Myrto Stavrou

Her job at ÅF - Multitasking!

Myrto works in our office in Madrid as Associate Director IFIs.

How would you describe your job?

Multitasking? I am heading the international commercial activities for ÅF in Spain, while coordinating the multilateral market opportunities with international financial institutions (IFI’s). I am also in charge of sales for the Policy & Regulation unit in Europe, Africa, Middle East and CIS.

Myrto, you just recently got promoted. Could you please tell us a bit about your career at ÅF?

I first joined the company 10 years ago and 7 years have passed since ÅF acquired Mercados EMI. During this decade I have seen the company grow and evolve, and me with it. I first started as Business Development Officer and eventually grew to my current role, constantly adapting to the changing market and corporate conditions.   

When you finished university, what was your first job?

I come from Greece, where my family owns a small company that works in the sector of pre-fabricated buildings for industrial use. I started working there during the summer far before finishing the university, getting familiar with all activities and processes in management, sales, accounting and plant operations. This has been a vital period in building up my professional skills. After graduating from the Athens’ Economic University Business School, I worked in marketing at our company until I left Greece to study my Masters’ in the UK. After finishing my MA in Personnel Management at the WBS, I moved to London where I worked for a conference producing company. I was responsible for producing international conferences mainly on energy and PPPs. This is where I got my first contact with the energy sector and the international market and at that time, I decided that I wanted to pursue an international career. When, in 2007, I got a job offer from, back then, Mercados I moved to Madrid and in 2010 I joined ÅF following the acquisition.

What makes you passionate about your daily work?

We operate in a market with lots of pressure to stay on top and this inevitably requires energy, eagerness and a constant desire to improve to make the way forward. Being surrounded by good, professional people with exciting backgrounds and experiences is an extra plus.

What was the most challenging project in your career? And why?

I am a sales person at the end of the day and my work normally stops at contract signature. But if by project we can define also the effort to identify and use the synergies existing within ÅF, and eventually contribute to making it truly international, then this is for me an ongoing and very challenging project.

What is your dream assignment?

A multidisciplinary technical assistance in an emerging country using inputs and resources from across ÅF (mainly the Nordics), applying the top-notch technological in-house know-how to improve the living conditions of people in need.

How do you and your colleagues create solutions that are profitable, safe and sustainable for our clients?

Part of our work focuses on emerging countries where access to energy is not as straightforward as we are used to. We work with the international community and the local stakeholders to create enabling frameworks for bringing energy to the most remote communities deploying solutions that are both environmentally sustainable and socio-economically acceptable. Now, with our new colleagues from ÅF Aries, we also aim at introducing the latest technologies in solar solutions and thus provide a complete and cost-efficient package.

You have certainly experienced many great or confusing incidents as well cultural changes during your long international career. Can you tell us one that you never forget?

When I first started working with Mercados I knew little about development aid, and my travels so far had been mainly in Central Europe. The first time I took a plane to Africa was to visit a client in Mozambique and I was really excited. The moment I saw Maputo I realized that my knowledge of the real world was null. I am far from that point today but this first encounter is what keeps me still going – at the risk of sounding idealistic.

Who is Myrto in her private life?

Happily married with a son of a year and a half, and hopefully more to come. This is where I spend my little free time. And in planning my second trip around the world…