An interview with Alexandros Kalomiros

Company: Apopsis – S.M.R.
Location: Athens, Greece
Position: CEO

Where did you learn the basics of running a business?
Studying at University gave me the first knowledge about running a business. However it was the real everyday life of our company and that of our client’s companies that contributed the most to learning the basics of running a business.

Whom did you work with before becoming a Consultant?
After some part-time jobs as a student and a small period at an investment services company, I took the opportunity to set up and run a small local branch of an investment services firm. After three years in that position, I decided with my partner Pepi Theodorou to start a consulting firm at which we would both contribute our specialisation in business and finance on one hand and statistics on the other.

What will you do in ten years?
I wish that Apopsis SMR will have grown and evolved in new fields and competences. By that time I expect that as a grown-up, the firm will need less “parental supervision” from us and that a lot of things will be happening without our interference… Therefore I would also like to have time to devote to my future family. By then I hope that Apopsis SMR will have evoluted much more that it is today and that in the mean time, a lot of new people will have joined the firm.

What kind of people do you like to work with?
People, who are ready to contribute ideas, discuss all issues, acknowledge problems and setbacks, people who are not afraid to speak their mind and bring up solutions. I like to work with people having a sense of humour and being willing to accept new ideas, new procedures, new ways of doing things.

Is there someone whom you would describe as intelligent?
I have met some extraordinarily brilliant people in the past. However, as I gain in experience, I tend to reach the conclusion that there are many different kinds of extraordinary intelligence, which cannot be compared with each other. Some of the most intelligent people I have met, astonished me with their acute perception in difficult issues in one filed and their failure to understand much more basic issues in another.

After working many years as a consultant you managed many projects. Are there real special ones among them?
Each project I’ve worked on has added something to what I know, to what I can do, has contributed to a more complete and global attitude on the way things are. Those who are really special in my opinion are those that have an international aspect, because apart from getting to know different things, you get to know different mentalities and ways of working.

Because we enjoy working together with professionals from other countries, learn more about their culture and the way they are doing things, exchange ideas and exploit opportunities beyond the limits of national borders. Furthermore, I would like to contribute to create an international network of friends in different countries.