Chief Architect, GCC Computers Ltd: “Incentives matter!”

Born in Sweden, Per Granath, who has also lived and worked in the UK and Australia, shares his experiences of being in Cyprus and his view of the professional environment here.

Describe your current job in Cyprus.

I discuss network design and other needs with our customers, mainly telcos and other large organisations in Cyprus, that need continuous renewals, upgrades and expansion of their networks to serve their customers. I listen to their needs and present solutions from the vendors that we represent. I also often take part in the early stages of implementation to ensure that the intention of the design is carried through, and then our engineers take over the full installation and support.

What led to your move from Sweden to Cyprus?

My wife was Cypriot. We met in 1998, married in 1999 and, after living in Sweden for a year, we moved to Cyprus in 2000. Unfortunately, she died of cancer in 2016 but I stayed on here with our two kids.

How does the professional environment in Cyprus differ from that in Sweden?

Sweden has many large export-oriented companies (Ericsson, Volvo, Atlas Copco, AstraZeneca, ABB, Spotify, H&M, etc.) that have many suppliers, subcontractors and spinoffs, which means job roles are often more specialised and focused on the global market. Cyprus, on the other hand, apart from having different types of industries, is smaller so there are not enough people around to have specialists for everything. Also, the public sector is a somewhat different world in Cyprus compared to Sweden, where the terms of employment are more or less the same in the private and public sectors (working hours, pensions, redundancies, etc.) so throughout life, people can move between sectors several times. This also means that you expect the same level of service from both. Incentives matter!

How do you view the business environment in your particular industry?

During the 20-odd years that I have been in Cyprus, the telecom industry has been deregulated and is now quite similar to that in all other European countries. The country’s smaller size makes some differences to the networks but, generally, when I meet partners from other countries, I find that we are struggling with more or less the same things.

How do you find working and living in Cyprus? How easily did you adapt to life here?

Twenty years ago, Cyprus was quite different from what it is now, and it was certainly useful to have a Cypriot family explain the ins and outs. The first year, I also studied Greek so as to understand what was going on around me and that helped too. I remember finding Cypriots and Swedes quite similar in that they are relaxed and informal but, at the same time, I also found that meetings could easily go around in circles for a long time before getting to the point, which was quite different!

• Country of origin: Sweden
• Job Title: Chief Architect
• Company: GCC Computers Ltd
• Office Location: Latsia
• Time in Cyprus: 22 years
• Other countries he has lived/worked in: Australia, England
• Favourite restaurant in Cyprus: Peiragmena Restaurant, Lympia
• Favourite bar in Cyprus: Marcello’s Beach Bar, Café, Ayia Napa
• Activities he enjoys in Cyprus: The beach and the mountains

This interview first appeared in the March issue of GOLD magazine. Click here to view it.