About Cercetium

Who I am

Hi, I'm Raoul-Thomas Câmpian, founder of Cercetium — a solo boutique strategy consulting practice I started back in 2021. Cercetium is, in many ways, an extension of me: my experience, my curiosity, and my belief in the power of strategy. Before I tell you what Cercetium is today, I want to share the story of how it came to be.

Where I started

My career didn't begin in business strategy. I started out as an information analyst in international security and conflict analysis, working as a researcher and analyst for the global think tank Schloer Consulting Group (SCG). In parallel, I collaborated with a technology company developing early AI tools to support high-level decision-making — back in 2016, long before AI became mainstream.

This combination of analytical work and emerging technology shaped the way I think: structured, curious, and always looking for the underlying dynamics that drive systems.

How strategy found me

In 2020, I moved into independent consulting and joined the Austrian startup weTHINK.eu. There, I helped build a collaborative European ecosystem for developing strategies around systemic issues.

My work shifted from pure analysis into strategy development — especially through a major pan-European initiative in the construction infrastructure sector. We worked across ten countries and more than thirty international stakeholders — corporations, banks, ministries, industry associations, chambers of commerce, and EU bodies — to design a European-level strategy for improving procurement in large infrastructure projects.

It was a massive, complex effort, and it changed the way I understood strategy. I saw how structured thinking could move entire systems.

Strategy in the public sector

In 2021, I moved into public-sector strategy work as an independent consultant for Finacon, a Romanian consultancy supporting public authorities with strategic development, project financing, and navigating the EU funding landscape.

I developed strategic plans, sustainable development strategies, local development strategies, energy efficiency strategies — essentially, the full spectrum of strategic work for local authorities.

At the same time, I was finishing my master's degree. In my final semester, I discovered strategy as a formal discipline through a six-month course in Strategic Planning at FSPAC (Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University), taught by Dean Prof. Dr. Călin Emilian Hințea.

Although the course focused mainly on public-sector strategic planning, it also introduced me to business strategy for the first time through the work of Michael Porter. And because I was already consulting for the public sector, I was applying everything I learned in real time, directly in practice.

Why I founded Cercetium

I studied strategy, I practiced strategy, and I saw firsthand how transformational it can be. I saw its potential. I saw how it changes organizations. And I realized I wanted to use it to make the world around me better.

That's when I founded Cercetium — in mid-2021 — with the purpose of helping companies become more strategic.

I pivoted fully into private-sector strategy consulting. I wanted to help businesses become more competitive, more intentional, more focused. I genuinely believe that a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem benefits society as a whole, and helping businesses improve is the way I've chosen to contribute.

The first five years

Over its first five years, Cercetium took many forms: competitive intelligence, social labs, advisory, end-to-end strategy development, planning, roadmapping, execution support, business development, and more. I delivered over thirty engagements across multiple industries, working with clients of different shapes and sizes.

That work broadened my understanding of business and showed me where I want to focus my effort.

Cercetium today

In 2026, I made a deliberate choice: to focus Cercetium on one-to-one business strategy development for owners of established service businesses.

This brings my experience into a focused engagement. We begin by understanding your situation and identifying what needs attention. Where strategy development would help, we work through the choices together—building on what is sound and reconsidering what needs to change.

My aim is to help you develop a direction you understand and become better equipped to think strategically as your business evolves.

A personal note

I hope I can put what I’ve learned to work in helping you build the business you aspire to. If you’re unsure what needs to change, or want to think through the direction of your business, I’d be glad to hear about your situation and explore whether this work could help..