Iwo Szapar

Hybrid Work Expert

🚀 Remote-First Activist | Top 50 Remote Influencer | Since 2017, shaping the future of remote-first world

Aloha, I'm Iwo Szapar! Over the years, I've helped transform how over 3,000 companies approach work, leading to more efficient and enjoyable professional lives. 🌍

Key Achievements:

▪️Co-created the AI Maturity Index with Harvard researchers, democratizing access to enterprise-grade AI readiness insights
▪️Advised Ministry of Communications and Technology of Saudi Arabia on AI up-skilling for startups
▪️Launched world's first certification program for remote workers: Remote-how Academy, back in 2018.
▪️Established strategic partnerships with 150 companies, including Asana, Deel, Remote, and Safetywing.
▪️Created an expert community of 250+ consultants from companies such as GitLab, Netflix, and Hubspot.
▪️Co-organized 3 editions of Remote Future Summit, reaching over 11,000 attendees and featuring 140 speakers.

Born in Gdansk, Poland, I've embraced the 'slowmad' lifestyle, living in various countries while working remotely. This journey has enriched my perspective and fueled my passion for innovation. When I'm not working, you can find me reading history books, following international affairs, or indulging in my hobbies as a dog lover, amateur surfer, and DJ.

Connect with me to explore how you/your company can work smarter! 🚀

🚀Remote Work Advocate & Co-founder

Remote-how helps companies make remote & hybrid work, work. Since 2017. 

🤓 Remote-how Marketplace - the world’s leading remote & hybrid work experts marketplace. Work on your consulting and advisory projects with 200+ pre-vetted practitioners from top distributed companies. 

🚀 Remote-how Campus - a community where leaders of hybrid teams come to connect, learn and grow together with access to live leadership development programs, mentoring services, and more.

🚀 Our AI Maturity Index got acquired by ISG (Information Services Group).

Didn’t think a random virtual coffee with a stranger would turn out this way...

18 months ago, Eryn and I started talking about AI adoption chaos.

Everyone had opinions.
Nobody had data.

We launched this as a research project.

It evolved into a diagnostic tool.
Using AI to assess… AI maturity in under 15 minutes.

Our system interviewed 6,000+ professionals across 75 countries.

The data was clear:
• 92% of companies are increasing AI investment
• Only 1% consider themselves AI-mature

Companies weren’t struggling with AI tools.

They were struggling with knowing where to start.

ISG noticed.
They partnered with us.
Then became our biggest client.

Today, they acquired us.

That’s not how acquisitions usually work.
But maybe it’s how they should.
They knew the product deeply.
We knew their vision.
The fit was obvious.

ISG brings research capabilities we couldn’t build alone.
Global reach to take this from thousands to millions.
Resources to turn our platform into enterprise infrastructure.

I’m genuinely excited about what we’ll build together.

Now, zooming out for a second.

It’s been 8 years of building.

First Remote-how.
Then Remote-First Institute.
Now AI Maturity Index.

Many mistakes.
Many lessons.

And now — first exit.

I’m relieved before I’m excited 😅

Eryn — you made this possible.

That “virtual coffee stranger” became an incredible co-founder who pushed me, challenged me, and helped me grow fast.

Thank you. Truly. ❤️ 

Fun fact: we met only twice in real life. 
Once in Lisbon (where we decided to launch the company together - see picture), and second time in Saudi Arabia.

This entire journey was 100% remote.

To the 6,000+ people who took the assessment and trusted us with their data:
You made this possible. Every benchmark came from you.

To Steven, Hannah, and the entire ISG team: You believed in the platform long before the acquisition. That partnership gave us confidence this would work. Thanks a bunch!!!

And to everyone who thought:
“Just another AI survey” — fair skepticism.
We had to earn trust with data quality.

Now we close the 92% / 1% gap.

At scale.

With resources that matter.
Companies investing in AI need to know where they stand.
We’re building the infrastructure to show them.

PS. Yes — I am VERY excited. Like… a lot.

PS2. Full press release → link in comments 👇

Co-Creator of AI Maturity Index (Acquired by ISG) 🤙 Vibe Worker

Remote Work Leadership

As the founder of "Orion Coaching and Consulting" (aka Remote Work Leadership), I coach and train IT leaders & middle managers to employ Remote Work Leadership Strategies, insights and processes to produce belonging, connectivity and high performance in Remote Teams.

Founder

Barclays

• Achieving and maintaining the gold standard in engineering metrics by tracking the key metrics for code quality, capacity, developer productivity, platform stability, technical debt etc. 
• Optimizing the costs and leading innovation to maximize revenue generation.
• Empowering the teams by leading the skill upliftment, career development initiatives for them.
• Continuously improving the process and chasing excellence in technical delivery by regularly documenting and implementing the lessons learned after each release.
• Ensuring seamless delivery by implementing best practices in agile project management.
• Leading design and architecture reviews.

Vice President - Product Technology

vConstruct Private Limited

* Led a global multicultural development team of 10 developers while adding value to the clients by creating a ground breaking eCommerce application for PREFAB components leveraging cloud technology.
* Exemplified engineering excellence by leading an innovative development team in coming up with a high performance architecture for complex web apps.
* Received multiple appreciations from business and higher management.
[Tech stack: .net core, Azure cloud, PowerApps, Microsoft Dynamics 365]

Technical Lead

Calibre Mindware Programming Pvt. Ltd.

● Responsible for helping the team with technical / design issues. Participating in analysis, design, implementation, planning /
execution and monitoring the project and team performance. Performing code reviews and laying out coding guidelines.
● Guiding team with design decisions, helping them resolve critical issues, sharing project status reports to client and higher
management.

Associate Technical Manager

BNY Mellon

* Led a global multicultural development team of 12 developers while adding value to the clients of "Global Cash Flow" manager product by constantly improving the code quality, delivery, and product performance by conducting regular code and design reviews. 
* Applied the best practices of agile project management so as to continuously improve the process.
* Improved collaboration with the business team by creating successful partnerships. 
* Received multiple appreciations from business and higher management.
Multiple projects:
[Tech stack: C#, MVC, WCF, SQL Server 2012, SSRS, jQuery, Angular, PEGA 7]

Project Lead

Fasttrack Software Services Pvt Ltd

Acted as a Project Lead handing 2 projects - Project Tracker and LMS.

Senior Software Engineer (Project Lead)

Cognizant

Handled 3 projects and a team of 8 developers.
Collaborated with business client to understand the requirements and communicate the same with the team.
Ensure project compliance with company Software Quality processes.
Handle the tasks of providing technical leadership and guidance to other SW Engineers
Responsible for software design reviews, peer code reviews and software acceptance test activities on a regular basis
Worked as a developer-module lead for 12 months (SQL Server , JSP, ASP.Net, C#.net)
Organization; Perform responsibilities of designing, installing, coding, configuring, developing, testing, debugging, and documenting application programs by following program specifications

Responsible for code review, ensuring successful implementation of project and delivery.
Organization

UI Team Lead ( JP Morgan Chase )

Yardi Systems

* Worked on Vista framework, Credit Card Processing, rdSAP for UK social housing, X9 file processing etc.
* Module Lead for "Credit Card Processing".

Programmer-ii ( Module Lead )

ProSES Technology Inc

Worked as a web developer (asp.net) to develop a product for &quot;Critical Path Project Management&quot;.
Acquired knowledge on &quot;critical chain&quot; and &quot;critical path&quot; project management.

Software Developer

Gofloaters Flexi Work Visionary Jury 2024 | Remote Work Leadership Expert - Belonging, Bonnectivity & High Performance | Speaker | Best Selling Author | Seasoned Technology Leader

In a world that’s increasingly remote, disconnected, and fast-moving, I help tech leaders create something rare: teams that care.

For almost over 2 decades, I’ve moved from writing code to building cultures — leading distributed engineering teams that deliver results not just with efficiency, but with empathy. I’ve led global teams across banking, real estate, and consumer goods, turning ambiguity into clarity, silos into collaboration, and complexity into growth.

Today, I coach IT leaders to do the same. To build teams that belong, connect and deliver peak performance. To design systems that scale. To lead with intention.

I’ve shared these ideas as an Amazon bestselling author and speaker - because work doesn’t have to feel transactional. It can feel meaningful. It can feel human.
I believe remote work isn’t about working from anywhere. It’s about leading from a place of trust.

If that speaks to you, let’s connect.

🛠️ What I bring to the table:
– Engineering leadership in remote-first environments
– Architecture that scales and adapts
– Culture that drives performance
– Coaching that empowers leaders
– A lens that sees people before processes

Also: music, nature, and long walks where the best ideas show up.

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