The Future Makers Podcast: Women Building Cyprus
The Future Makers Podcast is a series of in-depth conversations about how future-makers are made, in Cyprus and beyond. Host Annetta Benzar speaks with people who are shaping our shared future, looking beyond their titles. Guests share the people and moments that shaped them, the choices and challenges they face now, and the futures they hope to build. The show is produced by The Future Media and connected to Forbes Cyprus.
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The Investor Playbook: VC Is Not For Every Founder I Linda Brunner
In this episode of The Future Makers Podcast: The Investor Playbook, Annetta Benzar speaks with Linda Brunner, Founding Partner at Imagine You Know, an early-stage fund investing in cybersecurity and digital infrastructure across Europe.Linda reflects on her move from operator to investor, her experience scaling cybersecurity businesses, and why Europe needs more sector-specific funds led by peopl
The Investor Playbook: The Best Teams Can Always Figure It Out I Jeremy Brown
In this episode of The Future Makers Podcast: The Investor Playbook, Annetta Benzar speaks with Jeremy Brown, Investment Principal at Anthemis, about what investors look for in early-stage founders, how technical talent moves from academia into startups, why team dynamics matter, and how AI companies building for regulated industries need to think about trust, compliance, data and customer adoptio
The Investor Playbook: AI makes tech cheaper. But it makes people more important I Andreas Panayi
In this episode, Annetta Benzar speaks with Andreas Panayi (Kinisis Ventures) about why early-stage investing is ultimately a bet on people, why Europe stays risk-averse compared to the US, and what founders get wrong when they walk into a first meeting.The Future Makers Podcast: The Investor Playbook is a series of in-depth conversations with investors about the experiences, instincts, and decisi
The CMO Sessions: The FMCG Playbook That Changed iGaming Marketing I Valentina Bagniya
What does it take to build a marketing function from scratch in one of the world's fastest-moving industries with no playbook, no team, and no prior experience in the sector?In this episode of The Future Makers: The CMO Sessions, host Annetta Benzar speaks with Valentina Bagniya, Chief Marketing Officer at SOFTSWISS, about why she brought an FMCG mindset to iGaming, how brand strategy became S
Real Estate: The Legal Mistake Buyers Keep Making In Cyprus Real Estate I Viktoria Iatsiuta
In this episode, host Annetta Benzar speaks with Viktoria Iatsiuta, CEO of MySpace Real Estate and Vidigroup, about what serious buyers ask for today, why clarity around legal aspects can make or break a transaction, and how demand is changing as Cyprus becomes a “safe haven” market for new regions.Future Makers: Real Estate Series follows Cyprus real estate from the inside. The conversations cove
HR Leaders: Stop Saying “We’re A Family” At Work I Jolita Strasunskaite
In this episode of Future Makers: HR Leaders, Annetta Benzar speaks with Jolita Strasunskaite, Group Chief People Officer at payabl., about what HR really means inside a fast-growing company.Jolita challenges some of the biggest assumptions about people leadership: that HR works only for employees, that culture belongs to HR, that AI will replace people teams, and that companies should describe th
HR Leaders: If You Lie To People, They Know I Elena Dolya
In this episode of Future Makers: HR Leaders, Annetta Benzar speaks with Elena Dolya, Chief Administrative Officer at AdTech Holding, about the role HR plays when companies are navigating change, uncertainty, and fast-moving expectations at work.Elena explains why HR should not be seen as a “psychological helper” or the department responsible for fun, but as a business function that connects leade
HR Leaders: “Resilience Isn’t Endurance” in Modern HR I Natale Mastoroudes
Resilience isn’t endurance. Endurance is “push, push, push” until something breaks.In this episode of HR Leaders, Annetta Benzar speaks with Natale Mastoroudes, People & Culture Leader, about what HR really is, why “commercially aligned” HR can still be human, and how leaders can hit targets without burning people out. They also discuss what AI is already changing inside companies, and what HR
HR Leaders: You Read the Room, Not the Screen I Marina Sevastidou
Is HR there for the business, or for the people?In this episode of HR Leaders, Annetta Benzar speaks with Marina Sevastidou, Senior HR Business Partner at Wargaming, about what HR is really meant to do, how to spot culture shifts before they show up in metrics, why hybrid work still matters, and why technology should support HR rather than replace it.HR Leaders is a series of conversations with pe
Beyond AI: You Are Responsible for What AI Does I Denis Romanovsky
In this episode of Future Makers: Beyond AI, Annetta Benzar sits down with Denis Romanovsky, Chief AI Officer at SOFTSWISS, to discuss how AI moves from experiment to everyday work. They cover company-wide adoption, AI literacy, guardrails, security, cost, iGaming, human oversight, digital memory, cognitive freedom, regulation, and the skills people will need as intelligent systems become part of
The Legal Brief: AI Is Coming for the Lawyers Who Only Know the Books I Yiannos Georgiades
AI will not replace every lawyer. But it may expose the ones who only know how to retrieve information.In this episode of The Legal Brief, Annetta Benzar speaks with Yiannos Georgiades, founding partner of Y. Georgiades & Associates LLC, co-founder of Kinisis Ventures, and president of the Cyprus chapter of the European Court of Arbitration, about how AI is changing legal practice.A production
The Legal Brief: If You Don’t Have a Way to Sell It, Your Company Will Die I Violetta Skittidi
A legal tech startup can have the right problem, the right product, and the right timing — and still fail if it cannot reach the market.In this episode of The Legal Brief, Annetta Benzar speaks with Violetta Skittidi, a lawyer and co-founder of Formulaw, about why her legal tech startup shut down, what she learned about distribution, and why selling innovation into the legal sector is harder than
The Crypto Economy: Crypto Used To Be Trading. Now It’s Business Infrastructure I Max Krupyshev
Max Krupyshev entered crypto in 2013, when Bitcoin, trading, and mining dominated the market. More than a decade later, much of his work is focused on something very different: stablecoins and the infrastructure businesses need to use them for payments.In this episode of The Future Makers: The Crypto Economy, Max Krupyshev, Executive Leader of CryptoProcessing, joins Annetta Benzar to discuss how
C-Suite Rebuild: Build From Cyprus, Not Just For Cyprus | Filippos Kyprianou
Cyprus is climbing the global startup rankings. Filippos Kyprianou says the stronger measure of progress is whether founders based on the island can win customers abroad, grow their revenue and attract international investors.The Director of Plug and Play Cyprus joins host Annetta Benzar for the first episode of The Future Makers: C-Suite Rebuild.Guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/filipposkyprian
Women Building Cyprus: What Cyprus’s Last Fiddlers Wanted Us to Remember I Dr. Nicoletta Demetriou
Every time Dr. Nicoletta Demetriou returned to Cyprus, fewer of the elderly musicians she was interviewing were still alive. Funding applications went unanswered or were rejected. Their stories could not wait.The ethnomusicologist, writer and performer joins Annetta Benzar on The Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus to discuss the work behind The Cypriot Fiddler, which won the 2026 European Herita
Women Building Cyprus: She Was Told There Was A “Right” Path For Women. She Chose Her Own I Marianna Hadjiandoniou
Marianna Hadjiandoniou grew up in Cyprus at a time when, as she remembers it, there was a “right pathway” for women: finish studying, return home, find a good man, marry and have children.She chose differently.In this episode of The Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar sits down with Marianna, an HR leader with more than 20 years of experience, to talk about the choices that shaped
Women Building Cyprus: Why Work-Life Balance Is a Fairy Tale for Women I Katya Solov
Women are told they can balance everything. Katya Solov thinks balance is a fairy tale.In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar sits down with Katya Solov, Founder and CEO of Miranna, to talk about growing up at the end of the Soviet Union, entering Russia’s male-dominated venture capital industry, motherhood, startup failure and why she built the support system she
Women Building Cyprus: Failure Is Not An Option For Women In Cybersecurity | Georgia Solomou
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Georgia Solomou, Managing Partner at OSPHERA and Founder & President of Women4Cyber Cyprus.Georgia has spent more than 20 years in technology and security, working across Cyprus, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In this conversation, she reflects on what it meant to build a career and business in IT and cybe
Women Building Cyprus: Act First. Confidence Comes Later | Ekaterina Miroshnichenko & Marina Stasevich
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Ekaterina Miroshnichenko and Marina Stasevich, co-founders of SOTA, about leaving senior corporate HR roles, building a company together, moving across countries, working with founders and tech teams, and why confidence is often built after the first step, not before it. They discuss co-founder alignment, people st
Women Building Cyprus: Rest Is Not A Reward. It’s A Need | Serena Gasparini
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Serena Kara Gasparini, programme and community designer and founder of FemNEST, a startup building financial freedom for women.FemNEST is built around an often overlooked reality: when women face health challenges, pregnancy, maternity leave, caregiving or self-employment, their income and independence can be direc
Women Building Cyprus: We Treat Culture Like A Luxury. That’s The Biggest Mistake I Ioanna Hadjicosti
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Ioanna Hadjicosti, Director of Contemporary Culture Department at the Deputy Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Cyprus.Ioanna reflects on how culture becomes part of who we are long before we understand it: through family, language, songs, stories, memory and the parts of heritage that no one can take away. Fro
Women Building Cyprus: Doctors Dismissed Her Menopause Symptoms. Then She Took the Fight to Parliament I Kathy Kattashis
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Kathy Kattashis, Founder and Director of MITRA Cyprus Menopause Centre.The Future Makers Podcast is a series of in-depth conversations about how future-makers are made, in Cyprus and beyond. Host Annetta Benzar sits down with people who are a leading force in our shared future and looks past the titles. Together, t
Women Building Cyprus: I Used to Get 15 Rejections Before Brushing My Teeth. Then Macmillan Said Yes I Costantia Manoli
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Costantia Manoli, the award-winning author of Tomatoes in My Lunchbox and The Fig Tree.The Future Makers Podcast is a series of in-depth conversations about how future-makers are made, in Cyprus and beyond. Host Annetta Benzar sits down with people who are a leading force in our shared future and looks past the tit
Women Building Cyprus: She Left A Stable Job With 3-Year-Old Twins To Build A Life By The Sea I Angie Iacovou
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Angie Iacovou, co-owner and manager of Kahuna Surfhouse.The Future Makers Podcast is a series of in-depth conversations about how future-makers are made, in Cyprus and beyond. Host Annetta Benzar sits down with people who are a leading force in our shared future and looks past the titles. Together, they travel back
Women Building Cyprus: Women Were Expected To Work, Not Have Ambition | Dr. Charis Xinari
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar sits down with Dr Charis Xinari, Associate Professor of Critical and Cultural Theory at the European University Cyprus, to talk about the social scripts that shaped women in Cyprus, leaving and returning, building an academic identity, feminist theory, football and belonging, technology-based gender violence, critical media li
Women Building Cyprus: They Said 30 Was Too Old To Start Running. Then She Won I Antonia Stelikou
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Antonia Stelikou, an agronomist, teacher, doctoral researcher and long-distance runner.Antonia did not grow up in a sporting family. She started running seriously at 30, and the first reaction around her was that she was already too old. Then she entered her first race, a 10K in Ayia Napa, and won.What began on a t
Women Building Cyprus: The Cypriot Greek She Was Told Was Wrong | Effie Athanassiou
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Iphigenia “Effie” Athanassiou, Founder and CEO of Cyprusays®, the mobile app teaching Kypriaka — Cypriot Greek — digitally.Raised in Australia in a Greek Cypriot family, Effie grew up hearing Kypriaka at home but learning standard Modern Greek at school. Years later, when she wanted to reconnect more deeply with th
Women Building Cyprus: Stop Saying Women Need Empowerment | Anna Prodromou
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Anna Prodromou, consultant, researcher and trainer in communication, diversity, equity and inclusion, and responsible AI. Anna is the founder of Anna Prodromou Inc., president of the WICZ+ Foundation, and is currently pursuing a PhD in human-computer interaction, focusing on AI governance, transparency and accounta
Women Building Cyprus: The Cancer Researcher Who Turned Grief Into Her Life’s Mission I Dr. Marianna Prokopi-Demetriades
Grief could have stopped her. Instead, it became the reason she built a career around helping cancer patients live with less pain.In this episode of Future Makers, Annetta Benzar speaks with cancer researcher and biotech entrepreneur Dr Marianna Prokopi-Demetriades about how grief, unemployment and repeated setbacks became the foundation of a life’s mission centred on reducing pain and improving q
Women Building Cyprus: What Cancer Teaches Us About Life, Fear & Care I Dr. Yiola Marcou
Cancer changes the way we understand life, fear, family, and care. In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar sits down with Dr. Yiola Marcou, Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre, to talk about breast cancer, the human side of oncology, women in medicine, ethics, prevention, and what Cyprus needs to protect and improve in its healthcare
Women Building Cyprus: Cyprus Needs Doers, Not Just Talkers I Dr. Antigoni Komodiki
Cyprus does not need more people waiting for change. It needs more people willing to do the work.In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar sits down with Dr. Antigoni Komodiki, CEO of Junior Achievement Cyprus and Chair of the Executive Board of JA Europe, to talk about education, social justice, women’s representation, and why young people need more than knowledge to
Women Building Cyprus: “Identity Is Negotiated” on Power, Peace, and Motherhood I Sophia Papastavrou
What if the most important thing you learn early in life is that identity is negotiated, not given?In this episode, Annetta Benzar sits down with Sophia Papastavrou (World Vision Canada) to talk about power beyond titles, why she doesn’t accept symbolic gestures in place of real change, and what it means to raise a child while trying to end cycles of inherited trauma.The Future Makers Podcast is a
Women Building Cyprus: Don’t Play The Game. Lead With Transparency I Sara Gunnervik
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Sara Gunnervik, Partner at KENDRIS Group and Managing Partner of KENDRIS Cyprus and Luxembourg. Born in Sweden and based in Cyprus for more than 25 years, Sara reflects on feminist upbringing, single motherhood, leadership, ethics, women in senior rooms, building the KENDRIS Cyprus office, and why transparency, kin
Women Building Cyprus: Ideas Don’t Build Themselves I Maria Evgeniou
Cyprus is full of ideas, but ideas do not survive without people, networks and the courage to build. In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar sits down with Maria Evgeniou, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Officer at IDEA Innovation Center, to talk about her path from history and archaeology into startups, the pressure placed on women to manage everything quietly, why
Women Building Cyprus: “Failure Is Staying Too Long” on Confidence, Exposure, and Venture Capital I Maria Ioannou
If Cyprus has the talent, what’s missing: genius or exposure? In this episode, Annetta Benzar sits down with Maria Ioannou, Portfolio and Investor Relations Manager at Kinisis Ventures, to talk about moving from communications into venture capital, what it feels like to walk into rooms where you’re the only woman, and why founders need “flying hours” before they can sell their story with confidenc
Women Building Cyprus: Why “Fun Events” Don’t Fix Workplace Culture I Christiana Genie
Most “culture problems” can’t be fixed with a fun night out.In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar sits down with Christiana Genie, a well-established behaviour specialist, parenting strategist, and founder of Inner Growth Academy, to discuss the culture inside a workplace: everyday behaviour, the way people speak to each other, and whether teams feel real connecti
Women Building Cyprus: “You’ll Distract the Men” on Tech Bias and Online Safety I Asegul Hulus
What happens when a school tells a girl she can’t study computer science because she will “distract the men”?In this episode, Annetta Benzar sits down with Asegul Hulus, an Assistant Professor in Computing and founder of Metatech Feminism, to talk about the gender bias that still follows women into tech and what “online safety” really means in an AI era.The Future Makers Podcast is a series of in-
Women Building Cyprus: Former Minister of Justice, Anna Koukkides-Procopiou: Why Your Work Won’t Speak for You in Politics
In politics, your work won’t speak for you.In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar sits down with Anna Koukkides-Procopiou, President of Politeia and former Minister of Justice and Public Order, to talk about what politics actually rewards, how media narratives get built (including the “empty chair” story), and why Cyprus can’t keep treating security and representat
Women Building Cyprus: Build the Culture Before the Buildings I Artemis Kontou
What happens when we build the innovation parks, but forget the innovation culture?In this episode, Annetta Benzar sits down with Artemis Kontou, researcher and entrepreneur, to talk about moving from academia into entrepreneurship, working on AI in healthcare, and what Cyprus needs to fix if it wants serious innovation, from procurement that rewards the lowest price to an ecosystem that still str
Women Building Cyprus: “Running Makes Me Feel Free” on Marathon Training, Motherhood, and Safety I Elia Ioannou
This episode is about what builds an athlete: discipline, support, and the moments you almost quit.In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar sits down with Elia Ioannou, a long-distance runner and two-time Limassol Marathon winner (sub-3 hours), to talk about what her training actually looks like week to week, the reality of coming back after injury, and why safety st
Women Building Cyprus: “Don’t Stay in the Waiting Place” on Courage, Kids, and Character Education I Maria Lavithi
What if the biggest thing holding people back isn’t lack of talent, but the habit of waiting to feel “ready”? In this episode, Annetta Benzar sits down with Maria Lavithi, founder of Heroes Made, to talk about the curiosity that drives entrepreneurship, why schools resist change even when they want better tools, and what it really takes to build character education into a system.The Future Makers
Women Building Cyprus: Lóvi Medical Director on AI Skincare, Transparency and Personalized Routines I Nadia Kapleva
What happens when you leave Big Four advisory, spend five years retraining as a cosmetic chemist and aesthetic doctor, and then help build an AI that is trying to change how the world buys skincare... from Cyprus? In this episode of The Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, host Annetta Benzar speaks with Dr Nadia Kapleva, Medical Director of skincare app Lóvi, about the belief that everything is
Women Building Cyprus: The Lawyer Building an AI Fermentation Startup I Greta Skemaite
What makes someone leave a secure corporate path and build something risky from scratch?In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Greta Skemaite, co-founder and CEO of V.G. Freyia Labs, about going off-script, building a deep tech company around fermentation, and why community, motherhood, and loyalty to your own values engineer the kind of leader you beco
Women Building Cyprus: “Bring Your Own Table” on Power, Boundaries, and Strategies I Raluca-Ioana Man
What happens when you stop waiting for permission, and start building your own table?In this episode, Annetta Benzar sits down with Raluca-Ioana Man, strategic business advisor and board consultant, to talk about reverse-engineering your life, setting non-negotiable values, and why “power” often comes down to boundaries and the ability to say no. The Future Makers Podcast is a series of in-depth c
Women Building Cyprus: Why International Law Has No Police I Alexia Solomou
In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, Annetta Benzar speaks with Alexia Solomou, Partner at Spencer West Cyprus, about her path from the International Court of Justice to asylum casework in Cyprus, and what power, justice, and human impact look like up close. The Future Makers Podcast is a series of in-depth conversations about how future-makers are made, in Cyprus and beyond. H
Women Building Cyprus: What is more dangerous, failure or comfort? I Monica Ioannidou Polemitis
What does it take to build a three-decade career in a male-dominated firm, raise three children, and still push for inclusion, authenticity, and real change in Cyprus?In this episode of Future Makers: Women Building Cyprus, host Annetta Benzar speaks with Monica Ioannidou Polemitis, Partner at TKI.ai and President of ICC Cyprus Women, about why complacency is the real risk, how Cyprus shaped her d
Women Building Cyprus: First Female PwC Cyprus Partner on Inclusion, Bias, and the Power of Vulnerability I Cleo Papadopoulou
“We have too many narcissist leaders today.”What does a 30-year career in a male-dominated firm, raising three children, and still pushing for inclusion, authenticity, and real change in Cyprus?Cleo Papadopoulou, the first female partner at PwC Cyprus, shares how she moved from aspiring ballerina in London to building a career in a partnership of more than 30 men.In this episode:◽️ growing up in a
