Daniel State, Managing Partner of Rustler Romania, talked to Property Forum about the company's strategic focus on critical infrastructure and high-risk environments. He discussed bridging the gap between data, execution, and business continuity, as well as the growing demand for integrated consultancy. He also emphasized the importance of mindset and the ability to operate under pressure in critical environments.
This interview was first published in Property Forum’s annual listing of "The 50 most influential people in Romania’s real estate market”.
What were some of Rustler Romania's operational highlights from 2025 and what are your main targets for this year?
In 2025, we focused on operating assets where failure is not an option. A key achievement was delivering complex infrastructure projects while maintaining full operational continuity without disrupting client operations. We strengthened our national execution capacity through in-house teams and a coordinated regional structure, allowing us to respond efficiently regardless of asset location. In parallel, we moved beyond transactions, positioning our brokerage division as a strategic advisory platform that integrates commercial and operational perspectives.
These environments require more than technical capability. They require operational discipline, fast decision-making, and the ability to maintain continuity under pressure. In 2026, we are actively positioning ourselves in critical infrastructure and high-risk environments, where execution, control, and continuity define long-term value. Our focus is not only on delivering projects, but also on ensuring they perform consistently over time.
How is Rustler adapting its facility management services to meet the demands of increasing smart buildings on the market?
Smart buildings generate data, but data alone does not prevent failure. Our key differentiator is execution. Our teams interpret data and act in real time, ensuring continuity and protecting asset performance by bridging the gap between data and action.
The growing complexity of modern buildings also increases operational dependency on fast and accurate technical intervention. In increasingly complex environments, the ability to translate digital insights into immediate technical decisions becomes critical. Technology supports the process, but performance ultimately depends on how effectively those tools are used on the ground.
What is your strategy to provide service quality across real estate projects based nationally?
In a national portfolio, response time is a critical KPI, as downtime translates directly into business risk. Our strategy combines centralized coordination with strong regional execution, ensuring that specialized teams are positioned close to the assets they manage. This allows us to deliver both speed and informed intervention.
In practice, national consistency is achieved not through procedures alone, but through coordinated teams capable of operating under the same standards regardless of location. This requires continuous internal training, operational alignment, and ongoing investment in technical development across all regional teams.
Our objective is not just geographical coverage, but consistency. We focus on creating a unified operational standard where every asset benefits from the same level of control, predictability, and performance.
How are you positioning yourself as a business to attract and retain top-tier technical talent?
We attract professionals who want to work in environments where their expertise and decisions have direct impact. Technical talent today is increasingly motivated by purpose, responsibility, and exposure to complex environments. Critical infrastructure requires precision, and our teams operate in contexts where execution directly affects business continuity. This creates a strong sense of responsibility and ownership. Our people understand both the importance of their role and the operational impact our activity has on clients and end users. They are trained to intervene in critical and high-pressure situations where speed, clarity, and execution become essential.
This process starts from the recruitment stage, where we focus not only on technical capability, but also on mindset and ability to operate under pressure. It continues through on-site training, continuous specialization, and internal lessons learned processes following significant interventions. We retain talent by maintaining a high-performance environment, where continuous development is mandatory and operational results are visible. The best professionals stay engaged when they feel a strong culture of accountability and clearly see the value and meaning of their work.
What role has ESG compliance played in your portfolio, particularly regarding cost optimisation for your major commercial clients?
ESG, in our view, is not a separate objective or a reporting exercise. It's an operational outcome. Cost optimization comes from efficient systems, not from labels. Assets that consume less, fail less, and last longer naturally meet sustainability targets while reducing total cost of ownership.
In parallel, we are already working on projects that reduce dependency on traditional energy sources, moving toward more autonomous and stable operational models. These approaches bring not only environmental benefits, but also long-term operational predictability and cost stability. In the end, ESG only matters when it delivers measurable performance and real cost control, not when it remains a reporting exercise.
What are your plans for the property division this year and what is your outlook for demand on the residential side?
The property division is focused on strengthening advisory services anchored in operational reality. In an increasingly volatile market, operational understanding becomes an essential component of investment decision-making. Our objective is to move beyond transactional support and act as a strategic partner, integrating market insights with technical understanding.
This allows us to guide clients through complex local conditions and make decisions that hold value over time.
What kind of consultancy services are mainly sought by landlords or developers in your portfolio?
Clients appreciate integrated consultancy. They are increasingly moving away from purely commercial advice, looking instead for partners who combine market insight with technical understanding and operational perspective, and who can assess how an asset will perform in real operational conditions.
This goes beyond positioning and pricing. Our role remains to translate commercial strategy into operational reality, ensuring that decisions made at planning stage remain viable during execution and throughout the asset lifecycle.
How do you think Al will shape the future of buildings and facility management operations in the next few years?
Al will improve visibility and enhance predictive capabilities, allowing earlier detection of risks and better-informed decisions. However, it will not replace execution. Al will become increasingly relevant in predictive maintenance and operational planning, especially across large and technically demanding portfolios. Moreover, in critical environments, the ability to act remains decisive. Our focus remains on integrating Al as a tool for processing big data and enabling faster, more informed specialized technical interventions.
