A thought leader at the executive level, Alexandros Manakos, CEO of Apollon Security, possesses a rare blend of abilities in management, information technology, and comprehensive security. He is a motivating and business-minded individual who is committed to generating outcomes that can be measured, where cybersecurity is not only a cost centre or a hindrance to the business but rather an enabler.

Alexandros, a 16-year-old, was quite disappointed to be unable to use his computer when a virus attacked it. But because of this condition, he was motivated to start securing his computer against malware and cybercriminals. 22 years have passed since that moment, and Alexandros is now able to protect countless more individuals and organisations from cyber attacks.

Alexandros’ responsibilities at Apollon Security include growing the company, making sure his team and clients are happy, and providing his employees with the best work environment in the cyber security sector. He enjoys motivating his team and thinking of fresh, enjoyable methods to keep them happy in his role as a people manager. He is a natural visionary who is always considering the following five creative ideas to progress the business, his team, and himself.

A Subjective View of Success

Business, interpersonal connections, health, and attitude are just a few of the areas where success is conceivable, in Alexandros’ opinion. According to Alexandros, his two biggest accomplishments in business are the two items that follow:

“Having the best friends and coworkers and making them happy. Supporting my staff in any manner and watching them improve and making sure they are always feeling valued and heard. The ability to spend time with those who share your beliefs and achieve business growth is an amazing feeling of success.

The creation of actual value that is highly valued by our clients is the most crucial factor from the perspective of the client. We dislike simply addressing audit results as a box to be checked exercise without raising the level of cyber security maturity. We enjoy delivering value that enables our customers to fend off cyberattacks. Due to this, we also carefully choose our clientele.

Every Obstacle Leads to Improvement

Every business difficulty you overcome will transform you in some manner, according to Alexandros. He came to the conclusion that a person’s perspective is the most important aspect in helping them get through practically any hurdle that may stand in the way of their success in both business and life. He says, “I’ve overcome many obstacles throughout my career by following the following strategy: Don’t bury your head in the sand; consider HOW to overcome the CHALLENGE rather than experiencing a PROBLEM. When you approach a problem psychologically, you stop and more frequently give up when faced with it. You feel as though you have a chance to win when there is a challenge on the other side, which motivates you to find a solution.

Alexandros advises breaking the challenge down into “working packages” and possibly a timeline before actually doing it. Always concentrate on the solution rather than the issue, he advises. By doing this, you may create “working packages” for all the goals you have instead of having your thoughts filled with obstacles. Once you’ve completed some significant activities that other people may view as challenges, but which you addressed as if they were a summary of other daily tasks, you’ll feel fantastic.

Managing Apollon Security and advancing the industry

As a result of being fully booked before its scheduled launch day in April 2022, Alexandros notes that Apollon Security has experienced enormous growth. Four months later, the business has fifteen employees, with five more set to start in the near future. It continues to seek for exceptional talent. According to him, “What’s very important to us is that we grow in a healthy and controlled way.”

Since the Apollon Security team works closely together and it is important to keep the high standard of professionalism and humanity the company has established, the hiring procedure is extremely tough. The management only selects candidates who have similar attitudes and values, both personally and professionally.

Alexandros cites one instance of the organisation’s contributions to the sector: the company consistently shares its in-depth information with other cyber security specialists, clients, and other colleagues. No matter if it’s a speech at a conference or event or a presentation at one of the firm’s clients. The group takes pleasure in educating others and guiding them away from typical mistakes. According to Alexandros, the secrecy surrounding the cyber security industry makes it difficult for companies to exchange difficulties, failures, and experiences, which forces many of them to attempt to address the same challenges without the necessary knowledge.

Views on Achieving a Balance between Personal and Professional Life

In some cases, Alexandros worked seven days a week and even slept there. Despite knowing that one must take care of one’s career, he nevertheless enjoys his profession. Your private life and your health, not just one of those, he advises, “because if you don’t set priorities properly, things could get really bad in the other ones.” Alexandros considers it essential to be happy in one’s own job life, to be healthy, and to have a good personal life. He continues by stating that these three issues should be treated with the utmost prudence and urges and protects both himself and the company’s employees to prevent making the mistakes.

According to Alexandros, “They are getting a mirror of what we expect from them from the way we work, the values we have, and the way we treat our personal and professional lives.” He personally strives to keep workdays between 8 and 10 hours, eats properly, loves to play basketball, and values time spent with loved ones. He will also be working from Greece for the following two weeks while taking advantage of the stunning weather and the sea in front of him. “As long as our clients have no constraints on this, everyone at Apollon is free to do that, he explains. Our employees can construct their own work schedule that best fits their lives, begin working on ideas with us as projects, and enjoy a plethora of other benefits”.

Keeping the team focused on the objective

According to Alexandros, keeping people motivated is harder than it might seem, but if one makes it a point to consistently improve both the company and its staff, it really does work. Unfortunately, many CEOs and Head Offs choose not to do it despite the effort required since there is always something more important to do. The cyber security sector is huge and always changing, but according to Alexandros, if one keeps up with it and assigns staff members intriguing new projects and duties, they will stay committed.

An Achiever

In everything he did and accomplished, including school, basketball practise, his education, his position as a CISO at HSBC, or overseeing staff with huge budgets, Alexandros was always the youngest. He is extremely happy and proud that he now has his own company and is surrounded by so many wonderful individuals. To attain those goals, he says, “I worked very, very hard, but I still have so many on the line that I will never get bored.” He continues by saying that although he is not attempting to be the Elon, Jeff, or Bill of cyber security, there are many wonderful things in store for him that he is eager to pursue.

Future Projections

According to Alexandros, Apollon Security will continue to expand in the next years, both in terms of personnel and revenue. We will only develop in a really healthy manner, he claims. We will all be content no matter what happens if we are unable to attract exceptional talent who shares our beliefs and way of thinking.

The company’s services and clientele are starting to spread throughout Europe. After Apollon is established in Europe, the team will expand to the US, according to Alexandros. In the middle of the term, the company will provide its employees with even more picturesque locations to work from (like Greece), where work and leisure may be combined.

An Important Note for Future Visionaries

To those who wish to start their own business, Alexandros offers this advice: “Try to locate the people you want to work with—not the firm or position for the CV. A lottery victory would be achieved by combining the people, business, and job (or perhaps two of them). To have a prominent name or title on your CV while avoiding toxic individuals, avoid taking on high-paying employment.

Always treat others how you would like to be treated, the speaker continues. According to him, climbing the corporate ladder in large organisations can be challenging at times, but it always pays off in the end. You’ll run across each other twice in life.

Last but not least, Alexandros advised never giving up. You won’t succeed if you give up too soon, he claims. He believes that a large portion of failures are caused by people quitting too soon. Every successful person has encountered and overcame several challenges, but the typical person will never be aware of this. The outsider can only see and acknowledge public success.