AI Magazine Issue 10 2018

Acquisition International - Issue 10 2018 47 Delivering More “What is missing from our industry is real understanding. Each case, each project, each client, each market is different. And best practices or off- the-shelve solutions are rarely successful. What is truly required is a systemic, in-depth understanding of the business system one seeks to optimize. This can only be done with extensive studying of the business and an open relationship with the client. This is exactly how we work. And this is what really differentiates us from our competition. The ‘living’ proof for this is Emergence, the prosperity network of STIRIXIS Group. A micro-society we have launched where our clients meet and exchange business ideas and opportunities and strengthen the relationships between us more and more every day.” Helping the firm to achieve their mission, is the hardworking team who forms the backbone of STIRIXIS Group. As for how Alexander manages his staff, he highlights how he cultivates an atmosphere that is conducive to a productive working environment. “At STIRIXIS Group, our team consists of a number of professionals, experts from different fields. Marketeers, Architects, Civil and Mechanical engineers, Consultants, Communication specialists, Graphic and Interior designers, that make up a winning team infused with a profound ability of business acumen through our way of working. We share the same vision, work closely with our clients’ teams and take pride in creating with them business concepts that thrive and become trend setters. “We try hard to offer our team the environment and the proper tools to work efficiently, flourish, and produce excellence. Cross-functional teams, interesting international projects, and successful results do the rest. We dream together, and we work hard together.” Bringing the interview to a close, Alexander reflects on the challenges and opportunities he has faced during his time at the firm and how they have affected his role over the years. “Truth is we have faced many challenges in our 22 years. Markets have transformed rapidly during the crisis, sometimes whipping out projects. Having projects in 24 countries, it was inevitable that we would have to face many of them. The Global financial crisis of 2008, the ongoing Greek crisis, the drop on oil prices and its impact on Nigeria and the Middle East where we are quite active, even the Russia-Ukraine crisis that shortly affected the rubble and the retail market in Russia. On the other hand, being agile and open to market signals is what we do. So, we were fast in retracting, decisive in our strategy and constantly seeking new needs, mapping these markets feverishly. As a learning organization, these challenges help us get better, even stand out from our competition. The biggest challenge from working in many volatile markets is the operational and HR side of it. But we have also transformed through this and created an innovative way to form project teams globally, communicate in a matrix and actively collect intelligence.” Looking ahead to what the future holds, Alexander signs off by revealing some of the projects that lie in the pipeline for the team at STIRIXIS Group. “Recently, we have just launched Emergence, the prosperity network of STIRIXIS Group. As Systems Thinkers ourselves, we look for interconnectedness, for whole systems dynamics instead of parts, for relationships instead of isolated elements, for our work but also for our life. This idea led us to create Emergence; an initiative exclusively designed for our clients, a network where our clients meet in a matrix way and not in a radial way through us. As they do share the same values, they create new relationships, share knowledge, have access to exclusive events, and join hands in creating a better business environment. Emergence will create great value for our clients and we are indeed very proud to have created it. In terms of Markets, we are actively growing in the Middle East, South East Europe and looking for opportunities in Africa and India.”