Piotr Ciski knows the rules. The Chief Executive Officer of Symfonia, a business Enterprise Resource Planning and payroll software solutions company in Poland, he prides himself on understanding regulations in and out to better serve his customers.
“This has enabled us to establish ourselves as a ‘trusted adviser’ with our clients,” he said in an interview last year. “We are also close to our clients. Their opinion matters to us, and we adapt our innovations and develop products according to our clients’ needs.”
In 2023 global software firm Accel-KKR invested in Symfonia, providing a strong boost to its growth strategy. The partnership energized Ciski. “We’re just getting started,” he said. “We have ambitious plans, and with Accel-KKR’s global experience, deep expertise in software, and strong M&A capabilities, we believe we can accelerate our growth and expand our leadership in Poland and beyond even more effectively.”
This investment marked a major milestone in Symfonia’s expansion, coming two years after its carve-out from Sage in 2021. Piotr led the process as a Managing Director, securing investment from Mid-Europa Partners to position Symfonia as an independent entity in Poland.
The growth hasn’t happened by partnering with the largest companies. Instead, Ciski and Symfonia focus on helping “small and medium size companies to focus on their core and let them do what they can do the best,” he said. This is critical in a Polish market where smaller businesses account for two-thirds of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and 70 percent of its employment. Ciski doesn’t just know the rules; he knows the playing field, and Symfonia keeps winning because of it.
