Thales Panagides - Brazil, Cyprus and a Hill

Most memorable journeys

Thales Panagides graduated with an MBA in Entrepreneurship in 1998. He spent weeks searching for a job in the financial district of New York City and realized Wall Street wasn’t the right fit for a Cypriot who spent most of his summers on the beach. Uncertain about his future and how to leverage his business degree, he decided to visit his cousin in Brazil who just launched an Internet company. The plan was to spend a couple of weeks, but he ended up staying for ten fruitful years. Thales was offered a stake in his cousin’s technology company called Inova Tecnologias. Highlights included attracting venture capital and launching a B2B website selling high fashion Brazilian bikinis around the world. The bikini website drew media attention and was mentioned in publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Inc Magazine. He moved to Cyprus with his wife and two daughters in 2008 and launched a second ecommerce website focusing on gym wear. Today Inova Technologias employs 20 people and Thales continues to be one of the leading independent distributors of Brazilian bikinis and fitness wear in the world. Thales enjoys open water swimming, cycling and running. He’s also an aspiring author who priorities meaning and not profit maximisation.