In recent years, we frequently encounter Marios Mitromaras, the CEO of Intralot Australia, at Greek community events. He is an intriguing personality and one of Greece’s ‘big brains’ that migrated to Australia five years ago, but who is Marios Mitromaras?

Neos Kosmos met him at the offices of INTRALOT in Port Melbourne where we talked about his work at the company and his journey, about how this Athenian ended up in Melbourne.

Mitromaras points to the fact that Intralot Australia and Intralot Gaming Services presence in here dates back to May 2005.

“In Oceania, we operate mainly in Victoria and Western Australia, as well as in New Zealand. Additionally, I oversee the Southeast Asian market, countries such as Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Philippines, where we have been successfully active for several years.”

In Australia, INTRALOT he says, provide “advanced technological solutions” and services in Victoria and Western Australia.

In Victoria, those solutions are for the “control and monitoring of gaming machines” the pokies “on behalf of the local government.” In Western Australia, the company is the “technology provider” for the only operational state lottery in the country, Lottery West he says.

“We provide technological solutions, products, and software to ensure the successful conduct of numerical games in this lottery.”

Producing and selling Greek technology abroad and being chosen as a technological provider by both state and private organisations is a source of pride for Intralot Australia. With their expertise and innovative solutions, they continue to make a significant impact in the gaming industry in Australia and beyond. INTRALOT’s valuation in Europe is close to $4 billion AUD and the company founded in Athens by Sokratis Peter Kokkalis in 1992 operates in over 50 nations in the European Union, Other Europe, Middle East and North Africa, North and Latin America, and Asia, and Oceania.

STARTING IN GREECE

Mitromaras was born and raised in Greece and was always a restless spirit which ensured he became a global citizen a characterization he accepts.

His career began simultaneously with his studies. He studied at the Deree College, the American College of Athens, where he completed a Bachelor’s degree in Management and Organizational Behavior, and then did a postgraduate at ALBA while working full-time.

“During the first five years of my studies, I worked at the DARIK factory in Chalkida, a heavy industry/ironworks, as they say. It was my first job. Afterward, I transitioned to Hitachi Electronics. My time spent at a large Japanese conglomerate was a great learning experience for me.”

GERMANOS AND THE FIRST STINT AT INTRALOT

Mitromaras joined the GERMANOS Group in 2000, where he worked for five years as a regional sales manager for the Sunlight Group which operates in the defense industry. “It was a company with unique technology/expertise in the field of batteries for airplanes, submarines, torpedoes, telecommunications, and forklifts, a significant experience for me, as I began collaborating with government organisations in many countries worldwide,” he tells Neos Kosmos.

In 2005, he moved to INTRALOT, where for four years, he covered the Southeast Asian market.

PRIVATISED OLYMPIC AIRLINES

His abilities, perhaps along with an attraction to challenges, led him to Olympic Airlines in 2009, when the once state-owned Greek carrier was transferred to the hands of the MIG Group owned by Andreas Vgenopoulos.

“I stayed in the MIG Group for two years as the Chief Commercial Officer of Olympic Handling, which managed the 33 airports across Greece and a workforce of 3,500 people, it was an interesting period, as Olympic was being reborn from the ashes of the state-owned Olympic,” he says.

THE SECOND STINT AT INTRALOT

If life moves in circles, then a circle closed for Mitromaras in 2011, with his return to INTRALOT.

“I returned to continue what I did in the first four years, which was to focus on the Asian/Southeast Asian markets, Latin America, and I started traveling to Australia and New Zealand. My second term at INTRALOT is now longer, as I have already completed 12 years,” he says.

A CITIZEN OF THE WORLD

Mitromaras, has traveled to over 90 countries around the world throughout his career, and “spent a great deal of time in Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Chile, all Scandinavian countries, Central European countries, South and Central Africa, other countries in Asia like India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, as well as the American continent.”

His way of adapting to the cultural divergences, social and other differences in a new place is to remind himself of “Saint Ambrose edict, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’.”

“Every country is entirely different and has its own written and unwritten laws and in each country, one must behave according to the local customs and traditions, from the way you speak, greet, offer your hand, or bow, to how you will meet and speak with the respective representative of governments or private organisations.

“Many of the projects I have handled in my career so far have been related to governmental and private organisations that operate with strict procedures and legislation, what we refer to in Australia as ‘heavily regulated environments’.”

THE CHALLENGES…

In such a long and varied journey, there will always be new challenges. “I have had beautiful moments, and some dangerous moments.”

He talks about Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan, Cambodia, “where I found myself alone or with colleagues, and things unfolded differently.”

There have been many “natural and artificial obstacles,” says Mitromaras.

“I won’t go into details, but there were moments that were quite difficult, and we had to handle them with carefully calibrated moves and flexibility.”

Disappointments Mitromaras recognises as a natural part of life in “entrepreneurship.” He has learned to accept them without letting them affect him.

“For me, satisfaction comes from fighting, giving our best. A battle can be lost, but what’s important is to win the war.”

MOMENTS OF PRIDE

Challenges are overshadowed and fade into the background as there are many great moments and pride that the CEO of Intralot Australia enjoys while representing a Greek group abroad. “To represent the colours of a Greek multinational company, to sell technology/products produced in Greece, and to be chosen by foreign organisations, is a great source of pride for me,” says Mitromaras.

“Greeks have reached the ends of the earth, we have been to incredible places and have encountered Greeks in Valparaíso, Chile, the westernmost port in Chile, where there were and still are Greek schools, and it was a pleasant surprise to meet Chileans and speak impeccable Greek.”

The CEO, who also served as a paratrooper in the Special Forces of the Greek Army, compares his team’s successes to military missions.

“Just as we would jump from 10,000 to 15,000 feet and land safely, we would also ‘jump’ – literally land – in countries where we didn’t know what conditions we would face, but due to our DNA and mentality of ‘He who dares, wins,’ we managed to return every time with great success. I think that is a unique feeling,” he tells Neos Kosmos.

RELOCATING TO AUSTRALIA

Regardless of the intense professional activity, frequent travels, and long stints away from home, still did not stop Mitromaras was a bachelor from having a family, he married since 2001 and has three children, two daughters, and a son. They are he says “very close-knit”, and says that that’s mainly due to his wife, who, as he aptly puts it, “supports and holds the family together.”

Five years ago, they all made the decision to relocate to Australia, where Mitromaras’ wife was born.

“It was a big change for the children and us,” he says but today, we all feel grateful to be here.”

“I am happy that this country welcomed us and honoured me by granting me citizenship.” His eldest daughter is 20 years old and is studying veterinary medicine at the University of Melbourne.,the middle one is finishing school Year 1), and the youngest, a boy 13 years old, is in the Year 8.

Mitromaras make no predictions for the future, “We came here with the goal of helping our children have a better future. But we are grounded, in the sense that we do not forget the Greek proverb that says ‘people make plans, and God laughs.,’ we’ll see, we move forward step by step.”

AUSTRALIA, A VAST THESSALONIKI

Mitromaras likes Australia and jokingly says it is like a “vast Thessaloniki.”

“It’s very relaxed, and this is not a criticism, people are, kind and laid-back, they talk to you and greet you at the supermarket, on the street, even if they don’t know you.”

He likes the “politeness and a different approach to things, the expression, ‘no worries, mate,’ meaning ‘don’t worry, friend, everything will be fine,’ indicates a positive reaction to anything that might go wrong.”

This impressed him the most, compared to Greece, which “causes anxiety every day.”

However, “Greece is Greece,” Mitromaras says who believes that “the Greek DNA cannot be surpassed by anything, and certainly, I miss my homeland, I miss our friends, acquaintances, and relatives. I was more accustomed to being abroad. The family is learning now. We’ll see how things go. I hope for the best.”

A PROUD GREEK IN THE DIASPORA

The CEO of Intralot Australia is an active member of the Greek community and often attends community events. Mitromaras is moved by the stories of Greeks of all ages and is pleasantly surprised by the respect Australians have for Greeks.

“I have already been to Canberra three times. I met with the former Prime Minister, Mr Morrison. I met with the current one, Mr Albanese. I have met several times with the Premier of Victoria, and the first thing they all say to me is ‘thank you and all the Greeks’ for being here and for helping us build this country,” he tells Neos Kosmos.

He wants to participate in various community events and activities, “and wherever we can contribute and leave our Greek mark, we will do it with great pleasure and joy.”