Iryna Teut, PIN-UP Partners: “We hire people who share our values and our energy”
Shows & conferences - 24 November, 2025
During the latest edition of SiGMA Central Europe 2025, Focus Gaming News spoke with Iryna Teut, Head of HR at PIN‑UP Partners, about her role as a strategic business partner, the company’s value‑driven approach to recruitment, what disqualifies candidates, and the career development and benefits on offer for specialists who join the group.
Teut explained that her position goes far beyond traditional HR administration. “My role is to be a strategic partner to the business,” she said, noting that she leads the HR function and that the company “invest a lot not only [in] people, but for growth, for performance and of course for our culture.” A central mission, she added, is “to equip managers with the right tools [so] they can build a strong team and give a room for growth to our people,” while also strengthening PIN‑UP Partners’ reputation “on the market as a place where people aspire to work.”
Asked what she looks for when hiring managers, Teut stressed that alignment with company values is paramount. “When we are hiring, we look for people [who] align with our values. It’s very important because it’s our DNA actually,” she said. PIN‑UP Partners prioritises candidates “who respect expertise,” who “know how to build a strong communication, how to build a strong team and how to support the team and collaborate in an excellent way.” Given the highly dynamic nature of the sector, it is also crucial to find people “who stay focused on the results and can act fast without compromising.”
Equally important are openness and honesty. Teut said the company seeks “someone who [is] open, honest in communication, who is ready to take feedback and also who is ready to give this honest feedback.” These principles, she explained, are embedded “from the first interview to onboarding [and] in our performance review every six months.” For that reason, “we hire people who share our values, who share our energy, and it’s not just about something that is written in the position requirements. So we choose people very carefully.”
On the flip side, Teut was clear about which profiles do not fit PIN‑UP Partners. “We would not hire a person who is not flexible, who is not learning from the mistake,” she said. Making mistakes is acceptable – “that’s okay… but you have to learn.” Candidates unwilling to take responsibility for their actions or “not willing to learn” are unlikely to succeed. “You’re not coming to the company and you know everything,” she noted; rather, staff must be “willing to learn [and] share your knowledge with your colleagues.” She also said the company is “selective when it comes to the C‑level,” because “a great leader… defines the success of the entire team.” Teut revealed that there are currently “a few open position[s] for C‑level”, inviting interested candidates to “take a look on the website [and] find out the roles.”
Turning to development, Teut underlined that new joiners can expect a clear pathway. “I think the most important thing – they know their road map. It’s about stability,” she said. Employees have a roadmap “in three months, in six months” so they “know where you stand now and you know what’s going to be [in the] next couple of months.” In her view, “people nowadays appreciate this opportunity to know what they [are] going to expect in some time.”
Teut said PIN‑UP Partners treats its specialists “very well” and “can offer a lot.” First and foremost, there are “career opportunities” supported by that clear roadmap and a strong emphasis on continuous learning. “We invest really a lot in education so [they] can get as much knowledge as they can. The only one thing you need [is] to have this aspiration to get the new knowledges,” she explained. The company provides both “internal education [and] external education” and encourages extensive knowledge‑sharing “between managers level,” enabling staff to gain “a lot [of] great expertise… very important on the market.”
Alongside professional growth, Teut highlighted “core benefits” such as bonuses and “great salaries”, as well as a range of additional perks. These include “relocation [support, and] great offices in different countries all over the world,” which allow specialists to “take freely a lot” from their experience at the company. Overall, she positioned PIN‑UP Partners as an employer that combines values‑driven hiring with structured development, strong rewards and an international environment for those who are eager to learn and grow.