Christiana Aristidou and Monica Ioannidou Polemitis come together to create Hybrid

“Monica has these unique traits that made me believe a partnership of this kind would only prove to be successful,” Christiana Aristidou says, causing her business partner, Monica Ioannidou Polemitis, to blush ever so slightly. “I have been keeping an eye on how she behaves as a businesswoman, from her ethical approach to her expertise,” she adds.

Ioannidou Polemitis has been a fixture in consultancy for a couple of decades, working with big firms seeking digital transformation and, in early 2024, with a little nudge from Aristidou, she struck out on her own, to launch technology consultancy Hybrid ConsulTech. For Ioannidou Polemitis, working in technology has been a fountain of intellectual youth, as she constantly reinvents herself to keep pace with rapid developments – a pace that keeps picking up speed. Aristidou, on the other hand, made a bold move that few in her position would dare, by leaving a partnership in her family’s law firm to start a tech-focused LLC – The Hybrid LawTech Firm – in the mid-2010s. The duo have now combined their distinct yet complementary expertise to create a one-stop shop that guides clients through the entire lifecycle of the adoption, development and implementation of emerging technologies. “Our collaboration is about more than just our individual passion and strengths – it’s about addressing the needs of a digital world that is still evolving and needs to evolve faster with safety,” Aristidou explains.

It is important to mention that while the individual entities – Hybrid ConsulTech and The Hybrid LawTech Firm – will continue to cover the full spectrum of their services in their respective fields, this collaboration targets emerging technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence and the convergence of such technologies. “Hybrid isn’t just a name; it represents the seamless fusion of our respective skills and the broad spectrum of innovative services we offer,” Aristidou explains. “Our clients can expect and will receive a holistic approach that covers everything from strategy and compliance to financing and development, all under one roof.” This could mean advising a digital payments company that needs to identify new market opportunities or offer innovative payment solutions and may need a technology infrastructure enhancement which simultaneously means legal and regulatory compliance with PSD3, the Data Act for data sharing agreement, or AML compliance. It could also mean a traditional bank that decides to offer digital banking services, modernise its systems, design user-friendly digital products navigating the complex banking regulations such as Basel III, GDPR, the Data Act, the upcoming eIDAS regulation and digital signatures and implement robust cybersecurity measures. It would certainly mean an EMI providing cross-border payments that wishes to implement and add blockchain-enabled solutions such as implementing a cryptocurrency payment gateway/option for merchants or exploring partnerships with international banks and payment networks. Also, it could be a project that tokenizes real-life assets on DLTs and offers the tokens to the public, or a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) that needs to implement specific governance principles and aligned blockchain architecture. These days, many Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) need to comply with MiCAR and the upcoming AML Package but, at the same time, they understand that they need to optimise their trading platform. “And we have a couple of funds wishing to digitise their investment processes or tokenise their shares and units and change their documents and agreements,” Aristidou notes. Among these, startups would also benefit, as they often leverage emerging technologies and use alternative financing methods such as crowdfunding and tokenisation for their capital needs and financing rounds.

Aristidou says, “Our collaboration’s value lies in combining our unique skills to tackle challenges, mitigate risks, ensure compliance and drive long-term success. On her part, Ioannidou Polemitis stresses that strategic and financial implications are equally important in their calculations. “So, we guide them along the right route in a rapidly evolving emerging technologies business environment. There are multiple ways to get from point A to point B – different methods, budgets and so on. Our strength lies in helping clients pinpoint where they need to go and how best to get there,” Ioannidou Polemitis adds.

Nonetheless, emerging technologies face vast regulatory unknowns, prompting caution from businesses despite recognising their potential and this is where this partnership enters to clear the air. Aristidou is part of a CEN-CENELEC (EU standardisation bodies) committee to provide technical solutions on compliance when placing an AI product on the market following the launch of the EU AI Act. She is also the head of the national delegation at ISO/TC 307, a body that aims to standardise blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, and they are both active in the Blockchain Climate Institute, a think-tank concerned with deploying emerging technologies for sustainability and climate actions.

In 2023 and 2024, the EU Innovation Scoreboard, an annual report evaluating the innovation performance of the bloc and selected third countries, ranked Cyprus as a “Strong Innovator.” Still, there were several metrics where the country lagged significantly behind its peers, particularly in business R&D spending. While the local business world has embraced the cloud wave, investments in emerging technologies remain sparse. Of course, Cyprus is not alone here, with several EU countries facing similar issues. So, their collaboration is centred on capacity building, which involves educating the market through a variety of initiatives, including webinars, workshops and specialised courses for both private and public institutions – they have already provided training to several regulators in Cyprus and Greece, which form the immediate focus of the collaboration, with Europe in their sights and eventually the Middle East.

The broader economic landscape across Europe presents unique challenges, as high inflation has shifted business priorities from growth to conservation. Interestingly, the European Commission has recently linked the bloc’s economic stagnation to low R&D investment and urged increased spending to halt the spiral of sluggish economic growth. For Ioannidou Polemitis, this echoes the adage “innovate or die” and she highlights another famous business saying that “every economic cycle brings opportunities.” However, there’s a significant caveat: to capitalise on these opportunities, companies must avoid throwing good money after bad. This often occurs when companies fail to fully understand how to properly develop and deploy technologies – emerging or otherwise. “As consultants,” she mentions, “this is always our primary concern.” Evidence shows that when done right, technologies like blockchain and AI boost revenue and cut costs but a less-known boon is their enhanced security. Blockchain’s decentralisation, cryptography and transparency, along with AI’s predictive analytics, offer major improvements over legacy systems, akin to upgrading from a padlock to a smart security system. “Companies are afraid to use these technologies, thinking they are not secure, but in reality, it is the opposite,” Aristidou states.

The two firms’ commitment to innovation is not limited to consulting and legal services. Their deep connection with academia, both locally and internationally, allows them to bridge the gap between industry and research. “This connection is vital for driving innovation and it’s not exploited to the fullest in Cyprus. We can bridge the two worlds – academia and industry – which often speak two very different languages” Ioannidou Polemitis notes. The duo’s good standing with universities has also created a network of researchers to leverage for internal R&D projects: Hybrid is not just a partnership but a platform for innovation and growth, offering services that Hybrid ConsulTech and The Hybrid LawTech Firm couldn’t provide alone. “Innovation and R&D are in our DNA,” says Ioannidou Polemitis. “We don’t just advise on innovation; we live it, continually evolving to provide the most advanced solutions for our clients.”

(Photo by Giorgos Charal)

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