Lunch with Gold: Thomas Kazakos

The Director-General of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber looks back on his 24 years in the job and how it has changed, reflects on the recent parliamentary elections and reveals how he rediscovered a love of reading – where else? – on a cruise. 

As regular readers of this article may have noticed, the people I usually make a point of inviting to Lunch with Gold are those I have known and admired for many years. The better we know someone, the easier it is to chat about any number of issues. This alone makes Thomas Kazakos special. I first met him less than five years ago – in October 2011 – when I interviewed him for the magazine’s first cover story about the Cyprus shipping industry but ever since that first meeting it has felt as if we have been not only professional associates but friends for as long as I can remember.

I discover during our lunch that, in addition to a similar sense of humour, we share numerous characteristics: like me, he doesn’t smoke (we both tried – and disliked – it as kids), he doesn’t drink alcohol (I don’t mind a glass of wine or a small beer with food but he refuses even those as well as all spirits) and he has a sweet tooth. When I mention that I am often happy to pass on the main course as long as I can have the dessert, he understands completely: “My mother was a home economics teacher and there was always a cake in the house. I could have gone without eating for a day or two if necessary but I needed my 2-3 slices of cake every day!,” he says, and he is not joking.

Kazakos has chosen Epsilon, the latest restaurant addition to Limassol Marina, as our dining venue and I wonder if this is a obvious reflection of a deep-rooted connection with the sea but, he says, he could just have easily have suggested a fast food place or a kebab house over a more upmarket eatery. Once again, I feel as if I am listening to myself speak when he says, “I’m not that fussy about food and I’ll eat most things. It’s all non-renewable energy in the end so I’m not sure whether it deserves all the attention we give it, especially here in Cyprus.” Consequently, I can sympathise totally when he explains that this, combined with his no smoking/no alcohol rule, may give people the idea that he’s not very sociable. “I have a problem sometimes when I go out with people and they ask me what wines to order. I rarely know what to suggest unless someone I trust has recommended one,” he confides. “Of course, I am everyone’s favourite driver at the end of the night, so it does have its positive aspects!”

If I didn’t resemble him in this, I joke, I would be asking him what his vices are, to which he replies, with a hearty laugh, that if Gold were to do some investigative reporting, it would uncover a love affair – with shipping.

Thomas Kazakos may have joined the Cyprus Shipping Council, as the Chamber was originally known, partly by chance but his maritime connections have existed since the day he was born.

“Our family home was literally on the beach at Famagusta so the sea has always part of my life,” he tells me. “In 1974 we moved first to Larnaca and later to Limassol, where I was involved in the sea scouts. The truth is that I never thought I would have a career in any way related to shipping, even though my Master’s degree dissertation was on maritime transport. My first degree was in Law and I applied to the CSC because there was an opening for an in-house legal adviser in Limassol, where my family was. The fact that it was in shipping, which was an area of interest, made it more appealing. When I got the job, I told myself that, if I liked it, I might stay for five years at most. I am still there 24 years down the line.”

Kazakos may say that he’s not particularly interested in food but he knows what he likes, so he is happy to order an arugula salad with chicken while I accept his recommendation of the pan-seared salmon fillet that he has already tried before and intends to eat again. It is beautifully cooked and I can’t help thinking that it’s far tastier than the kebab which, we earlier agreed, would have been just as enjoyable.

We continue the conversation about his long career at the Cyprus Shipping Chamber, which he describes as being “like an open university” that has taught him things he could never have imagined. He goes on to say that what he finds fascinating about shipping is its globalised nature. “When I started, I was really surprised by the exposure Cyprus has and the respect it enjoys. I have never forgotten one of my first meetings in London, when I found myself in a room with 12 of my counterparts, two of whom were retired rear-admirals! I was totally in awe of them but they treated me in such a friendly way. And this has been the case all long. Just this morning, I was speaking to my counterpart in Germany, a former Minister of Transport, whom I’ve known for a number of years now. We talk as friends. The relative size of our two countries is not an issue, thanks to the quite substantial recognition of our industry abroad.”

I suggest that it must very rewarding to feel that you have friends all over the world. ”I felt this greatly during the crisis of March 2013,” he admits, “when I started receiving letters and e-mails of support from our biggest competitors. It was really touching. Despite the massive size of the industry, we are like a small family.”

In the five years of Gold’s life, I have yet to come across anyone who works with the Chamber who doesn’t sing its praises and those of its Director-General. Kazakos himself sees a tremendous change in how the Chamber, as the voice of the industry, is viewed, especially by state bodies. “At the start,” he recalls, “when most of the work was administrative – mine was legal at first and then administrative – I would go to Nicosia and I had the feeling that nobody knew what the CSC was all about. It was a struggle to get appointments. Over the years we’ve created a positive image for the industry and the Chamber. People now know us and trust us and I’m very pleased about this.”

I tell him that this isn’t a bad outcome for someone who likes, self-deprecatingly, to describe himself as “a glorified secretary with a tie” and he fake-grudgingly admits that it is, indeed, a good thing.

On the day we have lunch together, people are still talking about the parliamentary election results which, despite the raised threshold for eligibility for a seat, have led to no fewer than eight political parties joining the House of Representatives. “I’m all for democracy,” he says, “but we have to be practical. Eight parties in a 56-seat parliament? The United States has 225 million voters and two parties.”

He laughs when I suggest that the same Cypriot habit is reflected in the relatively high number of free-to-air TV stations, banks and even restaurants on this small island of ours. But now that the votes have been cast and counted and parliamentary seats allocated, Thomas Kazakos expresses his hope that our new representatives will “take things seriously” in view of how the economy has begun to stabilise. “I’m very pleased that there are a lot of young and new members of the House,” he says. “My wish is for them to be passionate about their work and to do it conscientiously and well.” He adds that he is sorry to see that in Cyprus, as in most Western countries, more and more voters are choosing to abstain from the process, especially young people. “I guess that says something about our political parties,” he comments, with a wry smile.

It comes as no surprise to hear that a man who has spent all his working life involved in shipping likes to go on a cruise when the summer holidays arrive. He recalls that it was on one such cruise that he rediscovered the joy of reading. “A friend of mine had bought me The Da Vinci Code and in it he wrote, “This book will self-destruct in six months unless you read it!” so, as a promise to him I took it with me. I read it in a day and I went a bought all Dan Brown’s other books on board the ship. I had forgotten what a pleasant experience it is to relax with a book and usually I can still only do it when I’m on holiday.”

This year, however, there will be no cruise. He will be attending his son’s graduation ceremony at the University of East Anglia and that will be followed by a week’s holiday “in a nice quiet place in Crete, without a mobile phone – my wife will have hers – and with a book or two. Kazakos enjoys a good thriller but he also likes to read political biographies and books with historical references. “I love history and such books relax me,” he says.

It’s time to decide on a dessert – it has already been established that neither of us can easily resist a sweet treat – but while recommending the calorie-laden Chocolate Melting Ball for me (it would be bad manners for me to ignore him, you understand…) he takes on a pseudo-superior air and orders fresh fruit for himself. “I’m trying to cut down on the sweets,” he laughs, before admitting that he had indulged in the truly divine chocolate dessert a few days earlier.

As we prepare to leave, he tells me that he is about to travel to Tokyo, Athens and Madrid and he explains that he “used to travel a lot. Now it’s the bare minimum.” Of course, the foreign travel is on top of his daily commute from home in Nicosia to the office in Limassol, a precisely timed 42-minute journey. Before going home today, however, he has a monthly CSC members’ meeting to attend.

As we say our goodbyes, Thomas Kazakos is all smiles: “Thanks for an enjoyable meal. It made a very nice break because I’ve had a hectic 24 years!”

You can be sure that nobody is taking bets on whether he will still be heading the association that describes itself as ‘the voice of the Cyprus shipping industry’ in 2040.