Lucia Costea (CEO Secom): AI can make us faster. Leadership must make us better

Lucia Costea is Co-founder & CEO of Secom Healthcare Group, a Romanian entrepreneurial company that has spent more than 22 years building an integrated health and prevention ecosystem around science, education and specialised retail.

Today, Secom combines its international Exclusive Imports portfolio with its own Good Routine brand and the Secom Health Store network.

In this interview, Lucia Costea explores how AI can create more space for better leadership, stronger teams and more valuable human interaction.

Which human leadership qualities will become more valuable within Secom as AI becomes more capable?

As AI becomes more capable, judgment, empathy, critical thinking and personal responsibility become even more valuable.

The real risk is not that AI will make leadership less important, but that leaders may outsource thinking together with the tasks.

At Secom, we want leaders who ask better questions, challenge assumptions, create clarity and have the courage to make decisions. AI can accelerate analysis and offer additional perspectives, but people must still decide what matters, understand the human context and take responsibility for the outcome.

How is AI helping Secom managers spend more time developing employees?

For us, the opportunity is not simply to use AI to do more work, but to create more time for the work that benefits most from human judgment, creativity and connection.

By reducing time spent on routine administration and information processing, AI creates more space for coaching, meaningful feedback and development conversations. Ultimately, we want leaders to spend less time managing tasks and more time building capable, autonomous teams.

How does Secom use technology to support employee performance?

We use technology to increase people’s capacity, not to replace leadership or thinking. Digital tools help us make information easier to access, simplify processes and support better decisions. But sustainable performance still comes from continuous learning, autonomy, clear accountability and honest feedback.

Technology can give people better tools, but it doesn’t replace the conversations and behaviours that make teams perform well. Leaders must create the environment in which people use the tools well and keep challenging how things can be done better.

How do you maintain a strong team culture at Secom in an AI world?

The faster technology moves, the more deliberately we need to invest in human connection and honest dialogue.

At Secom, one of our leadership principles is to create space for people to speak openly, challenge constructively and take ownership. Our one-to-one conversations, Town Halls and monthly Open Talks help us keep priorities transparent and stay connected to what matters most: our people and the customers we serve.

AI changes workflows, but trust, belonging and a shared sense of purpose are still built human to human.

Which leadership quality do you believe no technology will ever replace?

Accountability. Technology can analyse, recommend and increasingly help us make better decisions, but it cannot assume responsibility for their consequences.

Leadership means being willing to listen, challenge your own assumptions, make a judgment when there is no perfect answer and say: this was my decision, and I am accountable for it.

Which decisions inside Secom will always remain under direct human control?

AI can support research, analysis and scenario building, but it does not independently make decisions at Secom.

Human experts and leaders remain accountable for decisions, especially those concerning consumer health, product quality and safety, our team members, company values or strategic direction. In areas where the consequences matter deeply, responsibility must remain human.

How is Secom helping customers turn their growing interest in prevention into consistent and healthier daily habits?

Prevention becomes meaningful when it moves from good intention to consistent daily behaviour.

People have never had access to more health information, but more information does not automatically create healthier behaviour. Our 2026 Prevention in Romania research, developed with ISRA Center, shows that AI is rapidly becoming a more important source of health information, while doctors and pharmacists remain an important reference point. This makes the ability to navigate and validate health information increasingly important.

Our role is to make that journey easier. Secom Health Store offers a carefully curated, validated and diverse portfolio of products that support healthier lifestyles, combined with personalised consultancy that helps consumers navigate an increasingly crowded and often confusing health information landscape.

Our role is not simply to offer more choice, but to filter the noise, bring relevant information together and translate it into recommendations that are meaningful for each individual.

This autumn, we will take that approach further with new developments designed to enable even more personalised guidance and better-informed health choices.

What is the latest Secom product our readers should learn about?

We have several new launches worth watching.

One of our recent Good Routine launches is Mag-10 Complex, a formula combining 10 complementary forms of magnesium. We developed it around a very relevant modern need, supporting normal nervous system and muscle function, energy metabolism and reducing tiredness and fatigue in a format that fits naturally into everyday routines. It reflects our broader approach to innovation: science-based formulas designed around real consumer needs.

On the Secom Exclusive Imports side, we are also introducing ProSorb by Solaray, a new US range developed around one of the key challenges in supplementation: how effectively active ingredients are absorbed and used by the body. The range brings together advanced formulations and technologies designed to support better absorption and bioavailability, including ingredients using the patented Phytosome® delivery system. It is another example of the type of innovation we look for internationally: not simply more ingredients, but smarter formulations that can deliver meaningful added value to consumers.

What does a human-driven future mean for Secom?

A human-driven future means using technology to make us more capable without making us less responsible, less curious or less connected.

If AI gives us more capacity, the important question is what we choose to do with it. At Secom, we want that capacity to translate into better decisions, stronger teams and better experiences for the people who trust us with their health.