“Providing Turnkey Solution”

Finance chiefs have never before faced more complex challenges and responsibilities, a trend that today has become even more perplex due the unknown –until today- side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that this severe humanitarian crisis has sealed the fact that the DNA of a CFO is made of more than finance and accounting; the modern CFO is a cross-functional leader involved with all critical aspects of a company’s or group’s operation - from strategy to sales and from sustainable growth to cost cutting. In such a volatile and demanding environment, the role of George Kontopoulos, CFO of Matrix Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers, is constantly adapting under the new circumstances, while adopting transformational technologies and elevating the organizations’ profitability.

"In MATRIX Group our vision is «to guarantee to all stakeholders an even larger, more competitive and holistic spectrum of insurance and reinsurance solutions, products and services»."

It is pertinent to mention that George has always been supportive of the management perspective and assisted the company to build processes and control points as the organization grew. He built and nurtured productive relationships inside and outside of the Group, acting with integrity and transparency. He created a strong Finance Department with key employees that assisted the organization to succeed on its goals. The whole team is one of the most important driving forces of Matrix Group.

He has incorporated numerous technologies including adopting an ERP that could support several functions such as CRM, book-keeping and financial/management reporting requirements for all the companies within Matrix Group. The decision was made to go for Microsoft Navision, customize it and adopt it in six companies in three different countries. The Finance Department also streamlined the consolidation process for all companies and created processes and timelines to guide the reporting process across Matrix Group. Finance Department is now at a stage where it can effectively link Microsoft Navision to Power BI tools to create “live” management reporting tools that can give insights to the management and to the brokers within the organization. In addition, the Finance Department of Matrix cooperates closely with the IT Department.

Founded in 2003 Matrix Insurance & Reinsurance Brokers SA, that became a Broker at Lloyd’s in September 2012. An important milestone for the Group's development was the launch of a strategic partnership with the Howden Broking Group - one of the world’s largest independent international insurance intermediary groups. With Howden’s support Matrix Group secured the acquisition of Piraeus Insurance Brokers, the insurance broking arm of Greece’s largest banking institution, Piraeus Bank. Today, 17 years after establishment, the Matrix Group continues to expand not only geographically but also in terms of products and services. The management of Matrix is constantly seeking new challenges and opportunities and invests in training and the latest technologies.

George has been an integral part of the company and has been associated with Matrix for 9 years assisting the CEO of the company in growing the business through establishing new companies in Turkey, South Africa, opening a new Marine division in the UK and especially supported the recent buy-out of Piraeus brokers which opened the direct broking intermediation business for Matrix in Greece. According to George, “We live in an era where CFOs need to be aware of all available technological methods and tools that can differentiate the way they use the data to support management decision making and strategic planning.” The CFOs also need to adapt fast to macroeconomic conditions to support business continuity and growth and offer valuable insights to CEOs. “Always remember that the interconnection of different sources of data with Power BI, allows us to offer valuable insights to our broking team that will be able to perform its role in placing insurance and reinsurance business more effectively and in a timely manner,” adds George.