Maria Cristina graduated from the Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest with a degree in Cybernetics. She joined ING Bank in 1996 and was involved in the development and growth of the Retail Banking business line from the beginning, taking on several roles, among which Head of Cash Management, Director Current Accounts and Head of Product Management Retail. Between 2010 and 2014, Maria Cristina held the position of Head of Retail Banking.

Starting August  2014 she decided to take over a new challenging assignment as Chief Operating Officer, successfully managing over 800 people in IT, Operations, Real Estate and Operational Control.