Filenews 5 January 2021 - by Dora Christodoulou
The death of Michalakis Leptos on Sunday marks essentially the end of an era: The era of insightful entrepreneurs starting from scratch created empires, as opposed to today's era of business mergers, equity groups and international partnerships. The deceased linked his name to the construction industry and tourism development in Cyprus not once, but twice. This is also recorded as unique, as the representatives of the business in our country admit. Few people could set up a thriving economic and tourism business from the beginning, just a few years after the Turkish invasion and the consequent collapse of the business he had just set up in his birthplace, Kyrenia.
One of his oldest and closest associates in Paphos, the doctor Panikos Papageorgiou, Minister of Health from 1988-1993, states today to "F" that his insight was something incredible for Paphos at the time:
"I met Michalakis Leptos on his arrival in Paphos in 1978 and since then we remained close friends and collaborators until the end. He worked very hard to set up what became the Leptos Group, while everyone was leaving abroad at the time to find jobs. But what differentiated him was the vision. Where all the Pafites saw a small area cut off from the city of Paphos, Leptos saw the creation of a unique beautiful and luxurious settlement, Leptos Kamares Village, which is now considered a model of development internationally. Where everyone was looking for studies abroad, he set up an internationally recognized university from the outside. And where everyone saw the usual developments on the coastal front, based on the two-fold sun-sea, Leptos saw a unique state in Cyprus that combines innovative medical, academic and environmental benefits, such as Neapolis Eco City, which he did not have time to see in its entirety."
Dr. Papageorgiou reveals that for the last year and a half the deceased has been working intensively to achieve the great goal of establishing a Medical School in Neapolis. "A new hospital would be created within the wider work of Neapolis Eco City that would support the Medical School," he stresses.
The uniqueness of Michalakis Leptos is also highlighted by the man who for almost four decades was his right hand in his business, Andreas Findiklis: "With Michalakis Leptos we marched together for 38 long years. Easy and hard. To joys and sorrows. In big races and uphill trails. From his beloved Kyrenia, Saudi Arabia, Paphos. He was always there for everyone. Modestly, discreetly, but with faith and devotion. Michalakis will be sorely missed. We will all miss him, the warmth of his soul and the integrity of his character. We will miss his love, his laughter, his wise words, his passion in our struggles. We will miss the genuine one he represented."
The human dimension behind the businessman, stresses speaking to "F" another of the close friends of the deceased, the former Minister of Justice, Andreas Dimitriadis: "Michalakis was a man who made sacrifice for his friends. Not many people know it, but he sacrificed relationships for his friends, and helped many to develop without ever using or advertising it. You should know that he showed enormous confidence in his associates and staff, to the point where he suffered more than they did if in times of crisis he was forced to make painful decisions for some. As a businessman, he was from the very first moment that one knew him clearly that he was a brilliant man. And on a personal level, to reveal to you that as president of the AOP for many years, Michalakis Leptos was the sure thing to do with Paphos football. Whenever there were financial problems, we always came to him and he always got rid of everyone."
From Kyrenia to Paphos
Paphos happened to host such a pioneering and insightful businessman because of the Turkish invasion. The self-made entrepreneur, taking advantage of his scientific training and the skills he acquired in the fields of Civil Engineering and Architecture of the National Technical University of Athens, had already started to develop a strong business activity in his birthplace, Kyrenia, especially in the field of land development with pioneering projects for that time. As is well known, Leptos Kamares Village in Tala is the twin "brother" of the work left incomplete in Kyrenia when he was expelled in 1974.
The founder of the Leptos Group, however, was not content to share this disaster. He was active in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with projects such as Saudia City, a modern cosmopolis with 4,000 residences, palaces and more. And in 1978, he started permanent activity in Paphos, essentially changing the course of the city's history. He had said publicly that he chose Paphos because it reminded him of his beloved Kyrenia. And there he began to implement at an unstoppable pace and with innovative methods for the time and the province his design for works of distinct identity, high aesthetics and quality.
In recent years and since Paphos now enjoys developments and services such as Kamares Village, the largest hotel complex in Cyprus, Coral Beach Hotel and resort and Neapolis University, the first University in Paphos that operates for a decade, aimed at the realization of its great dream, the creation of the modern state Neapolis Smart Eco City in Paphos , but also the multi-purpose Costa Nopa resort in Chania, Crete. At the same time, the group has entered the era of skyscrapers, with large-scale and luxury developments in Limassol.
Michalakis Slim served as Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Jordan in Cyprus and has been honored with dozens of distinctions in Cyprus and internationally. He was married to Kiki, the genus Digenis from Greece and they have two sons George and Pantelis, Senior Executives of the Group.
Paphos says goodbye to Michalakis Leptos from the Church of Panagia Pantanassa in the area of the Technical School, at 12:00 today at noon.
They express their deep sorrow
The EBE Paphos stresses that he has been one of the pioneers and founders of modern Cypriot business with the breadth of its business activity exceeding the limits of Cyprus.
"He was a visionary and distinguished himself for his commitment and perseverance in achieving his goals," he says.
The Paphos Region Tourism Development and Promotion Company says the country's business world is poorer with the death of Michalakis Leptos, which leaves a huge gulf in his family, in the hotel industry, in the field of land development, education, health and those who worked with him. We will all remember him for his merit, insight and continued contribution to our economy and society.
The ETEK also expresses its deep sorrow, pointing out that the Leptos Group contributed to the economic development of Cyprus, in the first difficult years after the invasion and to this day has employed hundreds of our fellow citizens, including architects and engineers, through its business activity. His contribution to the establishment of Neapolis University in Paphos, which includes the Faculty of Architecture, Engineering and Geoenvironment sciences, was also important.
