A unique time for CROs in IT distribution

Finance plays a vital part in today’s IT distribution companies, and it needs to be recognised. We spoke with Konstantinos Konstantinou, Chief Risk Officer – ASBIS Middle East, about his career path and how the role of CROs has evolved over time. Take a look at the responses we got.

TECHx: Can you give us a brief overview of your career path so far, how did you get to where you are today?

Having graduated from Middlesex University, I have tried my luck in the UK entering the accounting profession. I soon realized that I was not much interested in penetrating the profession of an accountant/auditor I decided to move back home and look for more opportunities. It was at that time 6 years ago that I was introduced to the ASBIS Group and joined as a Credit Control Assistant. During that period of significant changes in the group in 2017, there was an opening for a Senior Credit Risk Manager in our subsidiary in ASBIS Middle East in Dubai, and I was offered the opportunity there. Ever since I have been evolving in this role and have been enjoying my role as the company’s risk manager. I sincerely believe that I have found what I was looking for and I see myself in this role for a long time to come

TECHx: Does the CRO role in IT distribution differ today from what it was 10 years ago?

The role of a CRO in IT distribution has changed significantly throughout the last ten years. The world financial crisis of 2008 has forced things to change drastically. In the past, being a CRO meant that you were sitting in an office, analyzing your risks and making decisions based on these analyses. This has radically changed since no one can make the best decision for both parties unless they know their client from A to Z. Currently, there are multiple tools and access to information is much easier, which makes the life of a CRO easier and more educated.

TECHx: How does a CRO provide value in today’s market, especially when it’s slow?

Creation of value has always been a major subject of discussion. Especially for us, who are not at the sales/marketing divisions of our organizations and we are dealing with the Risk management and other aspects of the financial welfare of our organizations, it is tough to ascertain the value-added. It is there, however, where ASBIS has invested heavily and made the role of Risk manager significant and forced all members of risk management to add value in the chain of our operations. The constant training, the commercialization of risk services as well as the constant upgrade of the tools used to allow a modern CRO to add significant value, but enhancing the credit availability and therefore increasing safe trading

TECHx: What is it about your job that you love the most?

Working in a multinational environment, getting to know so many different customers from so different ethnic, cultural, and financial environments, makes every day at work exciting. The challenge of each day is by itself a unique driver which is very rare to find. If there is a perfect job satisfaction level, I strongly believe that being a risk manager in ASBIS is very close to perfection.