Alexis Pantazis and Emilios Markou of Hellas Direct accepting the award at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Cyprus 2022 ceremony

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Alexis Pantazis and Emilios Markou will head to Monaco in June 2022 to represent Cyprus at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award™.

ATHENS, GREECE, February 22, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Alexis Pantazis and Emilios Markou, Co-Founders and Executive Directors of Hellas Direct, have been named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Cyprus 2022 (EOY) winners.

It was the inaugural EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program in Cyprus and the winners, chosen among nine finalists, are expected to head to Monaco in June 2022 to represent Cyprus at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award™ in Monte Carlo.

The award ceremony was held on February 17th at Limassol and was attended by the President of the House of Representatives, the Minister of Finance, the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, other government officials, as well as the business community.

“Thank you everybody for organizing, thank you to all the fellow finalists, we were really impressed and inspired by what everybody is doing. Thank you to our families, who are here. Obviously it takes a village to set up a business, we’ve been quite lucky to have an amazing team of people behind us and with us, some of them are here tonight. Thank you everybody, it’s a great honor” said Alexis Pantazis.

“After all these years one thing stays at the back of our minds: It’s a wonderful journey, it’s a very enjoyable journey, but it’s a very lonely journey. In order to make this journey happy you need an amazing team and an amazing family. I think all entrepreneurs feel the same. Everyday you need to have your own team behind you and your own family to pat you on the back. Thank you very much” stated Emilios Markou.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ is a unique global program that recognizes entrepreneurial achievement among individuals and companies that demonstrate vision, leadership and success, and work to improve the quality of life in their communities, countries and around the world. The awards are one of the most prestigious and widely recognized business awards globally, with participants from more than 145 cities and 60 countries around the world, and a history of more than 30 years.

About Alexis Pantazis and Emilios Markou

Alexis Pantazis
Alexis Pantazis is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hellas Direct. Prior to Hellas Direct, he was an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs where he led principal investing and new strategic initiatives for the firm in the European investment management field. A former strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, he also worked for Miramax Films in New York and the Competition Directorate General of the European Commission in Brussels. Alexis is a Fulbright and British Chevening Scholar, a Robert & Diane Levy Fellow and an Endeavor Global Entrepreneur.

Emilios Markou
Emilios Markou is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hellas Direct. Prior to Hellas Direct, he was a Director in the European Financial Institutions Structuring team at Barclays Capital. Before that, he was an Executive Director at the Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Division where he led a number of projects within the firm's European insurance practice. A former strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company, Emilios advised a number of European, US and Asian clients on numerous strategic issues in insurance, banking, energy and transportation. Emilios is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (FIA) in the United Kingdom and an Endeavor Global Entrepreneur.

About Hellas Direct
Hellas Direct is a digital-first, full-stack insurance company, empowered by cutting-edge technology and the use of advanced analytics, with activities in Cyprus and Greece. The company is backed by a roster of leading investors, including EBRD, EIB, IFC (a member of the World Bank). This year it was selected for the third time by the Financial Times for its list of 1000 fastest growing companies in Europe.

“As leaders who have advanced the insurance sector, Emilios and Alexis exemplify many of our Entrepreneur Of The Year values. In an unprecedented era for business, our national winners showed an exceptional level of resilience and agility, demonstrating the true spirit of entrepreneurial leadership, pivoting as necessary to keep their commitment to society at the centre, while also continuing to build a successful company rooted in elevating their people and community stakeholders” commented Stelios Demetriou, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Cyprus Lead Partner and Head of Strategy and Transaction Services of EY Cyprus.

Kyriacos Kokkinos, Deputy Minister to the President of Cyprus for Research, Innovation & Digital Policy noted that “these awards are an important milestone in our national business agenda”. “The calibre of entrepreneurs in this programme is truly outstanding. Each and every one of you are the backbone of our economy, supporting and creating jobs, boosting growth, and improving the lives of our citizens”.

“I am incredibly proud that Cyprus at last is going to send someone to the final. Cypriots have entrepreneurial spirit in bucket-loads. Being an entrepreneur is important, as it is a career path that drives the economy” commented Theo Paphitis, Chairman at Theo Paphitis Retail Group, Dragon on Dragons' Den and Chairman of the EOY Cyprus Judging Committee.

Criteria and judging committee
Αn independent panel of distinguished judges selected the winners: Theo Paphitis, Chairman at Theo Paphitis Retail Group and a Dragon on Dragons' Den, Anna Protopapas, President and Chief Executive Officer at Mersana Therapeutics, and Dr. Nikolas Mastroyiannopoulos, Chief Scientist for Research & Innovation of the Republic of Cyprus. There were six main criteria: entrepreneurial spirit, value creation, strategic direction, national and global impact, innovation and purpose-driven leadership.

Elina Nomicou
HELLAS DIRECT
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