The Ex-CEO of Wade Adams had a dream

Mr. Antzoulis is an industry veteran who started his journey in 1983 as a site engineer and stepped up the ranks as he moved from company to company across different regions, from Cyprus, to Pakistan, to Libya, to UAE.

He is well-known for his long and successful spell as the CEO of Wade Adams where he scaled the company from a small presence in Dubai to a multi-billion dollar, multi-national company, expanding services to the entire Middle East region, and ultimately employing over 15,000 workers and engineers.

Never give up on your dream

A passion and yet-to-be-realized dream of Mr. Antzoulis has always been the digitization of the construction industry. Despite the difficulties arising from decades of technological inertia in the industry, he has always been one of the loudest voices calling for innovation. His recent partnership with the dynamic team at SEKTOR was clearly motivated by this vision.

The value proposition of technology

He couldn’t be more pragmatic about the value proposition of technology in construction, “higher productivity at a lower cost”. He says it is time to replace paper sheets in the field with digital workflows that enable engineers to collect more accurate data and have faster access to that information. The tools are there, the only thing missing is people’s willingness to change.

Invest in interpersonal skills

Construction is not just technical, it is a social game as well. Mr. Antzoulis is one of those who have mastered the skill of relating to others. He is well acknowledged amongst his peers and colleagues not only because of what he has achieved but also because of the respectable manner in which he has achieved it. Today’s ambitious engineers face additional challenges due to more intense competition from their peers and Mr. Antzoulis admits that the ones who stand out are those who constantly hone their interpersonal skills as much as their technical skills.

Take the lead

It’s sometimes comfortable to stay where we are. We are risk-averse and prefer something that is working over taking a chance on something that might work better or not work at all. Mr. Antzoulis insists that we don’t need a crisis to force us to change the way we work and to think of ways to be more efficient and productive. We can (and we should) take the lead.