Mediterranean, business leaders are being called to evolve: Boyden works with businesses to build their leadership teams and drive company performance.
Anna S. Chatzikonstantinou, Founder of Boyden Greece, Cyprus, and Malta, together with Cleri Solomou-Mela, the newest member of the Cyprus team, share their expertise and strategies for sourcing top global talent and supporting their growth tailored to evolving business needs.
Tell us a about Boyden and the firm’s goals.
Anna Chatzikonstantinou: Founded in 1946, Boyden has been at the forefront of leadership advisory for nearly 80 years. What sets us apart is our ability to act as a true strategic partner: agile, insight-driven, and committed to each client’s long-term growth. Boyden helps organizations build leadership teams that drive performance and long-term value. With more than 75 offices in over 45 countries, we bring both global reach and local depth to our clients’ most critical talent needs, whether it’s executive search, interim management or leadership consulting. Our presence in Greece, Cyprus & Malta was established in 2020 and, since then, we’ve supported leading businesses across sectors like Technology, Energy, FMCG, Tourism and Shipping. Our team of 10 senior consultants – all former executives – and eight support professionals, delivers tailored, high-impact solutions.
Can you elaborate on what Boyden does and how it helps businesses achieve their goals?
Anna Chatzikonstantinou: At Boyden Greece, Cyprus & Malta, we support organizations in identifying, attracting and developing the leadership talent they need to achieve strategic growth. We work closely with international corporations, local champions and organizations of public interest, offering bespoke solutions in executive search, interim management and leadership consulting, always combining local insight with global capabilities. What sets us apart is our team structure: ten senior consultants, each with a C-level executive background and deep expertise in specific sectors and functions, collaborate to deliver integrated, high-impact results. This model ensures not only quality of execution, but also strategic alignment with each client’s goals.
Cleri Solomou-Mela: In Cyprus, as our presence continues to grow, we see increasing demand for agile, visionary leadership, particularly in technology, digital services, financial institutions and professional services. We work as strategic partners, since our clients seek leadership that can lead change, deliver results and navigate local complexity with a global perspective. Cyprus is evolving into a dynamic business hub, and Boyden brings its sector insight, international reach and client-first mindset to support that evolution. Our goal is to be the go-to leadership advisor for organizations shaping the future of the island’s economy.
What are the benefits of using a talent agency to find the appropriate candidate?
Anna Chatzikonstantinou: The value of working with a firm like Boyden lies in our ability to align talent with business strategy. Before searching for candidates, we first understand the client’s strategic objectives, organizational culture and leadership dynamics. From there, we design a bespoke search strategy, leveraging both our global Practice Groups and local market insight to identify and engage the right individuals. Our consultants act as an extension of the client’s leadership team, working to shape roles, not just to fill them. We source talent globally, drawing from Boyden’s active international network and database, and complement this with rigorous assessment tools, including psychometric testing and our proprietary BLF (Boyden Leadership Framework) methodology. Crucially, all interviews are conducted by senior consultants with deep sector expertise, ensuring that we uncover not just qualifications but leadership potential, values alignment and culture fit. That’s what truly sets a successful placement apart.
How can the appropriate business leader drive success and what are the best qualities to have to motivate a team?
Anna Chatzikonstantinou: A great business leader drives both performance and purpose. They align teams behind a clear vision, communicate effectively and empower people to take ownership of outcomes. Especially in dynamic, fast-evolving markets like Cyprus, authentic and emotionally intelligent leadership is essential. The most effective leaders balance strategic thinking with empathy. They build trust through transparency, listen actively, recognize individual strengths and foster a culture of accountability and collaboration. At Boyden, we believe that leadership is an evolving discipline, not a fixed skill. The leaders who truly inspire are those who lead by example, adapt to change and stay resilient under pressure. They don’t just manage their teams; they inspire and elevate them.
Cleri Solomou-Mela: That’s the type of leadership we help our clients identify and attract, including here in Cyprus: forward-thinking, impact-driven executives who can navigate complexity and unlock sustainable growth.
What is the talent market like in the Mediterranean and how does Cyprus compare? Is there a larger pool or interest in diaspora communities returning to head businesses in the area?
Cleri Solomou-Mela: The Mediterranean region is undergoing a strategic shift, with Greece, Malta and Cyprus becoming increasingly attractive to international businesses and investors. This momentum is driving demand for senior leaders with cross-border experience, digital fluency and the ability to lead in fast-evolving environments. Cyprus, in particular, is emerging as a talent hub. Its EU membership, business-friendly tax and legal framework, and high quality of life make it appealing not only to companies but also to experienced executives. There’s strong demand for leadership profiles that combine deep local understanding with a global perspective and Cyprus delivers on both fronts. We also see increasing interest from the Cypriot and Greek diaspora, especially second-generation professionals with international experience, who are returning to the region with a strong sense of purpose and readiness to contribute. At Boyden, we actively engage with this global talent pool, helping clients attract, assess, and integrate returning leaders.
Cyprus competes in quality, not just cost. The leadership talent here is highly capable and local businesses are open to global best practices – a combination that creates fertile ground for impactful executive placements.
What are some challenges you face during the recruiting process?
Anna Chatzikonstantinou: Let’s set this straight, first: executive search is not about intuition or a matter of chance. It’s a rigorous, science-driven process that demands both strategic insight and deep market understanding. One of the key challenges we face is aligning expectations: ensuring that a company’s strategy, values and leadership needs are clearly defined and reflected in the candidate profile. We don’t just fill a role, at least not before we identify and understand the DNA of the business.
Cleri Solomou-Mela: Another challenge, particularly in Cyprus, is the limited size of the local talent pool for certain specialized or emerging roles, such as fintech, digital transformation or ESG leadership. In a fast-evolving market like Cyprus, businesses need leadership that’s both forward-thinking and grounded in local context. When talent isn’t available locally, Boyden’s global network becomes a real differentiator. We connect organizations with top-tier international executives, while ensuring cultural fit and long-term alignment.
Speed is also a pressure point. While time-to-hire matters, we believe that thoroughness is non-negotiable. That’s why our methodology balances efficiency with depth, including robust assessments, psychometrics and our proprietary frameworks, so that every placement is built to last. Beyond search, our Leadership Consulting services help businesses develop internal talent pipelines, strengthen executive teams and prepare for succession, thus ensuring that leadership impact doesn’t end with hiring but begins there.
BACKED BY FINDINGS: BOYDEN LEADERSHIP REPORT 2025
Sustained leadership development is at the core of business resilience and progress. Whether integrating Al, fostering diverse teams or strengthening accountability in hy-brid work models, thriving leaders will be the ones who embrace adaptability, continuous learning and strategic foresight. However, translating leadership priorities into action remains a challenge. Many leaders struggle to embed development into their daily opera-tions, to cultivate accountability and empow-er their teams to take ownership of change. Without a structure execution strategy, organizations risk missing the opportunity to convert leadership growth into measurable business impact.
Boyden’s Global Leadership Trends Report 2025 builds on its in-house analysis of market dynamics and provides leaders with a stra-tegic framework to navigate emerging chal-lenges. Leaders who integrate these trends into their strategy and culture will strengthen resilience, gain a competitive edge and shape the future of business.
In summary, the Trends
Anticipating & Driving Disruption:
Moving from reactive to proactive leadership
Continuous Leadership Development:
Embedding learning into daily leadership
Human-AI Partnership:
Leveraging AI as a collaborator, not just a tool
Expanding the Diversity Equation:
Harnessing diverse thinking for innovation
Beyond Work-Life Balance:
Supporting the whole employee experience
Strengthening Accountability in Hybrid
Work: Building trust and autonomy
Business Strategy with ESG Principles:
Aligning ethics and performance
This Special Feature first appeared in the June edition of GOLD magazine. Click here to view it.
