Relatives, friends, and colleagues of businessman Nikos Siakolas, as well as representatives from the political and business communities, bid him a final farewell on Monday afternoon.

The funeral service, held at the Church of Hagia Sophia in Strovolos, was attended by the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Annita Dimitriou, Archbishop George of Cyprus, party leaders, and members of the House of Representatives.

The eulogies included extensive references to Nikos Siakolas’s business career, his contributions to society, and his personality, as well as to the family aspect of his life.

On behalf of the family, his son, Marios Siakolas, thanked those who attended the funeral and those who sent messages of support, noting that although his father was known as a businessman, he himself chose to speak about the husband, the father, and the grandfather, as well as the man alongside whom, as he said, he had “the unique privilege” of working for 40 years.

Looking back on his childhood, Marios Siakolas recalled how his father introduced him to the world of work from a very young age, in his own way. As he recounted, when he was eight or nine years old, Nikos Siakolas often traveled abroad and would ask him to read him, over the phone, telegrams that arrived at home regarding potato imports, which was the family’s main business at the time.

On one occasion, as he recounted, the information he relayed about a customer’s price helped his father close a deal. Nikos Siakolas told him at the time that his help was important and that he would get him a toy car as a gift.

“I know now that you said that back then just to make me feel useful. And you succeeded. I think that was the exact moment when the desire to become a businessman myself was born within me,” he said.

Marios Siakolas also referred to the 1974 disaster, describing the moment when his father gathered the family together and, with tears in his eyes, announced that they had lost everything. “And yet, you didn’t let us lose hope, and you told us, ‘We’ll start over.’ And we did start over,” he said.

Next, as he said, came Nigeria. He recalled one evening when he saw his father poring over complex engineering blueprints for a ship, which, as he later learned, would be converted into a floating cement factory.

When he asked him what the plans were, Nikos Siakolas, without looking up, replied, “Bread—it’s bread.” “To me back then, this project seemed like a spaceship. To you, it was simply your next creation,” he said.

Referring to his studies at the University of Chicago, Marios Siakolas said that, as the years went by, he realized that “the most important university” of his life was not the prestigious American university, but his daily time spent with his father and their shared journey in business.

He described their 40 years of collaboration as a “unique and thrilling experience,” filled with learning, creativity, crises, difficulties, and successes.

Describing his father as a true leader, he said that his father possessed absolute calm and self-confidence, even when reality during times of crisis was extremely difficult. At the same time, he did not shy away from mentioning the disagreements they had during their shared business journey, noting that over the years he came to understand that his father was not inflexible, but a man with “his own compass” and an unshakable conviction that, no matter what happened, he would find a way to deal with it.

“Where others saw disaster, you saw a new beginning. Where others saw a dead end, you saw an opportunity. You were never interested in wealth for its own sake; you were interested in creation,” he said.

According to Mario Siakola, his father taught his family—primarily through his actions—the values of hard work, perseverance, courage, and optimism, but also that “culture lies in simplicity,” that cooperation requires mutual respect, and that a person’s good reputation is worth more than any commercial transaction.

“We do not come into this life to lose, nor to win. We come to live,” he said, adding that his father “lived life to the fullest.”

Speaking on behalf of the CTC Group, George Mitsidis provided a more detailed account of Nikos Siakolas’s business career, outlining his journey in the business world and his contribution to the Group’s growth.

A life synonymous with success and entrepreneurship

At his memorial service, the General Director of the OEB, Michalis Antoniou, described Nikos Siakolas’s life as creative and “almost synonymous with progress and entrepreneurship.”

As he noted, when he first met him, Nikos Siakolas was already on a steady path forward, having established himself in management and serving as the head of one of the country’s largest conglomerates.

He noted that even a few months ago, Nikos Siakolas was discussing business plans for the next twenty years, “with the same passion, the same energy, and the same spirit” with which he had begun his journey.

Mr. Antoniou made special mention of Nikos Siakolas’s friendliness and approachability, saying that he spoke to everyone “as an equal,” without being concerned about age, background, status, or any other characteristic of the person he was speaking with.

Through his actions and innovative initiatives, he added, Nikos Siakolas created thousands of jobs over the decades and contributed to Cyprus’s economic development and social well-being.

As he said, Nikos Siakolas, along with a few other pioneering entrepreneurs of the same caliber, contributed to the transformation of the Cypriot economy and its integration among modern and developed economies.

The General Director of the CCI also noted that Nikos Siakolas put the principles of good corporate governance into practice “many years before the term was even coined,” and highlighted his involvement in collective business organizations, particularly the Federation of Employers and Industrialists.

“Nikos Siakolas lived a full life—full of days, full of works and deeds, full of honors and achievements,” said Mr. Antoniou, adding that with his death, “the cycle of an entire era comes to a close,” but his legacy will remain a guide for the future.

Averof Neophytou: “He did not view money as an end in itself”

Averof Neophytou, a friend of the family, described his deep personal relationship with Nikos Siakolas in his eulogy, noting that for more than 40 years he had been fortunate and blessed to share a close bond of mutual respect with him.

As he said, what always stood out about Nikos Siakolas was his strong conviction that “with perseverance, patience, hard work, and faith, nothing is impossible.”

He referred to the serious health crisis Nikos Siakolas faced at the age of just 20, when he contracted typhoid fever. According to Mr. Neophytou, even when the doctors had given up on him, he persisted: “I’ll make it, I’ll make it.” “And he did,” he added.

Mr. Neophytou also spoke of the kindness and respect with which Nikos Siakolas treated everyone, “famous or unknown,” recalling a phrase that, as he said, Nikos Siakolas often repeated to him: “A little kindness never hurts.”

He described him as a man with “an iron will,” passion, tenacity, and patience—effective and often innovative. “He was never the kind of businessman who saw money as an end in itself. He was a visionary. Creative. Creation and his productive legacy were his top priorities,” he said.

In closing, he referred to the deceased’s special connection to the occupied village of Karava. “You have left us, with your beloved Karava and half of our homeland still under occupation,” he said.

Source: CNA