AthensCountry Manager, EMPIST Greece

Konstantinos (Gus)Papacharalampous

I help businesses treat technology and cybersecurity as business decisions, and I have spent twelve years building the team that delivers it.

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Konstantinos (Gus) Papacharalampous at the EMPIST office in Athens.

01

About

I am Country Manager and legal representative of EMPIST Greece, the Greek office of a US managed IT and cybersecurity company. I joined in 2014 as the first hire in the country and built the Athens office from one person to a team of 25.

We deliver managed IT, cybersecurity, cloud and compliance to clients in Greece and abroad. I run the business end to end: strategy, sales, operations, P&L and people.

I am an automation engineer from the University of West Attica. In 2026 I completed an Executive MBA at ALBA Graduate Business School, with honors. I was class representative, and I now mentor the next intake.

I am a member of ΕΑΣΕ, of BNI Business Hub, and of the Fortune Greece Network. I live in Athens. Away from the office I play tennis and I dance.

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First hire in Greece
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People in Athens
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EMBA, with honors

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What I do

01

Cybersecurity as a business decision

NIS2 and Greek law 5160/2024 make security a supply-chain obligation. I help owners see risk in money, time and continuity. I also treat AI tools as new identities that need access rules.

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Running an MSP

The useful work is the work that repeats: vCISO and vCIO advice, quarterly reviews, and vendor changes that keep a client stable. I care more about that operating rhythm than about a one-off project.

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Building a team in Greece

The Athens office started with one person. Hiring well and keeping good people matter more than any tool we roll out. A new colleague gets a work buddy for the first months, so they are not left to figure it out alone.

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Leadership and learning

The EMBA gave me language for decisions I was already making. I mentor the next ALBA intake, and I write when a class, a client visit or a hard week leaves me with something worth passing on.

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Experience

  1. 2014 to today

    Country Manager and Legal Representative

    EMPIST Greece (opens in a new tab)Athens

    I joined as the first hire in Greece and built the Athens office from one person to a team of 25. I run strategy, sales, operations, P&L and people. The office delivers managed IT, cybersecurity, cloud and compliance to clients in Greece and abroad.

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Education

2026

Executive MBA, with honors

ALBA Graduate Business School

The American College of Greece. Class representative. I now mentor the next intake.

Automation engineer

University of West Attica

05

Recognition

Selected recognition.

2026

Silver, Best Cyber Security Provider

BITE Awards

Awarded to EMPIST in September 2026. I lead the Greek office.

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Networks

Organisations I belong to. In each case, I am a member.

ΕΑΣΕ (opens in a new tab)

Member of the Ένωση Ανωτάτων Στελεχών Επιχειρήσεων, the association of senior executives in Greece.

07

Speaking

MDRT

Alpha Radio 98.9

Interview with Themis Sarantainas on cybersecurity, 2025.

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Writing and press

Selected writing and interviews.

ALBA blog

The best part is never in the agenda or the syllabus (opens in a new tab)

On the Executive MBA, after the class week in Porto.

Fortune Greece

Η δύναμη της καινοτομίας που οδηγεί στην ανάπτυξη (opens in a new tab)

An interview on EMPIST, technology as a partner to the business, and building teams.

Fortune Greece

10 χρόνια EMPIST στην Ελλάδα: το όραμα και η στρατηγική (opens in a new tab)

On the first ten years of the Athens office, from covering US hours to serving clients in Greece as well.

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Contact

If you want to talk about a security decision, how you run your IT, or what it takes to build a technical team in Greece, write to me.