Meet Hubert Antoniewicz, the Problem-Solver from Poland

Coming to America wasn’t originally in Hubert Antoniewicz’s plans. After all, with a degree from a top university, a career in his chosen field, and a bevy of family and friends in Poland, at 24, Hubert had life by the tail.

Then his bride of just over three years, Joanna, earned a scholarship to study bio-medical science at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and, without a moment’s hesitation, everything changed.

“This is what you need to know about me: I love my wife,” Hubert says. “Underline that.”

Three years later, Team Antoniewicz is happily settled in Orlando, where the pair are thriving in their unexpected lives in the U.S.

Hubert (pronounced “Hoobert”) joined InCharge in November 2023, as a financial data analyst for InCharge, applying the knowledge earned at the Warsaw School of Economics studying Quantitative Methods in Economics and Information Systems (undergrad) and, for his masters, Big Data – advanced analytics. He was promoted just nine months in, to senior financial data analyst.

“He’s a gem,” says Seiji Shiraishi, Director of Accounting and Finance, “with the kind of a commitment, work ethic, and intellectualism that’s just incredibly unique.”

Hubert credits his homeland — “In Poland, we are very hard-working,” he says — and his upbringing: “My parents” (both lawyers) “told me always hard work will pay off. Show the commitment to do extra, to take additional responsibilities, to be proactive.”

At work, he focuses on finding and solving problems. In collaboration with the IT team, he helped automate a previously manual reports and processes across all departments.

“He saved us hundreds of hours of work down the line, even thousands,” Seiji says. Says Hubert, “Now we have more time for analysis. It’s easier to identify trends and forecast.”

Among the things Hubert likes best about America is its inexhaustible capacity for friendliness. “You can just talk to strangers on the street,” he says. “That’s so surprising to me. We don’t do that (in Poland).”

Hubert’s practical embrace of diversity and inclusion comes naturally. Poland often has been swamped by European territorial disputes.

Nowadays, Poland is home to global companies and hosts wide-eyed tourists. While attending university, Hubert recalls the spicy goulash of tongues spoken on campus and in Warsaw cafes. So, although Joanna and Hubert speak Polish at home, the multicultural environment in Orlando reminds them of home.

While he enjoys his life in the U.S., Hubert does miss certain foods from home like borscht and pierogi.

Borscht is a vibrant red soup made with beets, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onions, and beef or pork, plus garlic, garnished with sour cream.

Piergoi is a dumpling often filled with mashed potatoes, onions, sauerkraut and cheese, but other times stuffed with seasonal berries.

Here’s the catch: Making Pierogi is labor-intensive, and Hubert’s mom, Anna, is selective about her time in the kitchen. Which means Hubert’s dad, Jacek, who loves pierogi, doesn’t often get them homemade.

“So when I am home,” Hubert says, “my dad is always asking me to request them because, he says, ‘I never get any. And she’ll do it for you.’ ”

Good news on the food front: Joanna and Hubert discovered an authentic Polish delicatessen a few minutes’ drive from their place in Orlando. Meanwhile, Hubert confesses a growing weakness for American-style grilled steaks.

Home also brings memories of soccer — playing as a youngster, and sharing Jacek’s passion for FC Barcelona. Why Barcelona? Because Polish soccer wasn’t much to talk about, he says. Also, the Antoniewiczes traveled often. Destinations included Spain, of course. Portugal. Turkey. Egypt. France. Italy. Warm places. Because, although Koszalin, his hometown, is just seven miles from the Baltic Sea, nearby villages are not exactly beach towns.

“The water is always cold,” Hubert says. “It’s not good for swimming.”

Now the Antoniewiczes have found a permanently warm place that’s almost always good for swimming, and they’ve taken up the sorts of things young folks in Central Florida take up: going to the gym, beach days, tennis, visits to the theme parks, the theater, and, now and again, Orlando Magic games.

And here is where the circle closes: While Hubert was a youngster in Poland, the NBA’s Orlando Magic had on its roster one Marcin Gortat, a 6-foot-11 center known as “The Polish Hammer.” Accordingly, six time zones to the east, a young Hubert Antoniewicz did his part to honor his countryman, routinely sporting an Orlando Magic cap.

Sixteen years later, Hubert lives and works and thrives in the city that once kindled his imagination, at a company that welcomes his Poland-nurtured ability to influence productive change.

Some things are just meant to be.