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Four CEOs of large companies and organisations spoke about the definition of success, the challenges they faced both at the beginning and during their careers, and also the lessons they learned from their difficulties and mistakes in their career path, in the framework of the Inspire 2024 festival of entrepreneurship.
In an impressive “not your run-of-the-mill panel” on the 33rd floor of 360 Nicosia, the tallest building in the capital, the CEO and Managing Director of ECOMMBX, Michael Charalambides, the CEO of Cyta, Andreas Neocleous, the Executive Director, Cyfield Group of Companies, George Chrysochos and the Director, Founder and Shareholder, Aphentrica Marine Insurance Brokers, Anna Vourgos shared their experiences and what they define as professional recognition.
One thing they all pointed out is that success is defined by each individual, urging anyone who wishes to engage in the field they desire and succeed, not to allow anyone to “clip” their wings by discouraging them.
The interesting discussion with a view of Nicosia was moderated by Louis Patsalides and Pan Dragomir.
Michael Charalambides: Discipline, love and a little madness
A collection of experiences, variety, dedication and persistence are just some of the ingredients that can lead to success, according to ECOMMBX CEO Michael Charalambides, who pointed out that the cocktail of discipline, love and a bit of madness can have beneficial results in every entrepreneur’s path to recognition.
An integral part of the puzzle of success, for him, seems to be, in addition to hard work, someone’s faith in themselves and their strengths.
“Listen to yourself more, what you want, what you think, without allowing anyone to discourage you from your next step or dream,” he said.
Referring to the importance of the team and the healthy working environment, he emphasised that his goal was to create a project in which those who are part of it feel good and envision creating new things.
“I dreamed of a space in which the workers produce while loving their work, the environment, feeling their colleagues are like their family,” Michael Charalambides said.
Regarding ECOMMBX’s entry into the fintech industry, which may have initially seemed like a difficult undertaking, but also the further expansion into other markets, with the simultaneous offering of new services and products, he noted that a constant concern is differentiation and identifying the gap in market.
Andreas Neocleous: “Find a way to fulfill yourself with everything you do”
For someone to be considered professionally successful, they must like their work and find it fulfilling, emphasised Cyta CEO Andreas Neocleous, noting that the secret for every professional is to identify, even in the most seemingly boring work, the elements that he likes them in order to respond correctly and perform it with zeal.
Although the transition from the private sector to the semi-public sector was difficult for him, he nevertheless expressed gratitude for being transferred to what he described as the best semi-government organisation.
“Cyta realised on its own that it needed to change and it just needed someone to give it a push,” he said, noting that the organisation has evolved and that market shares are self-evident of consistent public preference.
Andreas Neocleous also welcomed the fact that a significant number of subscribers who might have chosen another provider end up returning to Cyta, recognising the quality and level of service provided.
George Chrysochos: Diversification is a big wager
It would be easy for him, as he said, to walk on the carpet laid by his father, Kyriakos Chrysochos. However, the Executive Director, Cyfield Group of Companies, George Chrysochos chose, through his own experience and knowledge, to try to bring something different to the industry, explaining that diversification is a big wager and the creation of new achievements.
“One of the lessons I learned is that we need to change the industry, to create projects and infrastructures of key importance for Cyprus,”he pointed out, referring both to the first private power plant in the Cypriot market and to the vision for the centre of Nicosia, changing and upgrading it.
Asked about the second generation of the business, to which he belongs, George Chrysochos said that although he could be complacent and simply continue an already successful course, he nevertheless preferred to try harder and bring about new conditions that capture the development and evolution of the group.
At the same time, he referred to his choice, after finishing his studies, to work in a consulting company, build his own resume and collect his own experiences in order to later lead a large group.
“Experiences and creating a strong opinion based on those experiences are what make a proper entrepreneur and lead to success,” he emphasised.
Anna Vourgos: Success is not measured by the yardstick of others
“Don’t let anyone kill the child in you or tell you that you can’t achieve your goal or dream,” was the clear message/advice of Director, Founder and Shareholder, Aphentrica Marine Insurance Brokers, Anna Vourgos, which explained that success for each person cannot be measured by the measure of someone else.
“The path is ours, not others’. We have the opportunity to break down the standards for what success is after all,” she noted.
After a long career in the shipping industry, what she described as a male-dominated field, she explained that she did not allow herself to feel disadvantaged.
“I didn’t allow myself to feel disadvantaged, I didn’t give myself the right to be made to feel weak, and possibly the fact that I was going against this male-dominated environment helped me to survive,” Vourgos said.
In her exhortation to young children, young entrepreneurs, but also anyone who aims for professional recognition, as he always can define it, he advised them to keep the child in them, to dream, to persevere and to identify the themselves the ingredients and definition of success, without being influenced or deterred by the opinions of others.
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