The Three Greek “Executives”

The problem was that Greek headquarters had created an intimidating surrounding. The people from headquarters involved with Peru were basically three top executives: the HR director (the “friend”), a Marketing Director and a Finance Director. These three had no idea of managing a company. They were sitting comfortable in their nice offices in Greece, sending tough e-mails, giving orders, but without having any responsibility. Our hero had never seen anything like this before. If things went wrong they blamed local management, but in case of any success, they claimed the glory immediately! But they did not know how to run the business. This is logical since the specific people did not have any operational experience in the field. The Peruvian people knew this and most of them were sick and tired of it. These three "executives" were considered as a bad joke. Unfortunately, a bad joke with power and authority. Besides everything else, our hero had to face this situation. He had to prove that he was not like these specific three executives.

The Peruvian Office

The ride to the office was about 20 minutes, depending on traffic. Everybody in the Peruvian office was expecting him that day and had prepared a nice welcome. First of all the CEO introduced him to everybody. Then there was a small presentation from the management team regarding the company. Our hero’s position was very important in the company structure. Basically we was number 2 after the CEO, but most importantly he was the guy from headquarters. His impression from that first day was that everybody was a bit frightened. Not only because of the “new person from Greece”, but because of headquarters.

Central Offices Greece

It is very important to note that during these 8 days in Peru, no one from Greece central offices had contacted him. Our hero had tried to call his "friend" the HR director, but there was no return of the call. Our hero started to feel quite uncomfortable with the situation. Imagine, an expatriate from Greece moving to Lima, Peru with no support from the central offices! Unbelievable! But our hero at that point could not imagine, what would follow in a few months….

The Ride to the Office

He woke up very early that day. First of all he called his wife. She had arrived at Madrid and was waiting for the evening flight for Athens. After a 5 minute conversation closed the phone, dressed and then went to eat breakfast. They were staying in the Sofitel, which was a nice hotel, but not anything special. Our hero was staying there for 8 days by now and already was tired from the same breakfast. Only three types: American, Continental, Healthy. Anyway after eating breakfast he left for work. The ride was a unique experience. Our hero had already seen that the driving in Lima, and generally in L. America, was totally different than Europe. Very agressive. But here is the thing. No accidents, especially in the city. Everybody was accustomed to driving this way.

Lonely Greek in Peru

The next day would be our heroes’ first day at his new job. That afternoon however, his wife would be travelling to back Greece in order to pick up their son. She would stay in Greece for 2 days and then return. A tough trip with a duration of 34 hours. The return would be even harder for his wife, because she would be travelling with the baby. Difficult trip for a 10 month old child, so our hero was a bit worried. Anyway, he dropped his wife at the airport and then returned to the hotel. That night was quite lonely for him and at the same time he was nervous about his first day at the job.

Jockey Plaza

That same afternoon they went shopping for furniture and appliances. They went to a big mall called Jockey Plaza. This a large shopping centre in Lima that has many shops to choose from. Our hero and his wife did not know where to start from. They had to buy everything from the beginning, within a specific budget. They needed electrical appliances, furniture, things for the baby, etc. They did not stay only in this mall, but they went searching in various shops. The next days were extremely tiring. Finally they were able to order nearly all their things after three days. Most of them from Jockey Plaza. Unfortunately they expected the majority of them be delivered in a month. That meant living in a hotel for a month. This would not be easy.

Hello Oto

As we mentioned our hero had a driver. This driver was provided for security reasons, but basically he facilitated our hero’s life at a large extent. He was English speaking, so he helped our hero and his wife to communicate with the locals. He also knew the stores, the restaurants, etc and in general his assistance was more than necessary. Our hero and his wife could not manage easily without the help of their driver. Furthemore he helped them with may things that were not included in his job description. During their stay in Peru he was more than a driver. He was a friend. Hello Oto, hope you are fine. We will never forget you.