Q: Hey Elmin, you joined CRX Markets in early 2019 already as a System Administrator and have since become the Chief Information Security Officer as well as a Senior Site Reliability Engineer – that’s an exciting development.
A: That’s right. I came to Germany to work for an IT consulting company and was approached about the opportunity to join CRX Markets on a System Administrator job because I already had previous experiences in that field before. After I joined the IT Infrastructure team, the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) position became vacant and I was approached by CRX Markets’ CISO at the time to take on this additional function because I had previous experience related to regulatory compliance, audits, security standards implementation, and technical skills. Initially I was not hired specifically for the CISO job, but I understood the importance of it for CRX Markets and wanted to contribute and got the job.

Q: Sounds like you settled in well into the dual role. What are your responsibilities on the functions?
A: Now we’re working on the ISO 27001 implementation, which is the international standard when it comes to information security management and is very important to protect company information and platforms. I am writing different policies and procedures as well as the internal security questionnaires. But as a CISO my job is also to support the company when it comes to internal and external audits, making sure that our IT is safe and always secured.

Q: During the hiring process you were asked to answer technical questions as well, right? Do the questions you were asked still play a vital role in your everyday work life as well?
A: Yes, that’s right. When I was going through the hiring process I started out with Katharina, our Head of HR as well as my future senior manager talking about CRX Markets in general, their products as well as the culture of the company. Afterwards I was invited back for the technical interview, where I was given the scheme of a platform and had to assess risks to that platform. In addition to that I was asked specifics of what might happen if certain systems within the platform might fail and how we could react to those situations appropriately. The questions were very much geared towards my later role and still concern me in my day-to-day activities, but my future senior manager wasn’t only looking for a solution to the case but also my way of approaching it. All in all, the hiring process was super-fast though. Between first contact and contract signing there were only two weeks, and our HR department made the transition super smooth.

Q: What skills do people in IT need to succeed at CRX Markets?
A: When it comes to IT skills there should of course be a good understanding about general IT subjects as well as a logical approach to solving a problem. That is very important to us to see how they think about problem solving. But we of course know that our platform-based business is not the most common product when it comes to IT, so we as a team always help every new joiner wherever we can. There are no stupid questions in IT here! Then again for us especially it’s never just about technical skills. We need open-minded people who want to keep learning new stuff and are great team players. That’s why before deciding on new people joining, we also introduce other team members into the interview process to see if it’s a personal fit as well. That’s essential!

Q: That really sounds like you guys are a very tight knit group!
A: We really are. We’re just trying to be welcoming and help every new employee settle in. But we’re also having a shared lunch once a week in the office with the whole IT department and do off-site events like kayaking, so we get to know each other better. We must rely on each other, so we really want to have a good relationship within our teams.

Q: What would you say you appreciate most about your job here?
A: I like working at CRX Markets because I have a lot of freedom in my work and very supportive colleagues, which I appreciate. But other than that, I also have a clear development path for my career here and have the opportunity to expand my skills and get supported for doing so.