SSIF Broker programmer works only in the dark

Octavian Rasnita is a 30 year old programmer and since late 2003 has coordinated the IT-related operations of SSIF Broker, the only brokerage firm listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. So far that is nothing unusual you would say, but what makes Octavian different from other programmers is the fact that he lost his eyesight almost 6 years ago.

Thanks to special software, Octavian has become one of the most important employees of the Cluj-based brokerage. When you look at him sitting at his desk you have the impression he is listening to music. In fact, the headphones are Octavian”s eyes. He listens to the information we usually read. With the help of a keyboard and a set of headphones, Octavian coordinates the IT operations of SSIF Broker SA. There is no indication that he has not mastered what he is doing.

Only the lack of a display might raise some questions, but for those who know him, the curiosity of this situation soon wore off. With an incredible power of concentration, Octavian Rasita manages to make up for the lack of eyesight and handle one of the most complex activities of a brokerage. “I am in charge with the programming and the online trading of companies listed on the stock exchange,” he is briefly describing his day-to-day activities. Actually, he downloads daily quotes from the site of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, and creates data for the analysis and data modification programmes department.

Moreover, he is the one handling online trading, the updating of the brokerage”s site and keeps in touch with customers asking IT-related questions.

Octavian Rasnita lost his eyesight in a car accident five and a half years ago. At that time, the young man had a successful career in front of him in the field of telecommunications. At 25, he was a regional marketing coordinator with a mobile telephony company. In September 2000, he crashed his car into an end of a bridge. Physicians managed to put him back on his feet, but were unable to restore his eyesight.

“At the beginning, I wanted to learn Braille, I wanted to find a way to communicate with others,” Octavian remembers about his first steps in his battle with darkness. Technology has saved him.

Now, he works eight hours a day, Monday to Friday, though by law he”d have the right to work shorter hours. And during his spare time, he creates programmes and personal projects and specialises in his new profession.