPAM Systems

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Jul 2026

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About the show

IT Coffee Break is a podcast featuring EPAM professionals and leading experts who share their career paths, experiences and personal stories from the world of tech. Each episode explores a different domain and highlights the real journeys behind the roles — from professional growth to international opportunities. Grab a coffee and join us on the adventure at EPAM.

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July 30, 202628 min

A Career Built On Creativity

Mariia Safanova, Senior Project Administrator at EPAM Bulgaria, has already built an inspiring career path that combines creativity, communication, and project management. Her journey began far from the tech industry. Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction & Meet Mariia Safonova 01:00 – From International Relations to UX Project Administration 06:00 – A Day in the Life of a Senior Project Administrator 12:30 – Biggest Challenges & Managing Cross-Team Communication 17:30 – Requirements-Driven vs. Design-Driven Projects 24:30 – How Design Thinking Creates Business Value 29:30 – Final Success Story & Closing Remarks

June 15, 202635 min

From Economics to AI: How David Atanaszov Turns Data Into Business Decisions

David Atanaszov, Chief BI Analyst at EPAM Hungary, traces his journey from behavioral economics and a decade of teaching to leading complex analytics projects for global enterprise clients. The conversation covers how AI is reshaping business intelligence, where it genuinely helps and where human expertise still matters most. 00:00 – Introduction and educational background05:37 – Career path from Nielsen to Morgan Stanley to EPAM13:35 – What a Chief BI Analyst actually does day to day20:40 – Gross margin optimization and real-world analytics in life sciences29:29 – How AI is changing analytics and where its limits are

April 30, 202628 min

Redefining Leadership: Insights from a Gen Z Sales Lead

Giovanna Pimenta, Sales Development Lead at EPAM Hungary, is part of a new wave of Gen Z leaders redefining leadership. Despite her young age, she brings several years of experience and has intentionally shaped her leadership style through continuous learning and practice. Timestamps: 1:00 – Giovanna’s career journey and early leadership signals 4:30 – Learning to lead: studying communication, feedback, and team dynamics 7:00 – How to handle people who resist feedback and support 10:30 – Core sales mindset: curiosity, flexibility, humility, and proactivity 13:30 – Motivation strategies and building a clear career progression path 16:30 – Gen Z leadership: impatience, ambition, and “trusting the process” 23:00 – Leading across generations and adapting communication styles

March 20, 202636 min

What do clients want?

Inecke Snyder-Laurens has over 30 years of experience in project management. She has worked in the financial and automotive industries in both large and small organisations. Currently, she is overseeing 9 project management teams and is the principal delivery manager for a major client at EPAM. Timestamps: 0:19 – Introduction and overview of Ineke Snyder Lawrence’s career 1:32 – Ineke’s career journey and current role as Principal Delivery Manager at EPAM 3:07 – Women at EPAM initiatives and mentoring programs 6:06 – How project management skills transfer across industries 11:19 – Managing global teams across countries and cultures 19:33 – Handling challenging projects and legacy system transformation 24:03 – How AI is changing project management 32:17 – The human side of AI adoption and addressing job concerns

February 25, 202628 min

Solution Architects: The Power Players Between Tech and Business

When EPAM Systems Hungary brought together tech professionals for the CEE Tech Meetup, one role took center stage: the Solution Architect. And for good reason. Solution Architects sit exactly where technology meets business strategy. They translate complex technical possibilities into real business value. Timestamps: 00:21 – Introduction 01:14 – Career beginnings 02:51 – Misconceptions about solution architecture 05:55 – Essential skills for solution architects 07:47 – Career paths and training 14:13 – Documentation and processes 15:01 – AI in solution architecture 23:46 – Client projects and impact

February 12, 202621 min

Bridging the Gap: Accelerating Careers Through EPAM Campus

Dávid Hegyi and Henrietta Ábrányi, two software engineers at EPAM Hungary, are participating in a flagship initiative designed to accelerate the onboarding of EPAM Campus graduates onto projects through the combination of AI and structured mentorship. Timestamps: 1:15 – Guest Introductions 2:00 – Campus Program Overview 4:33 – Henrietta’s Campus Experience 7:57 – Transition to Epam Company 13:14 – AI in Mentorship and Work 17:44 – Roles as Mentor and Mentee

December 19, 202528 min

2025 Wrapped: How AI Shaped Our Year

A look back at the most exciting AI conversations of the year. In this special Wrapped episode, we revisit key insights, bold ideas and memorable moments shared by our guests in 2025 — from real-world AI use cases to future-looking perspectives.

November 26, 202517 min

Staying relevant in the age of AI

Anna Aksenova is a Senior Data Engineer, whose work has reformed customer experience and corporate workflows through many of her projects that use Large Language Models to automate processes and substitute human labour. As companies strive to incorporate more AI tools into their workflows, it is even more important for engineers to stay relevant and excel at their work. Timestamps:00:31 - Introduction 01:45 - Journey into Data Science 03:55 - Focus on Machine Learning 05:58 - Work at EPAM 07:18 - Challenges in Generative AI 12:07 - Mentoring and Education 13:45 - Key Skills & Academia vs Industry

November 12, 202524 min

Mirroring and creating human connections

Timestamps; 01:00 – Giovanna shares her international career journey and cultural experiences 03:30 – Adapting communication styles for North America, Germany, and Latin America 05:45 – Insights from the “Mastering Communication Skills” workshops for tech professionals 07:00 – The LEARN framework: Listen, Empathize, Acknowledge, Negotiate, Respond 10:30 – Communicating differently with executives vs. technical teams 13:45 – How AI supports communication while keeping the human touch 17:00 – Leading multicultural teams and empowering people to find their own style

October 30, 202525 min

What does the Head of Data and AI do?

Apostolos Lampropoulos is Head of Data and Analytics of EPAM in the Adriatic region, Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Croatia. He describes his job as a series of multitasking, as there are many important aspects of his job that he needs to do on a daily basis. Timestamps:01:40 - Career Journey 03:08 - Role and Responsibilities 05:19 - Becoming an AI-First Company 07:31 - Client Challenges and AI Integration 10:31 - Upskilling and Workforce Development 13:39 - Bridging Business and Technology 17:04 - Change Management & AI and Jobs 19:38 - AI Project Lifecycle 22:29 - Regional Focus and AI Transformation