Interview with Marinó Örn Tryggvason, CEO of Kvika, Iceland
“Over the last six years, assets under management have more than quadrupled and Kvika is now the second largest asset manager in Iceland.”...
Interviews
Interview with Benedikt Gíslason, CEO, Arion Bank, Iceland
“U.S. and other international investors choose Arion Bank as their partner when they operate or invest in Iceland.”...
Interview with Deepak Balgobin, Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation
"Innovation is very important and, therefore, we have created a portfolio of innovation. The Mauritius Research Council has recently been revamped into the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (M...
Interview with Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, Minister of Transport and Local Government
"Our strategy to come out of this pandemic is to meet the crisis on the offensive by not raising taxes or making heavy cuts to the budget, but on the contrary, by investing more in all areas where it ...
Interview with Bjarni Benediktsson, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs
"We are seeing an increase in foreign direct investment and we hope that we will continue to develop our business relationship with the U.S."...
Interview with Benigno María López Benítez, Minister of Finance, Paraguay
“The Paraguayan economy is set to recover from COVID-19 very soon, we will obtain an investment grade rating and all those who invest here first will surely have a great return on investment later.....
Interview with Henrietta Egerth and Klaus Pseiner, Managing Directors, FFG (Austrian Research Promotion Agency)
"We are a strong partner and will remain a strong partner to strengthening Austria as a place to be for research and innovation. We will do everything we can to increase the competitiveness of the Aus...
Interview with Mr. Axel Kühner, CEO, GREINER, Austria
"Greiner began initially as a cork producer in the 1860s and gradually evolved into a manufacturer of new materials. We started to develop plastic processing technologies in the 1960s and on this basi...
Interview with Wolfgang Anzengruber, CEO, VERBUND
"Verbund is a state-owned company, owned 51% by the Republic of Austria, and employing roughly 2,800 people. We operate mostly is Austria, but also in Germany. Verbund is concentrated very strongly on...
Interview with Mr. Alfred Stern, CEO, Borealis, Austria
"Borealis is the second largest plastics industry player in Europe. We have European roots, but over the last 15-20 years, Borealis has experienced a last international growth across all geos....
Interview with Mr. Michael Strebl, CEO, WIEN ENERGIE, Austria
"Wien Energie is one of the 50 largest companies in Austria by turnover, employing over 2,200 personnel. As largest regional provider we are responsible for supplying the greater Vienna metropolitan a...
Interview with Mr. Michael Lagler, Managing Partner, Schönherr, Austria
"We are witnessing a real estate boom in Austria: we are talking about billions of investment. Schönherr had around 1.8 billion last year in real estate transaction volume, for the most part in the r...
Interview with Karl Ochsner , CEO & President, OCHSNER (HEAT PUMPS), Austria
"Ochsner is bringing on the table over 40 years of experience in heat pumps, and has a tremendous input when it comes to heat pumps with a high level of innovation. A lot of European research institut...
Interview with Mr. Gerald Hofer, CEO, KNAPP AG, Austria
"KNAPP’s rapid growth is fueled by our customers’ increasing needs. This explains our great results. Yet much of our profits have been used to finance new infrastructure investment to serve our cu...
Interview with Univ. Prof. Edeltraud Hanappi-Egger, Rector, Vienna University of Economics & Business (WU), Austria
"WU has a strong research focus in the areas of economics, business, and business law. Examples of strong research groups are in topics such as cryptoeconomics, entrepreneurship and innovation, market...
Interview with Mr. Andreas Klauser, CEO, PALFINGER, Austria
"PALFINGER still mostly owned by the Palfinger family trust which is very professionally managed. The management team of PALFINGER as well as the board are very professional. When I came on board as C...
Interview with Mr. Stefan Pierer, CEO, KTM Group, Austria
"The success of the austrian industry can be explained by several factors. The first one is the education and our tradition of apprenticeship. Germany, Austria and Switzerland have a long-term culture...
Interview with Anas Abuzaakouk , CEO, BAWAG Group AG, Austria
"Austria is a dynamic market: It can both serve as stepping stone to go to Eastern Europe and serve as a core market in-and-of itself. BAWAG’s business differs from other Austrian publicly listed co...
Interview with Mr. Johann Christof, CEO, Christof Industries GmbH, Austria
"Austria has a very good education system for all levels of society, which is constantly undergoing review. Education, universities, an extensive and proven apprenticeship system and the R&D-driven mi...
Interview with DR. Rainer Seele , Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO, OMV AG, Austria
"We want to internationalize our business not only in terms of where and how we are going to produce oil and gas, but also in terms of sales business. In the past, we had a very strong focus on Europe...
SOUTH AFRICA: Interview with Ms. Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, Minister of Tourism
"International tourism arrivals have been above 10 million since 2017 and, in 2018, we welcomed 10.4 million tourists. In addition, more than 18 million South Africans also tour the country ever year....
Interview with M. Mohamed Sajid, Minister of Tourism, Transport, Guild of Arts and Crafts and Economics, Morocco
Morocco, an African jewel: on its way to becoming one of the top 20 global tourist destinations Economy...
An excluisve interview for Prisma Reports with Mr. Mohamed Boussaid, Minister of Economics and Finance of Morocco
Morocco is the United States' oldest African ally and a key partner for business in the region ...
An exclusive interview with Mr. Abdelkader Amara, the Minister of Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Water of Morroco
World-class infrastructure to match Morocco’s ambitions: the emerging growth engine of Africa...
Exclusive interview with Mr. Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy, Morocco
"In the past year, Morocco has managed to impose itself as a key industrial hub for global leaders. ...
Interview with Thomas Dunstan, Director General of the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA)
"In aviation, we are all aiming for an international standard of safety with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). With the help of bodies such as the ICAO we can ensure that Bermuda m...
Interview with Gregory A. Wojciechowski, President and CEO of the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX)
"It is really important for us to ensure that BSX continuously works in the healthy way that it is at the moment. There is a lot of work involved in this and the exchange is, ultimately, closely knitt...
Interview with Chris Schuler, Managing Director of the BAC Group of Companies
BAC Group of Companies, a leading indoor environment, energy management, electrical contractor and a renewable energy supplier...
Interview with Mr. Ross Webber, CEO of Bermuda Development Agency
BDA, a public-private partnership that encourages investment in Bermuda and helps firms start or expand operations on the island...
Interview with Dr. Wafik Bardissi, Chairman and CEO of Minapharm Pharmaceuticals, Egypt
An insight into how Minapharm is driving the health-care industry in Egypt toward biotechnology and advanced therapy medicinal products...
Interview with Ing. Miguel Tandawembo Rodrigues Cazevo, Director, INFOSI, Luanda, Angola
"In regards to achieving a great human growth index, it is necessary to educate the people first, and for that you need more investments in the education system. Nowadays, Angola, with the new legisla...
Interview with H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Tourism, Egypt
"Egypt is one of the world’s oldest civilizations. When you come to look at our Grand Egyptian Museum, there is so much more to it than Egyptology and Egyptian customs. We are really celebrating the...
Interview with Eng. Bráulio de Brito, CEO & Chairman, Tradinter, Luanda, Angola
"As far as oil and gas business is concerned, Angola has been Africa’s second biggest producer for many years. During the “boom times” when the oil price was very high, we saw lots of investment...
Interview with Mr. Eduardo Sebastião CEO, Angola Telecom, Luanda, Angola
"Angola has great economic relations with the United States. We would definitely like to see this collaboration expanding to other areas. Cooperation with such an industrialized and highly developed c...
Interview with Eng. Msuega Tese, Executive Director, Integrated Solutions Angola
"We are very open for new partnerships. We are uniquely positioned to bring value to new entrants into the African market, as we have deep knowledge of the market and are providing services to many mu...
Interview with Dr. Amilcar Silva, President – Angolan Banking Association (ABANC), Angola
"Angola is a country that was subject to various vicissitudes that caused us to have great difficulties that could not be solved at the right moments and which provoked an accumulation of situations t...
Interview with Mr. João Filipe, Chairman & CEO, Cabship – Cabinda Shipping Services, Luanda, Angola
"Our services are unique in Angola, there is no other company that does what we do. We started off as freight forwarders, shipping agents and stevedoring at Porto de Cabinda. Now we have evolved into ...
Interview with Mr. Rui Luís Falcão Pinto de Andrade, Governor of Benguela, Benguela Province, Angola
"Today we have to focus on serious projects that are guaranteed to bring in development and jobs for our citizens, the State has to participate in the management of the limited resources that it has a...
Interview with Mr. Gianvittorio Maselli, CEO, Movicel, Luanda, Angola
"Angola is one of the most resistant countries when it comes to innovation, people are weary to accept innovation immediately. In addition, it is one of the most expensive places in the world with a p...
Interview with Eng. José António Neto, CEO , PRODEL – E.P., Luanda, Angola
"Angola is a young country, full of great opportunities. It is a country with a future, where many things still have to be done, which means there are many opportunities. Therefore, I invite private i...
Interview with Mr. Licínio de Freitas Vaz Contreiras, CEO, AIPEX – Agência de Investimento Privado e Promoção das Exportações de Angola (Agency for Private Investment and Promotion of Exports)
"We are a public agency and our fundamental motivation is to have a prosperous Angolan population, by welcoming foreign investment and guiding these new investments towards success we fundamentally wi...
Interview with Eng. Tambwe Mukaz, CEO, Alassola, S.A. – Angola
"Agriculture is the base for everything, it is from where we will feed our next scientists, engineers and even our next president, having a stable agricultural industry means nothing but growth for th...
Interview with Eng. Angelo Gama, CEO – Net One, Luanda, Angola
"Technology allows for people to be educated and informed without sitting in a classroom. The internet allows the space for applications to be created in seconds, and if useful enough for a market tha...
Interview with Mr. Markus Mitteregger, CEO, RAG Austria AG
"RAG is Europe’s fourth-largest gas storage operator, and the most modern, which reflects the fact that we constructed all of our storage capacity within the past 20 years. We are crucial to energy ...
Canton Schwyz: A Swiss Economic Powerhouse
"Our best asset is our location. Schwyz is part of the greater Zürich area and it only takes twenty minutes to get here from the city of Zürich. We are blessed with beautiful scenery, with mountains...
Interview with Mr. Marc Walder, Founder, digitalswitzerland, and CEO, Ringier AG
"Switzerland is the world’s most innovative economy according to several rankings. We are working hard to keep it there. We structure our work around the following six horizontals: Education & Talen...
Interview with Mr. Jean-François Manzoni, President, IMD business school
"Switzerland has fantastic infrastructure and a great education system. It is very safe, very effective and efficient. It is also engaged in a race without a finish line for competitiveness. Having sp...
Interview with Mr. Stefan Kölliker, Director of Education and President of the cantonal government of St.Gallen
Prisma Reports (PR): The canton of St.Gallen is internationally famous for its excellent education, its position at the crossroads of Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Germany thro...
Interview with Mr. Carl Elsener Jr., CEO, VICTORINOX
Prisma Reports (PR): Since its start more than 130 years ago, Victorinox has become the world’s biggest manufacturer of pocket knives, but more than that it is a brand ambassador for i...
Interview with Mr. Marcel Stalder, CEO, EY, Switzerland
"Switzerland is one of the significant financial places, and a market leader in innovation. The challenge that Switzerland faces is that it does not have a lot of venture capital; there is a lot of ca...
Interview with Mr. Andreas Schönenberger, Group CEO, SIGVARIS GROUP
"Our internationalization is quite a success in itself, and is typical of a Swiss company because the Swiss market is not big enough. Yet Switzerland has a strong reputation for innovation and quality...
Interview with Mr. Urs Rohner, Chairman Credit Suisse
"Digitalization is fundamentally altering the way banks operate and engage with their clients. Of course, individual clients have different ideas about what they need and expect from their financial p...
Interview with Mr. Lino Guzzella, President, ETH Zurich
"We have created many ideas at ETH Zurich with which to foster transdisciplinary components that are important for educating the leaders of the future. Only leaders with a strong foundation in the fun...
Interview with Mr. Konstantinos Mizalis, Managing Director, AVAX
After 10 years of crisis in Greece, we are finally seeing the construction sector pick up some speed again, even though there aren’t many mature projects in terms of financing or designs....
Interview with Dr. Panayiotis Papanikolas, Country Manager, VINCI Concessions
"Greece started with its strategic infrastructure development plan right before the crisis. The first generation of concession projects took place before the Olympic games. At that time, there was a b...
Interview with Mr. Nikolaos Vouniseas, Senior Partner, KPMG Greece
"The perception of Greece has improved, especially since the election of the New Democracy Government and its pro-business agenda. This has created a lot of enthusiasm in the country, and abroad as we...
Interview with Mr. Mauroudis Voridis, Minister of Rural Development and Food
"Transforming our agriculture requires huge investments in the farms, especially in high tech apparatus to make agriculture more efficient. These investments are going to be funded by the EU and its a...
National Bank of Greece (NBG), the most trusted bank in Greece
"Liquidity has returned to the market, and the loan to deposit ratio is near 100. The problem of deposits leaving the banks, and banks not having liquidity, is a problem of the past. Capital controls ...
Interview with Mr. Anastasios Tzikas, TIF HELEXPO
"TIF HELEXPO has entered a new era. Since 2013, when the two companies –TIF and HELEXPO- reunified, the dynamics have changed. Its financial figures have improved substantially, its events have attr...
Interview with Mr. Panos Papadopoulos, CEO & Vice-President – FORTHNET S.A.
"During the last 3 decades, we have played a significant role in the Greek economy, and in particular in the fixed telecom and pay-TV market. We have been working continuously to expand the penetratio...
Interview with Mr. Panos Kouanis, President & CEO of EKOME
"The number one asset that Greece has as a filming location is its location. Most people only think of Greece as sand and sea but we also have a huge variety of locations. We have mountains, ski res...
Interview with Mr. Konstantinos Mitropoulos, Chairman of the Board – ATTICA BANK
"The whole banking landscape has changed dramatically. Before the crisis there were 25 banks; now there are five banks, including Attica bank, and a number of smaller banking institutions such as Prax...
Interview with Prof. Philippos Tsalides, CEO, TRAINOSE
"TRAINOSE services about 20 million passengers a year, as we had a large increase. In April 2019, TRAINOSE acquired the maintenance company Rosco, and positions now as a vertically-integrated company,...
Interview with Mr. Riccardo Lambiris, CEO, Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HDRAF/TAIPED)
"There has been a tremendous shift in momentum, as evidenced by the recent issuances of Greek government bonds, which are at historic lows, something which has also benefited Greek corporates (OTE, He...
Interview with Mr. Chris Theophilides, CEO, CELESTYAL CRUISES
There is a great opportunity for Greek tourism at the moment. The first priority is to promote Greece as a year-round destination. The private sector needs to work towards this objective with the supp...
Interview with Ms. Jenny Gyftea, President of AGRO.VI.M S.A
"Traditionally, Greece's economy has been based on agriculture. The sector currently represents 4.1% of GDP while employing 11.9% of the labor force in 2019. According to World Bank data, the average ...
Interview with Mr. George I. Kalavrouziotis, Founder and Executive Chairman of EUNICE ENERGY GROUP (EEG)
"Having a successful journey through the adversities of the Energy sector, guided by the path of the mythical Ulysses through the Leastrygonians and the Cyclops, we are open and ready for the new chal...
Interview with Mr. Alexis Pantazis, Co-Founder & Executive Director of HELLAS DIRECT
"Before we started this project in 2012, you could see that Greece was going to blow up. The sovereign could not support it, banks were full of sovereigns, which created a trickle-down effect. It also...
Interview with Mr. Stefanos Vlastos, CEO of Hellenic Public Properties Co. (HPPC – ETAD)
"The role of the Public Properties Company of the Hellenic Republic (ETAD) is to manage and exploit a large and diverse portfolio, consisting of real estate assets, from greenfield assets to apartment...
Interview with Mr. George Hatzimarkos, Governor of South Aegean Islands
"The South Aegean region is the biggest insular region in Europe, with 48 inhabited islands. The region is responsible for 40% of all incoming tourism in Greece, and is the heart of Greek tourism....
Interview with Mr. George Troullinos, CEO, Intracom Defence
"Our activities in the Defense sector date back to the early 90’s. Over the years our exports increased gradually and today a significant portion of our revenue is associated with exports to the USA...
Interview with Mr. Anastassios Kallitsantsis , Managing Director, ELLAKTOR GROUP
"Investments in general are picking up, yet we don’t see any changes in construction. We expect increases in public works, however, it takes more than one year from the moment we decide to proceed...
Interview with Mr. Mr Alexander Hadjipateras, Executive VP of Business Development, DORIAN LPG (USA) LLC
"Greece has always been a shipping hub and has always been valued as a shipping and maritime expert. As a company, we positively welcome stable political climate this country offers. The investment ...
Interview with Mrs. Niki Kerameus, Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs
"Greece is going through a change with the strong support of the people. I think we have a fantastic chance, to really bring a change and take Greece to a position where it is deserved in the internat...
Interview with Mr. Panayotis M. Bernitsas, Attorney at Law Managing Partner, BERNITSAS Law Firm
There is much growing interest from international investors in the country and this is a blessing for the Greek economy, for Greek law firms, for the Greek financial institutions, and for the country ...
Interview with Mr. Nicola Battilana , CEO, National Natural Gas System Operator S.A. (DESFA)
"The National Energy and Climate Plan estimations show the final consumption of natural gas in the years 2020-2030 to range between 5.4 billion and 5.8 billion cubic meters annually, with a strong inc...
Interview with Mr. Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Minister of Digital Governance of Greece
"Overall growth is positive, and our aim as a government is to make this growth continue and increase even in the short term. The ICT sector and the telecommunications sector are clear contributors to...
Greece – moving in the right direction
Prisma Reports talks to Mr. Fokion Karavias, CEO of Eurobank Greece “Greece is definitely moving in the right direction. There is a positive political and macroeconomic backdrop. The new gove...
Interview with Mr. Mathios Rigas, CEO of Energean
"Leading by example is in our DNA and strategy. Maintaining our key strategic pillars which are our focus on the Mediterranean and gas, capital discipline, making the right deals, and most importantly...
Interview with Mr. Nicolaou Perikles, CEO of GAIAOSE
"Gaiaose has three main activities: the management and exploitation of real estate assets; the leasing and the extended maintenance of the rolling stock that belong to the Greek state; and the product...
Interview with Ourania Ekaterinari, CEO, Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations (HCAP), Greece
"The perception of the country as an investment destination usually follows the trajectory of the economy itself. As the economy stabilizes and a solid, friendly to investments, institutional framewor...
Interview with Mr. Sotirios Theofanis, Chairman and Managing Director ThPA SA – Port of Thessaloniki
Prisma Reports: To start this interview, I’d like to appraise the importance of the port of Thessaloniki in the region. Its strategic geographical location, excellent road links and train con...
Interview with Mr. Dimitris Koutsopoulos, CEO, Deloitte Greece
"Greece has survived an almost ten year unprecedented fearsome financial, social and political turmoil. Optimism has returned to people and that is a fundamental prerequisite for growth and prosperit...
Interview with Mr. Zachary Ragousis, President and Managing Director, Pfizer Greece
"At Pfizer, we recognize the incredible potential of today’s digital technologies and the growing importance of big data. Digital transformation can have an impact and improve all stages of the de...
Interview with His Excellency Amb. Geoffrey R. Pyatt , US Ambassador to Greece
"In the last 3 years Greece has undergone a dramatic transformation in the areas of gas pipelines and gas transmission. One of the big milestones here has been the completion of the TAP pipeline: the ...
Interview with Ms. Sissy Iliopoulou, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability Manager, Coca-Cola Hellas
"Coca-Cola celebrated in 2019 its 50th anniversary in Greece, along with our bottling partner Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC). Throughout these years, we have created together value for th...
Interview with Anastasios Spanidis, CEO, Generation Y
Greece is taking huge steps forward regarding digitalization. We may have started late, however currently we have gained a good pace and I believe that both the government and the private sector have ...
Interview with Mr. Panos Papazoglou, Managing Partner, EY
"The Hellenikon project is just one example of increased interest in the real estate sector, in general. There are already two American bidders for the license of the Hellenikon casino. Additionally, ...
Interview with Mr. Georgios Filiopoulos, CEO of Enterprise Greece
"Greece is on the path to success. Important reforms, implemented in the last decade and new policy initiatives by the new government, are bearing fruit: the Greek economy is recovering, public financ...
Interview with Mr. Panagiotis Nikas, Governor of the Region of Peloponnese
Prisma Reports: Peloponnese is one of Greece’s 13th administrative regions. Can you give a rapid overview of the region? Which are the most important economic sectors and industries, the ma...
Interview with Mr. Gerassimos Thomas, Deputy Minister of Energy & Environment
Prisma Reports: Greece is located at a strategic crossroad on the intersection of two major energy corridors, one crossing the Mediterranean and the other running through Southeast Europe. The ...
Interview with Mr. Kostas Karamanlis, Minister for Ministry of Infrastructure & Transports
During the first semester of its mandate, our government has shown the necessary determination, perseverance and willingness to restore and promote Greece’s image and position in the world, both g...
Interview with Mr. Ioannis Plakiotakis, Minister of Shipping of Greece
"The Greek shipping cluster is a uniquely successful bright spot in the Greek economy. More than 1.430 shipping companies active in ocean-going shipping and further 3,674 maritime companies active mai...
Interview with Mrs. Rodi Kratsa Tsagaropoulou, Governor, Ionian Islands Region
"The Ionian islands region is an insular region, blessed with a rich history and a generous natural environment. The region stands at a civilisation crossroad, of occidental civilisations which is dif...
GREECE: Interview with Mr. Haris Theoharis, Minister of Tourism, Greece
"Tourism produces direct income of more than $17.75 billion, which is around 10% of GDP. This shows the importance of the sector on the development of the Greek economy. Tourism also accounts for 400,...
GREECE: Interview with Adonis Georgiadis, Minister of Development and Investments
"We have a unique opportunity in our hands that has never happened in our recent history. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has led our party to win all the elections that have taken place recently i...