Who we are - FOCUS STC

FOCUS Strategic Thinking Consultants (FOCUS STC) is a professional business consulting firm based in Thessaloniki, Greece. We provide innovation management and capacity-building services across a number of fields, namely the circular bioeconomy, biodiversity and Nature-based Solutions (NBS), R&D, social innovation, renewable energy sources, cultural heritage, and blue growth. Moving beyond traditional consulting, we specialise in facilitating multi-actor collaboration and bridging the gap between academia, industry, and civil society within these sectors. A combination of strategy, quality, and expertise is what defines us in the business consulting industry.

FOCUS STC's Vision, Mission and Values (infographic)

BACKGROUND

Following successful careers in their respective domains, FOCUS STC’s founders, Iakovos Delioglanis and Ephy Kouzi, decided to join their diverse backgrounds and experiences, bringing different perspectives and ideas into business, based on their shared belief that a small organisation can provide quality consulting services to clients of all sizes.

It is on this belief that FOCUS STC PC was founded in July 2021, with the intention to capitalise on its founders' 25 years of experience in EU-funded projects, innovation consulting, education and professional training.

Their combined skills and talents form the basis of FOCUS STC, which aspires to actively support innovation, sustainability, strategic thinking and adaptability to an ever-changing environment.

To achieve its goals, our company prides itself on its extensive international network of multidisciplinary partners and allies, developed through years of strategic and fruitful collaborations. We all share the common vision of delivering a better future to generations to come.

OUR CORE TEAM

FOCUS STC leverages a unique combination of creativity, innovation and leadership skills to understand the fundamental drivers of any mission, challenge conventional thinking about it and make sense of the complex.

Approaching the same question from different perspectives and looking beyond the ‘optics’, we make use of long-established and proven means and methods, not afraid to advance new ideas and envisage new solutions to old problems, recasting strategy and resetting direction whenever needed.

This consistently leads to the more informed and improved decision-making processes and results. We are constantly looking for possibilities, seeking optimal solutions and developing partnership opportunities.

If you don’t believe it, don’t do it
If you don’t know, ask
If you hit a wall, rethink

Iakovos Delioglanis

Iakovos – BSc in Physics and MSc in Telecoms [Faculty of Sciences - School of Physics, AUTh, Greece] - is an Innovation Management Expert with over 25 years of experience in providing innovation management services to research, industrial and public organisations at EU, national and regional level. He has worked as a senior consultant and been involved in the coordination, management and implementation of numerous EU-funded projects and studies that cross-cut various research and innovation topics. He has a long track-record coordinating projects and designing / implementing a wide range of activities pertaining to the communication, dissemination and promotion of scientific knowledge.

Dare to reinvent yourself
– Dare to act – Dare to achieve

Ephymia-Maria (Ephy) Kouzi

Ephy – Translation and Interpretation [Faculty of Translation and Interpretation – School of International Interpreters (EII), UMONS, Belgium] - has been working for more than 25 years as an Interpreter in conferences and events organised by several high-level institutions, notably the EU, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the International Olympic Academy and International Olympic Committee, etc. She has vast experience in education and training, having extensively worked with both children and adults for several years. In 2015, based on her long acquaintance with EU projects and activities as an interpreter, Ephy decided to take the leap and get more actively involved in EU-funded projects, putting to good use her particular set of skills. She participated thereafter in the implementation of a number of projects.

Push your limits to succeed -
not your sanity

Dafni Delioglani

Dafni – BSc in Geology and MSc in Climatology & the Atmospheric Environment [Faculty of Sciences - School of Geology, AUTh, Greece] – is a Project Manager with experience in the dissemination and communication of European and national projects focusing on environmental challenges. She contributes to all project cycles, from the proposal preparation phase to the actual project implementation, focusing primarily on activities that aim to maximise the impact of the respective project. Leveraging her environmental background, she manages to communicate project messages to different stakeholders using the appropriate channels (website, social media, etc.). In the portfolio of her previous endeavours, she counts participation in >10 projects, acting in most of them as her organisation’s team leader.