By Christina Pelekanou
It has been 16 years since Antis Chatzikostis was murdered outside his home. Since then, his family has endured unbearable pain. For those of us who knew him only as an employer and for countless hours of our lives, it remains clear that he was a person full of positivity, faith in what he did, creativity, ideas, and dreams. Sixteen years later, anyone searching online will find texts from his colleagues speaking highly of Antis Chatzikostis, expressing gratitude for their experiences at the DIAS group.
Different times, different ideals, different dreams… more carefree, more creative, with a brilliance that only Antis foresaw and only he had visions that no one else managed to replace. Those closer to him might have known more than I did, as I was in a position he gave me (not due to knowing him but because he believed in me) in a company with goals and dreams to reach even higher.
What I know personally is that Antis Chatzikostis gave opportunities to those who did their job correctly and to those around him. He was decisive in his decisions, listened to your complaints and questions, and didn’t just act like a boss. He tried to understand your temperament and aimed to be fair. He might have been strict, but he wasn’t vindictive. He was the employer and businessman who wanted his employees to do their jobs well. He kept alive a business he inherited from his father by bringing in his own ideas and perceptions.
Twenty years at the group were enough for me to see the brilliance of his visions. However, after his death, everything changed drastically. Perhaps the people beside him no longer had the strength or energy to realize what he dreamed of. Sixteen years later, I don’t remember much about my former employer. To me, Antis Chatzikostis was a young man running a company with vision, ideals, and beliefs. And these beliefs and dreams, which many tried to implement, unfortunately did not achieve their fullest potential.
He was a person who left behind brilliance, ideas, and values that are unforgettable, and for those who knew him, he provided the opportunity to see what true creativity and belief in something greater than ourselves looks like. Thus, even after so many years, Antis Chatzikostis’s presence remains alive in the ideas, dreams, and creativity of those who knew him. His legacy is not measured only in successes or business sizes but in how he inspired people to believe in something greater than themselves. And perhaps that’s the most important thing; the brilliance of a person never fades as long as they leave behind hearts that believe in their dreams.
