Achievements and progress – interview with Alexandros Pappas
"ANIXE has evolved in the past few years into an international company and, at the same time, has been able to retain the ingredients of success." – said Alexandros Pappas, who works at ANIXE as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Could you describe your beginning with ANIXE?
Back in 2015, I had just shut down the operations of a startup that I had been involved in and had a fresh start with Project Beagle. Besides the fact it was a challenging place to work, the supportive colleagues around me made me feel comfortable and creative from the first day. I found teamwork to be the most valuable asset we could be very proud of.
Could you tell me in a few words what exactly is the position of the Chief Technology Officer?
Connecting with my colleagues, driving technology, being active in the architectural part of the platform, and understanding the industry are some of my essential day-to-day tasks and responsibilities. In addition, managing my job and enjoying myself in the process is what I try to achieve.
What is the most significant difficulty in your role?
Communication is the biggest challenge as I need to connect people with the more significant scope of the game and, at the same time, the upper management with the development team's needs. Finally, make sure that the business holds product architecture.
Could you share some more details about the projects your units work on? For example, what technology/language do they usually use?
Currently, in Athens, we are working on three projects. Hotel contracting and transfers as a turnkey solution are the two main initiatives. We are also working on a BI project related to booking data. We have backends written in Java 11 and the latest Spring Boot, and as for the frontend, we use the latest AngularJS across the teams.
How has ANIXE changed from your perspective in past years?
ANIXE has evolved in the past few years into an international company and, at the same time, has been able to retain the ingredients of success. Within all of the locations we work, we have diversity, operate in distributed teams, and are productive. Every year, I see the company's achievements and progress, which is motivating.
What do you like at ANIXE the most?
The freedom to grow and learn within the organisation brings me joy.
Do you think ANIXE is an excellent place to develop a career for developers?
As I already mentioned, the autonomy and support to grow professionally are where ANIXE excels. In addition, the manner the company follows with newcomers from day one helps them learn in a friendly environment and feel like part of the whole. Even with the difficulties of remote work that Covid-19 brought us, we still have excellent communication, and as a result, we thrive.
What do you enjoy doing after work to recharge your batteries?
I most enjoy swimming these days, or simple things like cooking a nice meal or reading a book. For me, simplicity is key to happiness.