London-based Christos Karaolis on why he welcomes and supports the President’s “brain gain” initiative

Christos Karaolis studied law and trained as a barrister but he has made a name for himself as a partner at top global management consulting firm Bain & Company.

He operates in the financial services sector, advising managers and recruiting the next generation of corporate leaders. Karaolis is also President of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK, an organisation which represents the British Cypriot diaspora to the governments of both the UK and Cyprus.

He recently talked to GOLD magazine about his own success as well as his thoughts on Cyprus' financial services sector and President Nikos Christodoulides' effort to encourage a 'brain gain' brining highly-skilled overseas Cypriots back to Cyprus.

You originally studied law and qualified as a barrister. What made you enter the financial services sector rather than continuing in the profession you had trained in?

Whilst I enjoyed the problem-solving dimension of law, it is a very solitary profession. I get a huge amount of energy from working with others to crack cases and that’s what drew me to consulting – problem solving as part of a team. So, after qualifying as a barrister I applied to join Bain and have stayed there ever since.

Were there any particular challenges you faced on entering a sector with which you were relatively unfamiliar?

Having not originally done a degree in Finance or trained in the financial services sector, I had to learn about it from scratch. Thankfully, the training programmes at Bain and, of course, the on-the-job coaching that I received, helped me to rapidly get up the curve and become successful.

From your experience in financial consulting, what do you think Cyprus needs to do differently to become a stronger player in this area?

Given its size, Cyprus is already a major player in the regional financial services sector. To continue this growth, it will ultimately come down to increasing market confidence, ensuring that there is a skilled talent pipeline and the required technology infrastructure is in place. A lot of the reforms that are currently under way (e.g. tackling corruption, upgrading the Cyprus brand, efforts to speed up the legal process, etc.) will help create confidence. Building the talent pipeline and technology infrastructure are obviously more systemic, multi-year issues requiring both investment and a join-up of business and education.

As a partner at Bain & Company responsible for recruitment, what leadership skills – soft and hard – does the new generation of managers need?

A core competency of managers will always be the ability to motivate and mobilise a team to intellectually crack a problem and deliver results. However, given the changing expectations of the next generation (the desire to balance work vs. lifestyle, remote working, etc.), the best managers will be those that can manage these expectations to attract, nurture and retain the very best talent.

President Christodoulides is launching a ‘brain gain’ campaign to bring Cypriots working abroad back to Cyprus. What is your opinion of this initiative, which is initially aimed at attracting UK Cypriots?

I wholeheartedly welcome and support the President’s “brain gain” initiative to encourage Cypriot talent to return. I’ve seen first-hand how many Cypriot students, especially since 2013, decided to stay and work in London and, ultimately, this may have had an impact on Cyprus’ productive capacity. However, the President’s initiative shouldn’t just be about financial incentives but, rather, about what Cyprus has to offer in terms of well-paid jobs, technological advancements and a high-performance, forward-thinking business culture.

Of course, given the size of the UK-Cypriot diaspora, as well as some of the economic challenges in the UK, it’s quite possible that some Cypriots will choose to return.

How do you think Brexit has impacted the UK five years on? Has it had any lasting effect on the finance sector?

Even those who were the strongest advocates of Brexit in the UK five years ago acknowledge that the promised benefits have not been delivered. Given the strong trade, economic and political links between the EU and UK, it was always going to be a challenge to deliver on the promises. Indeed, polling data by the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK, demonstrates that an overwhelming majority of UK Cypriots favoured remaining in the EU. However, we must accept outcome of the referendum. The UK has certainly seen an economic impact from its decision to leave the trading bloc that was associated with around 40% of its trade. This impact, of course, includes Financial Services too, and a number of roles have moved from the UK to the EU.

What advice would you give to members of the younger generation who may be seeking a career in the Financial Services sector or thinking about changing their career path?

For anyone looking to get into Financial Services, it’s important to make sure that you have some compelling results stories that you can share, from both your work experience and your team/leadership experiences. Also, make sure that you practise and familiarise yourself with how to answer case study interviews.

Nowadays, it’s much more common for people to change jobs and to have a range of multiple careers across their lifetime. So, no-one should be concerned about doing it. That said, before changing career paths, make sure you are clear about why you are doing it and that any move is another step in the direction that takes you where you ultimately want to get to.

As President of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK, how does your Organisation help maintain relations between the UK and Cyprus?

As a Federation, we represent the UK Cypriot diaspora to the governments of both the UK and Cyprus. In this context, we vocally and consistently make the case to the UK Government about the wide range of shared issues and interests with Cyprus in areas such as trade, economy, security and defence. The recently signed strategic dialogue between the UK and Cyprus demonstrates the breadth of common issues between the two countries and the recent visit by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – the first in over 50 years – demonstrates the strength that our bilateral relationship has now gained.

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