Nicolae is Adviser to the President of Eximbmarkets. He has also been involved in different working groups and initiatives aimed at developing the local capital markets.

Nicolae started his career in ING Bucharest as a management trainee in 1998 and spent the following 8 years in the Treasury Department of the bank, where he reached the position of Deputy Sales Director. In 2007, he joined Erste Bank Vienna as Structured Product Sales Coordinator for Romania.

From 2008 to 2012, as the Chief Investment Officer of Erste Asset Management, Nicolae brought his own contribution to the development of the local mutual funds industry, by promoting high professional standards and by introducing new financial products. Every year, the mutual funds managed by Nicolae received awards for best performance in the industry.

In March 2012, Nicolae became the Chief of Cabinet of the Secretary of State responsible for Treasury and Public Debt in the Ministry of Public Finance. From this position, he coordinated the drafting of the Public Debt Management Strategy For 2012-2014 and the amendment of legislation for primary dealers, further boosting the development of the local government bonds market.

In August 2012, Nicolae set up a company which provided consultancy services in banking, asset management, private banking and capital markets. One year later, Nicolae became part of the new management team of EximBank Romania, joining the efforts to restructure and develop the activities of the bank.

Nicolae is member of the Financial Markets Association since 2000 and member of CFA Romania since 2006, where he served as Board Member in 2011. In 2011, Nicolae attended the Aspen Young Leadership Program. As a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania, he was awarded a Diploma for contribution to AmCham capital markets activities in 2012. From June 2013 to December 2014, he was the rapporteur of the Capital Markets Task Force within the Coalition for the Development of Romania.

Nicolae holds a B.Sc. in International Business and Economics since 1998 and attended a Master in Political Science at the National School for Political and Administrative Studies between 2010 and 2012.