Elena Tsoukka: Cyprus’ own ‘Woman to Watch’ on Germany’s private equity scene

A change is as good as rest. Or is it? Elena Tsoukka, Head of Operations at Berlin-based private equity firm KKA Partners, talks about the challenges she faced when changing both career and country.

She also refers to the stigma that motherhood still carries in the corporate world and recognises the significance of her nomination as one of ‘25 Women to Watch’ by Germany’s Business Insider.

Behind Elena Tsoukka, a map of Cyprus decorates a wall: a constant reminder of the connection that binds her to her homeland. The Head of Operations at the Berlin-based private equity firm KKA Partners, tooled up on coffee and brio, is recounting the reasons behind her bold move to walk away from a successful career in banking in her mid-30s and take a leap into the unknown. “I lived through the shipping boom when the Baltic Dry Index was at historic highs – how exciting was that! – and then the recession of the 2010s. I went through a lot and just felt that I’d gone full circle,” the effusive Tsoukka says. “The banking industry was also becoming increasingly regulated and business development was not the same; it became quite difficult to do my job the way I knew how to do it.”

Elena Tsoukka had always been a meticulous planner. Having received a degree in Mathematics from Queen Mary University of London, she was not one to succumb to the temptation of wanderlust that beckoned many university graduates in the UK at the tail end of the ‘90s. Instead, she had a plan – a blueprint for her life, so to speak. She would dive headfirst into the labour market, arm herself with an arsenal of skills, build a niche area in which to operate, and then inject her career with professional qualifications. Since the pursuit of mathematical truths was of an introverted persuasion that clashed with her spirited personality, banking appeared to be a logical sidestep. She got a job at the London branch of Bank of Cyprus. There, she found a sense of purpose, the job itself turning into a source of empowerment, nurtured by supportive managers who helped her ascend the upper rungs of the corporate ladder to become a Relationship Manager, where she was responsible for a portfolio of €500 million in assets, dealing with the wealthy and uber-wealthy.

The interview is taking place via Zoom – Tsoukka says it is a rather dull day in Berlin, whereas the dust-filled air of Cyprus lends a hazy, almost surreal quality to otherwise idyllic weather. “You were the youngest successful relationship manager at the Bank,” I note, and ask, “How does one measure that?” As a touch of red rises on her cheeks, smiling, she says, “Oh, I think that’s purely a matter of age and position. So, putting both together.”

After eight years with Bank of Cyprus, Tsoukka joined Alpha Bank in London as a Private Banking Manager, where she worked for another decade. Hankering for a change, the now seasoned banker also had to deal with a long-distance marriage, as her husband was living and working in Frankfurt, Germany’s business centre. The romanticism and excitement of anticipation that had added a spark to their relationship had transmuted into a yearning for stability. In 2016, she would leave London and the banking sector, moving with her husband to Berlin. Alas, this time around, the plan did not go as smoothly as expected.

In Berlin, she was confronted with a sprawling metropolis split between the purpose-built concrete remnants of communism and contemporary high-rises dressed in glass and steel, where the frenzied rhythms of daily life coalesced into the measured tempo of leisure walks in green-filled parks or by the banks of the Spree, giving rise to an orchestrated chaos pulsing through the city’s very veins, a stark contrast with the constant and forcible motion of London living. Tsoukka found Berlin to be secretly taking its time with her, as though crossing a bustling street, only to look back to see everybody else still standing at the lights.

She takes a sip of coffee from a traditional G. Charalambous cup. “You have to live and explore Berlin to get the business undercurrents, to become involved. Actually, in Berlin, you have to be even stronger and bolder to find these undercurrents than in London,” she says.

She would soon discover Berlin’s vibrant private equity and venture capital scene, which bifurcated from traditional banking like a river splitting into two streams. In the past decade, Germany’s PE and VC industry has more than tripled its assets under management, from €18.6 to €58.5 million. However, the largest economy in Europe lags behind the UK, the US and the Nordics, which can be partly attributed to the German culture of incremental changes, also reflected in the country’s political system of federal democracy. As Tsoukka notes, “Germans just tend to be a bit more conservative.” Her first contact with this new industry resulted in a cultural shock. Unlike the affluent clients she used to advise, startup founders tended to engage with money almost as an afterthought, especially in those initial stages of product development. It took her a long time to wrap her head around their cavalier approach to finance, which might be the main reason why her second try at a career as a consultant ended in failure, while a difficult pregnancy, during which she had to lie down all day long in a constant haze, forced her to reassess her priorities. However, Tsoukka was stubbornly unwilling to give up. While shouldering the constant stress of caring for her newborn, she enrolled in an online intensive 12-week Fintech course run by the University of Oxford’s Said Business School. “After that,” she recalls,” I needed a break since it was like having two full-time jobs!”

In the summer of 2019, while holidaying in Cyprus – Tsoukka would frequently jump on a plane to visit her homeland – she heard through the great grapevine about the startup accelerator and incubator IDEA, which was backed by Bank of Cyprus. Her exposure to the vibrant startup scene of Berlin had left her eager to explore the challenges faced by Cypriot founders in the less-established startup scheme of her native country. When an opportunity arose to become a mentor in the accelerator, she jumped at the chance – proud of her heritage, this was another way to stay connected to Cyprus. “And it was Bank of Cyprus,” she adds. “I’m always very emotional about the bank since it was a great employer for me.”

Meanwhile, Tsoukka continued to put out feelers in Berlin, determined to make it work. In 2020, she was introduced to KKA Partners, a newly-established private equity firm that was focused on what the Germans call ‘Mittelstand’ – mid-sized firms in Germany, Switzerland and Austria that have proven capable of weathering macroeconomic storms – and was looking for a Head of Operations. Both parties were under no illusions about her lack of experience in the role but were committed to taking the risk. “This is why I have so much respect for them,” she mentions. “They gave me the opportunity, saying ‘Let’s try this out and see how it works’.”

After four long years of vicissitudes, Elena Tsoukka finally made it work and, in 2021, she would be nominated by Germany’s Business Insider as one of ‘25 women to watch’, no small feat considering that she’d only been in the country for a handful of years and had just started working in a male-dominated industry. “I did not know this until I joined the industry; I really did not see what the big deal was, but it is – it really is. I’m always a minority. I mean, I go to conferences and it’s 80% men and 20% women,” she says.

A 2019 report by London-based investment data company Preqin, analysing the demographics of more than 280,000 industry professionals, found that only 17.9% of private equity employees worldwide were women, the lowest figure of any asset class. Since then, the percentage increase has not represented a linear progression.

“Why do you think that is the case?” I ask.

Taking off her horn-rimmed glasses, she says, “I think, traditionally, in the PE industry, women were not enabled when they had families; they ended up dropping out to take maternity leave. The moment a woman wants to take what we call here ‘Elternzeit’ (parental leave), there’s a stigma associated: It’s interpreted as meaning that you’re not interested in your career and this is obviously not the case. So, I think a woman is penalised for having taken time out. It’s associated with a certain level of weakness, which is not true. This is changing, especially with men now also taking parental leave, but it’s still an issue.”

There is a question as to what degree the lower representation of women in the industry is reflected by gender-specific differences in career choices and aspirations, but there is limited research specific to the PE industry on the subject. Anecdotally, Tsoukka says that her firm receives applications from mostly male candidates for vacant positions, which has prompted her to launch a mentorship programme for women who want to join the industry or who want to level up. “We have the first cohort now and the mentor is not myself but a partner, I’m very proud to say,” she notes.

Accolades aside, it has been a steep learning curve for Tsoukka. While some of the competencies that were moulded in the service of affluent clients in traditional banking could be utilised by osmosis, there were still gaps needing filling. “I have to admit,” she says, “that the biggest lesson I’ve learned doing this job is that wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, you need to establish and maintain relationships, both internal and external. I used to take this for granted and I do regret it; they play such an important role in what you’re offering and what you’re aiming at.”

Putting that lesson into action, as Head of Operations, besides ensuring the smooth financial and regulatory operation of the firm, Tsoukka wants to keep everyone happy, and as a proud Cypriot, she knows that the way to happiness is often through the stomach. “Cookies in the office work a treat! Almost every morning, I get pastries for my colleagues, and everyone has a little smile on their face, even if they don’t want to admit it,” she says. “Sure, big deals are what the job is about but we forget about the small things – it makes me happy to remind everyone about that. It’s really heart-warming to see that it’s appreciated and that I can empower people and make them happier, reminding them that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Indeed, Tsoukka clearly knows all about life’s ephemeral nature.

This interview first appeared in the May edition of GOLD magazine. Click here to view it.