Sara Gunnervik: “Cyprus is agile… We can make a lot with little”

Sara Gunnervik, Office Managing Partner at KENDRIS Cyprus, reveals how the company has fared since opening its Larnaka office five years ago and hails Cyprus as an ideal destination to do businesses. “We are going from a relatively primitive economy, to starting to offer a stimulating environment and a maturing ecosystem for innovation and new businesses,” she tells CBN, adding that investing early in local talent is vital in continuing this progress.

Can you tell us more about your company, when you were established in Cyprus and how many offices / members of staff you currently have?

KENDRIS opened its office in Larnaka five years ago, but KENDRIS Group can trace its history back almost 100 years.

For wealthy individual clients or families (including families with their own family office), we offer solutions for day-to-day business, including financial and regulatory.

For corporate customers, from owner-managed companies, to start-ups, SMEs and group companies - we offer services in the areas of accounting, payroll accounting, taxes and complex accounting issues.

Our fully owned subsidiary, KENDRIS Capital, offers fund management services to institutions as well as to private clients. We also offer bespoke specialty services, such as aviation management, art management, independently valued investments, ESG reporting etc.

KENDRIS Group has approximately 30 employees in Cyprus.

What do you believe sets your company apart from its competition?

We hold the values of transparency, independence, and excellence high. We aim for our service offering to further these values. We implement through digital solutions and strong entrepreneurship. I will give you some examples:

Transparency: We offer a digital client portal where our clients can follow the life of their structures and their performance 24/7.

Independence: We are not connected to, or dependent on, any bank, equity owner or institution which may influence us. We are a management owned company. We provide our clients with independently evaluated investment reporting on their wealth and wealth structure. With correct and precise information, without distracting "noise" at hand, you are able to make the right decisions.

Excellence: We use digital means to provide personal service. Our use of digital solutions in our service offering gives us the opportunity to deliver fast service in a fully transparent way.

How has your experience of doing business in Cyprus been and would you recommend it to other foreign interest companies looking to relocate?

KENDRIS has had a very positive experience of doing business in Cyprus, and the Cyprus office has grown rapidly into the biggest branch outside of Switzerland. Our Cyprus office has become a hub which closely supports and works with our office in the DIFC, along with our offices in Switzerland. Cyprus combines strong and agile talent with decent operational costs and a convenient location in terms of time zone and proximity to clients.

I have personally worked in Cyprus for over 20 years. Cyprus is my chosen home and I love this island. Cyprus is agile. Being small, we can develop and embrace change faster than larger economies. We can make a lot with little. Cypriots are one of the most agile and resilient people I have experienced. Adaptation is embedded in the culture. Cypriots are fighters, and survivalists, which is reflected in the financial business community.

Over the last few years, I saw a beautiful transformation. We are going from a relatively primitive economy, to starting to offer a stimulating environment and a maturing ecosystem for innovation and new businesses, capable of serving the next generations.

To continue to be an ideal place for international businesses Cyprus needs to further push for and develop talent. Talent will increasingly be a commodity of high value all over the world. Without talent, businesses cannot thrive. The international battle over talent has already begun.

Cyprus has the potential to create excellent agile and resilient talent. We need to invest in our talent early. We have much to do in our schools. All children must be given an open and modern education focusing on skills that are needed in the future. We are far from there right now.

Young professionals need exposure and experience. In a small marketplace it is difficult to achieve that level of experience and exposure. The effect is that the talented move to larger markets to achieve their full potential. Thus, talent is easily drawn away. A challenge for Cyprus will be to retain the excellent talent we created.

Cyprus urgently needs international banking, and we need the government and its authorities to speed up its digitalization even further.

What is your view of your sector (locally and on a global level) both as it is today and its potential for growth?

Ultra-high net worth families continue to become more and more international. People no longer stay in one country. People own assets and operate in many countries. The need for management and administration of international wealth will continue. The requirements for international reporting will only grow.

Our sector has undergone and will undergo much change. The non-independent fiduciary firm connected to a law firm or an audit firm, working manually with non-experts are gasping for their last gasp of air before they die. They do not have what it takes for what the current and future client will require. The sector in its new form can grow, but the sector as it used to be in Cyprus will die out.

With the sector "in its new form" I mean, digitally transparent solutions, having automatic, less labor-intense solutions combined with expert staff working closely with customers, independent services allowing to build the best solutions for the client and not for the company itself.

Where do you see your company in five years? Are there any immediate plans for your company you can reveal to us, for example new products, services, plans for expansion?

We are most proud of our rapid expansion and growth in Cyprus over the last 5 years, and we are very thankful to all members of the Cyprus business community who have helped us and stood by us these years.

In five more years, we will be more active in the local market by offering our business support services to the Cyprus community. We will continue to be successful in our core business as an international multi-family office, and KENDRIS Capital will continue on their way to becoming one of the larger fund managers (AIFMs) on the island.

KENDRIS will continue to focus on quality of service. Excellence will always be a core value. We're now focused on developing services for the next generations, such as digitalization of support services, collection and vetting of comparable financial data, ESG data, expertise within new asset classes (such as digital assets), collective investment platforms etc.

How much focus do you put on CSR and being part of the local community?

KENDRIS has a strong footing in the local business community, being active members of various business organisations etc. I act as a board member of the Larnaka Chamber of Commerce, with a strong vision of furthering the development of Larnaka.

We do support various CSR initiatives, where we also may act as an advisor.

Providing business support services to international entrepreneurs, we provide ESG reporting on portfolios of assets. Our clients can see the current footprint of their assets, and they have access to ESG evaluations of international companies that they might be contemplating investing in.