In our special column this month, we are glad to host an interview with Mr. Mike Konstantinidis, Co-Founder and CEO, METIS Cyberspace Technology SA, who encourages us to invest money, time and effort in eduction for career and personal development.
Mr. Konstantinidis entered the maritime industry following his assessment that the industry is need of innovations and business model that adjust to the current technological framework. Lastly, he motivates us to always search for solutions instead of inventing a problem in every solution.
SAFETY4EA: How did it come about that you joined shipping industry and your field of expertise specifically?
Mike Konstantinidis: Having the opportunity to look closely at the maritime industry during the previous decades, it was obvious to observe that shipping had a clear delay on adopting innovations and adjusting its business model to the current technological framework. The reasons for this situation are numerous however the most significant are old-school mentality, resistance to change as well as deficiencies in the telecommunications field. At the same time, I had the belief that there would be a point in time where this irrational behavior would change, and this time has come. Now, more than ever, we have the proper solid ground to build value-adding applications, addressing the specific requirements of the Maritime sector. My intuition proved correct since nowadays, we are experiencing an increase in the number of maritime companies with forward-thinking managerial teams. This trend is led by the awareness that has been developed according to which the only way to be competitive is through the technology. Companies not willing to adopt this approach run the risk of falling far behind or being left by the sideways.
S4S: What about your current job/ role most excites you and why?
M.K.: Creativity, influence and communication of solid rationale are essential skills in order to educate the market to proceed into essential transformation initiatives. It is a fascinating, team work to create the new, digital era in global shipping. But, the most stimulating part is when we prove with solid results that our solution is game-changing and fundamentally alters the business model of global shipping.
S4S: What is the best and what was the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given and why?
M.K.: Always be a good listener, or in other words, seek first to understand and then to be understood.
S4S: What is the most worthwhile career investment (in energy, time, money) you’ve ever made?
M.K.: Money, time and effort spent in education is the best investment one can make for his career and the development of his personality. Education is a never ending, lifetime procedure and the most interesting part is when applying the theory into practice. This is when you gain experience, you make mistakes, but you also have your greatest achievements.
S4S: What would you like to change in the current maritime landscape and your area of expertise specifically and why?
M.K.: The most difficult issue is to change a well-established mentality. This is my number one priority in regard to what should I try to change in the maritime landscape. My efforts are focused to educate people into putting their stereotypes aside, stop base critical decisions on rules of thumb and empirical methods while embracing data-driven decision making. Change the existing reactive frame of mind and adopt a proactive perspective, thinking out-of-the-box and adopt a robust digital transformation strategy.
S4S: What is your personal motto?
M.K.: “Try to find a solution to every problem, instead of inventing a problem in every solution.”
The views presented are only those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
