issue 60 pages 1 11
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Gold
ISSUE 60 | march
20, 2016 | ev
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Redefining business success
How CEOs lead in a changing world
© 2016 PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd. All rights reserved
19th Annual Global CEO SurveyKey findings in Cyprus
Visit our website to download the reportwww.pwcceosurvey.com.cy
Under the suneverythingGold
t h e b u s i n e s s m a g a z i n e o f c y p r u s
ISSUE 60 march 20, 2016PrIcE €3.00
529
1295
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77
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5 t h a n n i v e r s a r y i s s u e
PlusintervieWSandrey Dashin
George HadjipierisLoizos Heracleousevy PoumpourasThomas Tandetzki
hotel ManagerS at Work
9 top Managers
on keeping Guests Happy
34 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus
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4 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus
Hotels have always been much more than places to sleep and eat while away from home on business or vacation. Indeed, they have been a popular source of material and locations for films – from Grand Hotel (1932) to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), plays – from Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite to Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, novels – Anita Brookner’s 1984 Booker Prize winner Hotel du Lac
or John Irving’s 1981 tale of the Hotel New Hampshire and music – there can be no-one reading this who can’t sing most of Hotel California by The Eagles.But what are hotels really like? And what is it like to be the person with ultimate responsibility for making sure that guests leave in a positive frame of mind and, perhaps more importantly, will be happy to return?Given Cyprus’ longstanding economic reliance on tourism and the fact that the island has a bed capacity in excess of 87,000 (2014 figure) and more than 150 hotels, we thought that this was the perfect opportunity to get an insider’s view of what it means to be a Hotel Manager. Over and above the huge task of overseeing all the key organisational as-pects – budgeting and financial management, planning, organising and directing all hotel services, including front-of-house (reception, concierge, reservations), food and beverage operations and housekeeping – the peo-ple entrusted with running the island’s hotels need to have a good eye for detail as well as strong business and communication skills, the ability to think on their feet and a sensitive and diplomatic approach to problem solving.The General Manager must also set an example for staff to deliver a standard of service and presentation that meets guests’ needs and expec-tations. In a large hotel, he/she may have less contact with guests but will certainly have regular meetings with heads of department to coordinate and monitor the progress of business strategies. In a smaller establish-ment, the manager is likely to be much more hands-on and involved in the day-to-day running of the hotel, which may even include carrying out reception duties or serving meals if the need arises. Everything under the sun!On the following pages, eleven General Managers (three of whom are responsible for two hotels) give us the benefit of their personal experience of this key position in the hospitality industry, explaining the challenges they face, the management style that they have developed over the years, their highs and lows and the qualities they believe are essential for the job.
| COVER STORY |
Hotel Managers At Work By Artemis Constantinidou & Effy Pafitis
Photos by Andreas Loucaides
Under the sunEVERYTHING
WWHO’S WHO
T H E B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E O F C Y P R U S
I S S U E 6 0 M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 1 6
C O N T E N T S
8 | BUSINESS BRIEFINGEconomic & Business Highlights of the past month. 12 | MY WAY Chrysostomos Papavassiliou
14 | FIVE MINUTES WITH... Harris Georgiades
16 | THEY SAID WHAT? This month’s memorable quotes from Cypriots in the public eye.
OPINION22 | No Greek Tragedy By Dr. Savvas Savouri
46 | Seeing the Glass Half-FullBy Savia Orphanidou
FEATURES18 | Being The BestInterview with Prof. Loizos Heracleous of Warwick Business School.
24 | The Corporate Lawyer and the Lazy DragonGeorge Hadjipieris, advocate, musician and composer.
82 | In the Line of Fire Evy Poumpouras, former US Secret Agent, on her remarkable career.
86 | Free Trade and WelfareBy Tassos Anastasiades
88 | (Tele)communication Breakdown Thomas Tandetzki on the changing face of the telecommunications industry.
92 | Andrey Dashin: Still DreamingInterview with the Russian founder of ForexTime.
COVER STORY
28 | Everything Under the Sun: Hotel Managers at work
Nine General Managers of some of the island’s top hotels give an insider’s view of what it takes to run them well and
ensure guest satisfaction.
8218
110 | IN GOOD COMPANY
Microsoft.
114 | BOOKSHELFFive of the best new business titles.
116 | LUNCH WITH GOLDErato Kozakou-Marcoullis, Former Cypriot Ambassador and Foreign Minister.
119 | BUSINESS CLASSChris Christodoulou, Managing Director, Action Global Communications
120 | WHAT’S ONGold’s guide to the best cultural events of the coming month.
122 | A DAY IN THE LIFEStavros Pantzaris
SPECIAL ADVERTISING
SUPPLEMENT 147 | Cyprus’ Citizenship & Permanent Residence schemes for investorsSixteen companies analyse the
schemes and present their own related services.
operations.
SPECIAL ADVERTISING
SUPPLEMENT 295 | CIBA
Seven members of the Cyprus International Businesses
Association (CIBA) present their products and
services.
88116
Let our experts
find the solution
©2016 KPMG Limited, a Cyprus limited liability company and member of the KPMGnetwork of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (”KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
International, regional and local competitive pressures and the general economic environment create opportunities and risks in the Travel, Leisure and Tourism industry.
Many companies operating in the sector are finding themselves looking for innovative ways to attract new business, improve operating efficiency and increase profitability.
KPMG’s team of industry specialists can help you find ways to overcome challenges including:
• Business strategy
• Expansion, mergers, acquisitions
• Capital investment and returns
• Project financing
• Loan restructuring
• Personnel management and remuneration
• Environmental issues
• Compliance
• Customer Assurance
For more information please contact:
Demetris S. Vakis Board Member Head of Travel Leisure and Tourism T: 22 209301, F: 22 377934E: [email protected]
kpmg.com.cy
6 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus
| EDITORIAL |
John Vickers,Chief Editor
A Time for Celebration
t the end of this month, Cyprus officially exits the economic adjustment programme imposed by the Troika exactly three years ago in return for a €10 million bailout. Despite the fact that the provisions regarding privatisation were not fully adhered to and, as a consequence, an additional tranche of €400 million has not been disbursed, this is not the time for focusing on what was not done when so much clearly has been achieved.
IMF President Christine Lagarde congratulated Cyprus on its “accomplishments under the economic adjustment programme, which has delivered an impressive turnaround” and, while the economy slumped by 5.9% in 2013 and shrank by another 2.5% in 2014, it rose by 1.4% in 2015, and it is forecast to grow by 1.5% this year.
Praise and credit are due to President Anastasiades but, in particular, to Harris Georgiades who, occasionally without the unconditional support he deserved from the Presidential Palace, has proved himself to be a remarkably astute appointment and an exceptionally good Finance Minister. Low-key but firm, he has impressed his European colleagues with his grasp of the issues and his dedication to implementing the Troika’s strict programme and, not surprisingly, they were generous with their praise for his achievements at this month’s special meeting of the Eurogroup.
Over the next two months, we shall all be witnesses to the unsavoury business of parliamentary elections and a campaign that will undoubtedly sink to new lows of populism. The opposition parties will – understandably – do their best to undermine the Government’s achievements, though they will certainly not point to the fact that it is they who were responsible for the Troika’s refusal to make the final payment due to their stance on the privatisation of Cyta. However, nothing can conceal the fact that the Government that came in following Demetris Christofias’ disastrous handling of the economy has succeeded beyond all expectations and deserves recognition for this.
This is not the end, of course, and despite attempts by the once-powerful unions to start flexing their muscles as they used to, reforms must continue and at a much faster pace. We shall be watching developments closely.
And so to a second celebration, albeit a minor one in the grand scheme of things. This issue of Gold is No. 60, marking five years since the magazine first appeared on newsstands. Thanks are due to all of you who have been with us from the start as well as to the thousands of new readers who have joined us along the way. We have been through one of Cyprus’ most difficult periods together and I hope that Gold, like the island’s economy, can continue to grow bigger and better over the next five years. Cheers!
MANAGING DIRECTOR George Michail
GENERAL MANAGER Daphne Roditou Tang
MEDIA MANAGERElena Leontiou
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF John Vickers
JOURNALISTSEffy Pafitis, Artemis Constantinidou
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE Tassos Anastasiades, Savia Orphanidou,
Savvas Savouri
PHOTOGRAPHYEmma Louise Charalambous,
Jo Michaelides, Andreas Loucaides
ART DIRECTION Anna Theodosiou
SENIOR DESIGNERAlexia Petrou
PHOTOGRAPHY Jo Michaelides, Harris Kyprianou
MARKETING EXECUTIVE Kevi Chishios
SALES MANAGER Irene Georgiou
SALES EXECUTIVE Stavros Epifaniou
OPERATIONS MANAGER Voulla NicolaouSUBSCRIPTIONSMyria Neophytou
PRINTERS Cassoulides Masterprinters
CONTACT5 Aigaleo St., Strovolos 2057, Nicosia, Cyprus
Mailing address: P.O.Box 21185, 1503, Nicosia, Cyprus
Tel: +357 22505555, Fax: +357 22679820e-mail: [email protected]
subscriptions: [email protected]
ISSN 1986 - 3543PUBLISHED BY IMH
A
Under the sunEVERYTHING
GOLDT H E B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E O F C Y P R U S
ISSUE 60 MARCH 20, 2016PRICE €3.00
529
1295
0005
77
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5 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y I S S U E
PlusINTERVIEWSAndrey Dashin
George HadjipierisLoizos HeracleousEvy PoumpourasThomas Tandetzki
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HOTEL MANAGERS AT WORK
9 TOP Managers
on keeping Guests Happy
8 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus
CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY
This month the Trident Trust Group celebrates the 20th anniversary of the establishment of its pres-ence in Cyprus, which began on 8 March 1996. Trident Trust was
-
services to become licensed by the Central Bank of Cyprus and in
obtain a licence from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Com-mission under the jurisdiction’s
revised regulatory regime.
SOLON TRIANTAFYLLIDES
Solon Triantafyllides, a Bank of Cyprus chairman and board
member died last month aged 84 after a long illness. Triantafyllides, a chartered accountant, was the
-countants of Cyprus. He joined the BoC board in 1963, became vice chairman in 1979, and served as
chairman between 1988 and 2005. Triantafyllides always regarded
the creation of the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre as his greatest
achievement.
10 YEARS OF HERMES AIRPORTS
marks 10 years of operations and -
cant contribution to the economy, society and tourism of Cyprus”. Currently more than 70 airlines
connecting Cyprus with more than 110 destinations in 40 countries,
serving over seven and a half million passengers annually. The
year celebrations will be a special event featuring the Cyprus Youth
Symphony Orchestra.
Military servicecut to 14 monthsThe Council of Ministers decided on February 25 to reduce the duration of compulsory military service from 24 to 14 months. Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides described the decision as “an important step towards the evolution of the National Guard into a modern semi-professional force with increased capabilities and equipment.” The idea of reducing army service for 18-year-olds has been under discussion for more than a decade.
MILESTONES
BUSINESSBRIEFING
POLITICS
WARGAMING
$1.5 BILLION WARGAMING REDESIGNS ‘MASTER OF ORION’Cyprus-based Wargaming has announced the release of a Collector’s Edition of the new “Master of Orion – Conquer the Stars.” The redesigned new edition of the strategy game is now available. Purchase of the Collector’s Edition, aside from other bonuses, provides players with Early Access to the game. Players also get the three original Master of Orion titles, a detailed digital art book, soundtrack by original Master of Orion composer, retro pixel ships, and an exclusive race for Collector’s Edition holders: the Terran Khanate. Meanwhile, Bloomberg recently valued Wargaming at $1.5 billion and estimated founder Victor Kislyi’s net worth at $1 billion. Nicosia resident Kislyi declined to comment on the valuation, saying only that he has a “very modest” lifestyle and has never tried to put a number on his fortune. Kislyi controls 64% of the Cy-prus-based business in his name and through a 25.5% stake held by his father, according to Wargaming’s
4,000 employees on four continents and revenue of $590 million in 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and estimates by analysts.
NGBUSINESS
Award for EurofastEurofast Global has been named Leading Corpo-rate Adviser of the Year in South East Europe at this year’s Acquisition Inter-national Awards. The awards mark excellence in all areas of corporate business consulting and are voted for by a global network of expert professionals, advisers, clients, peers and industry insiders. Panayiotis Dial-linas, Regional Director of Eurofast, mentioned: “It is great for Eurofast’s professionals to see us standing out for offering corporate advice and shar-ing business intelligence in this area.”
www.goldnews.com.cy | GOLD | 9
EVENT
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FxPro enhances infrastructure with new technology
Online broker FxPro has partnered with Solace Systems to boost the capac-
ity and performance of its messaging infrastructure. Specifically, the company has invested in Solace Message Router Appliances and Sol-ace Virtual Message Routers to power internal and cus-tomer-facing interfaces over wide area networks and via web and mobile devices. Fx-Pro CIO Panayiotis Annivas, commented: “Solace gives us a rock-solid foundation on which we know we can build and grow our business to meet customer demand.”
FXTM launches virtual MasterCard
L imassol-based Forex broker-age firm Forex Time (FXTM)
has unveiled a brand-new withdrawal option for its clients, the FXTM Virtual MasterCard, a prepaid card available in USD and EUR, directly linked to a client’s account, which allows traders to have in-stant payouts to the card. In addition to offering immediate access to with-drawn funds, the it offer traders the convenience of a globally-accepted payout solution, and the ability to easily pay for goods and services online from any-where around the world.
FOREX
FIVE CYPRIOTS ON FORBES BILLIONAIRE LIST
Five Cypriots are included in the latest Forbes World’s Billionaires ranking, led by John Fredriksen, the so-called “Norwegian shipping king” who has Cypriot citizenship and a net worth of some $9 billion. He is placed 133rd on the list. He is followed, some 1,000 places down the rankings by
three members of the Haji-Ioannou family. Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, is at 1,275 on Forbes’ list thanks to a net worth
and their sister Clelia, a billionaire thanks to her stake in
with Turkish Cypriot Suat Gunsel, who founded the Near East University in the occupied areas and the majority of his wealth comes from the university and from the hospital, bank, hotel, gas station, plastics and cable production com-panies he owns under the same name.
WEALTHY
FOREX
LEGION RUN CYPRUS 2016
L egion Run Cyprus 2016 will take place on April 2 at the Latouros Quarries at Dali, Nicosia. This year’s event raises the bar with a more intense course, less running and over 20 obstacles of mud, ice and barbed wire. In fact, 90% of the obstacles have been
changed, giving participants the opportunity to chal-lenge their physical and mental limits, and share epic moments with friends and co-workers. Legion Run is designed to enhance teamwork and camaraderie. Companies have the chance to treat their employees to a premium team building event and benefit from tailored corporate packages. Cyprus is the first stop of the Legion Run tour. This year the team-oriented chal-lenge expands to new markets, including Paris, Cap Decouverte, Brittany, Lyon, Tel Aviv and Hong Kong. Born just a few years ago in Cyprus, Legion Run is the fastest-growing obstacle course brand in Eastern and Central Europe. Nearly 40,000 people have already challenged themselves in Legion Run events and their number is constantly growing.
10 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus
BUSINESSBRIEFING
UCY TECH PROJECT SCOOPS INTERNATIONAL AWARD
A University of Cyprus student project has gained international recognition, having been evaluated ninth of 50
projects submitted in the global IEEE Com-Soc Student Competition entitled “Com-munications Technology Changing the World”. The students developed Proximaid, an innovative smartphone app that aims to help save lives in emergency situations. It is capable of operating without a connection to a network infrastructure and enables communication between a network of mo-bile phones without them being dependent on existing telecommunication provider networks. The app is currently implement-ed on Android devices that support Wi-Fi Direct functionality to enable multimedia exchange (i.e., text, pictures, and video) di-rectly between devices.
REAL ESTATE
Property sales rise in February
54% during February 2016 com-pared to the same period last year
-lished by the Department of Lands
and Surveys on March 7.
follows a 2% rise in January and a 13% rise in December 2015.
February saw a total of 501 con-tracts for the sale of commercial
and residential properties and land
recorded since May 2014.
Imperio Launches Ivy Residences
With immediate access to the central avenues and the centre of Limassol, Imperio’s new project
Ivy Residences will soon be
Nectarios area. With remarkable views, especially from the top
modern architectural lines and
six apartments designed in the
of the project will be decorated with vertical planting, doing justice to the name Ivy Residences. The
apartment building is due for completion in October 2017.
Sea Caves Residences from Aristo
the latest addition to its vast property portfolio, the Sea Caves
adjacent to the remarkable sea cave formations near Coral Bay. “Everything about this project makes a statement of taste,
in a statement, revealing that the residences are inspired by
Mediterranean living and traditional Cypriot architecture. The project
comprises six private homes, featuring spacious designs,
versatile living space, the large balconies, shady pergolas, open
terraces, gardens and private swimming pools.
D. Zavos Group Members Club
The prominent Cypriot real estate
Group has decided to launch a Members Club for all its clients. The Members Club card will give
customers the opportunity to discover new establishments in
privileged pricing and discounts
-rants, cafes, bars, boutiques,
wine bars and Spas across Cy-prus as well as a private hospital, which provides a variety of medi-
cal treatments.
TECHNOLOGY BEST YEAR FOR TOURISM SINCE 2001Cyprus recorded a 4.4% increase in key tourism revenue in 2015, the sector’s best earnings since 2001, according to
reached €2.11 billion last year, up from €2.02 billion in 2014. The increase was fuelled by a decade-high surge of 2.1 mil-lion tourist arrivals in 2015 – a jump of 8.9% on the previous year. Revenues for the month of December alone increased by 20.4% from €43.7 million in 2014 to €52.6 million. Income
CHARLIE AIRLINES TO LAUNCH IN CYPRUSlaunch a new airline in Cyprus that will operate routes within
The airline initially planned to start operations this spring, but had to postpone the launch due to strict EU regulation.
The air carrier will be set up by S7 co-owners together with Cypriot investors, whose names have not been revealed. S7 shareholders will account for 40% of the ownership.
“HELLO ATHENS” From 1 March 2016, Emirates has extended its Dubai-
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Emirates held a cocktail party
-ing which guests were welcomed by Emirates Country Man-
TOURISM
www.goldnews.com.cy | GOLD | 11
tel: +30 210 4294 404 [email protected] www.register-iri.com
IRI Hellas Ltd.
JURISDICTIONOF CHOICE
THE MARSHALL ISLANDSCorporate Registry
CYPRUS EXITS ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMME
P resident Nicos Anastasiades and Fi-nance Minister Harris Georgiades offi-cially announced that Cyprus’ exit from the economic adjustment programme, which was approved at a Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, will come into
effect on March 31. Both men warned, however, that the serious efforts made over the past three years must continue, noting that although the country has come a long way and left the recession behind, much remains to be done. Cyprus is the fourth eurozone member state to exit its bailout following Ireland, Spain and Portugal. The island used €7.25 of the total €10 bil-lion earmarked in the financial bailout. The Eurogroup commended the Cypriot authorities for the successful implementation of the programme and the important achievements made in the past three years.
CYCLING
ELIZABETH SPEHARElizabeth Spehar replaces Lisa Buttenheim as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the
Spehar was previously head of
Department.
PEOPLE
AMALIA HADJIMICHAEL
as Monitoring and Compliance
until 2007, after which she was a
Ltd.
NATASA PILIDES The new Director-General of the
of Baker Tilly Klitou, in charge of the several departments for Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova.
ECONOMY PEOPLE
Ltd.
RECORD PARTICIPATION IN VW CYCLING TOUR
The island’s most important Road Cycling event, the Volk-swagen Cyprus Cycling Tour, will be staged for the 5th con-secutive year from April 1-3, 2016. Paphos will host the event, with the start and finish of all three days of the taking place in Castle Square. Last
year, a record number of 224 professional, semi-ama-teur and amateur cyclists took part, a number which is expected to be exceeded this time. Many Cypriot busi-ness executives, who are amateur cyclists, participate in the event. The VW Cycling Tour will cover 247.4 kilometres in three days of competition. Media Sponsor of the event is Reporter newspaper. More info at www.cyclingcy.com