Building a Career and a Family. Here's what I've learned

For the past sixteen years, I've been building my career in Papastratos, while also raising my family. It's about time I wrote about the ups and downs, the successes and fallbacks and admitting that I don't have the right answer to every question. Here is my personal story and the three things I've learned throughout this journey.

I have just parked outside my house, late in the evening. While still in the driver’s seat, I press send/receive to check for e-mails. Just one last time, quickly responding to anything that requires no more than a few words as a reply while marking as unread the more demanding ones, reassuring myself that I will deal with them tomorrow in the office.

Deep breath. Inhale. Exhale.

I text my friend – you know, the one you never get a chance to properly connect with during the week(s). I proceed to get out of the car carrying my laptop case along with some “they were supposed to be a couple but instead it’s a week’s supplies” of bags from the supermarket. My two kids are patiently waiting for me to join them in playing and by waiting I mean a tenth of a second, exactly the time that my mind needs to travel back to when life was more carefree and then back to me sitting on the living room floor, building castles out of rubber blocks.

In case any of the above sound familiar, you‘ve come to the right place. Keep reading. This is an appreciation article to all working women, narrated through my personal learnings.

My name is Konstantina Psarrakou and I’m a woman. I’m also a working professional. A mum. A spouse. An aspiring cook. Full-time in all, trying to accommodate them, making one sacrifice after the other and occasionally having to deal with issues such as my 1-year old son calling the nanny “mama” – ouch.

I’ve read recently that children of working mothers get much more independent and successful in life. In all honesty, I’m not sure how accurate that is, but I’m 100% sure that I choose to believe it!

Second deep breath. Inhale. Exhale.

How did I arrive at this point?

I started my career at Papastratos 16 years ago and after advancing through eleven (11!) positions, today is my first day leading a Function. I’d be lying if I said that what got me here was an easy-breezy ride and an absolute work-life balance. Nope. Instead it’s been one sacrifice after the other, one tough choice before a tougher one. But I’m here. And now’s my time. And I’m grateful for having the opportunity while simultaneously having a beautiful family.

Still with me? Good. I am about to share with you 3 challenges (adventures could stand too, but let’s stick to challenges) I faced as a woman throughout my career.

Challenge No 1 - Surviving in the Countryside

I was enjoying my first smooth years in the Marketing Function of the company, when I received some bittersweet news. I was promoted to a Sales Manager (weyyy!) in Central Greece (what?!), making me the first woman in the recent history of Papastratos to get such a male-dominated position.

It took me four months to finally earn the trust of our Distributors in the area and here’s how I made it happen: Every. Single. Day. I would wake up at 6.00 am to be the first to arrive at their premises in order to catch their early routes for the villages. I would drive behind their vans and would enter every little convenience store. I would help sort out the shipping cases with products and sit at the tables of small cafes to discuss with the customers afterwards. My car was full of post-it notes and I would drive for 1000 km per week to move back and forth, all over the territory. An immovable assignment was meeting an unstoppable force, my determination to prove a point. It proved to be the toughest assignment of my career. Yet my most developmental position, as well.

Learning no1: There are no male-dominated areas. There are only few chances given and fewer chances taken. Unless you try harder and, as women, we must.

Challenge No2 – The Swiss Lake

A few years later and as newlywed as one could be, I was offered an assignment for a Global Marketing position at the HQ of Philip Morris International, in Lausanne.

And now what?

If I accepted, it meant moving to Switzerland. I knew that such opportunities would only appear a few times in my career and when you work in a multi-national environment, you need the “all-round” geographical experience to move on (for some reason my tough assignment in Central Greece was not enough – ha!).

I discussed it with my husband, the person that knows and understands the most my work passion. “You should go for it, Konstantina” was all he needed to say for me to decide and take the leap forward. Side story: His friends would jokingly say to him that if being newly-married means living like a bachelor, they are ready to commit!

For the first time in my life I was on my own, abroad, alone. For a whole year, every other week I would fly back to Greece for a couple of days and then back again. Yes. After a short while, the air-hostesses would call me with by my first name and I was even invited to admire the sky view from the pilot cabin

I had some exciting days, during our business trips across the globe (still remember that exquisite sweet and smokey Korean BBQ taste), some dull ones when I had to return to my empty apartment (there should be an award for watching all “The Voice” song contests from across the world and I’d like to be considered for that award, please) and some tough ones when I would walk next to the Geneva Lake and then observe many (many!) families enjoy their time together while I was all alone.

Learning no2: There is no opportunity without a sacrifice. Just make sure it’s worth it.

Challenge No 3 – The “WTF” mission impossible

During my first maternity leave, back in 2015, I received an unexpected call from the Managing Director of Papastratos for yet another opportunity: To take the lead for the launch of IQOS in Greece. My jaw hit the floor, I did not see that coming. Sometimes, while on a leave (in my case, maternity), we get the feeling of being left-out but his was certainly not the case. Opportunity came knocking and so did my responsibility to rise up.

I took the challenge and up to this day, I’m still asking myself whether that was the right call. My daughter was 3 months old at the time yet I felt the need to regain my balance and get back to work.

I spent the first 6 months on my own, without a team, trying to design the ideal business plan for this new category of alternative products. Nobody knew at the time how to do it so we were making it up as we went. I still have more the 12 versions of that first plan saved in my hardware someplace.

Some months later, we formed a small team of five people and we proudly called ourselves “Start-uppers”, I suppose out of a need to cover our fear for the unknown. On we went and went and went. To uncharted territories yet with sheer determination to reach across. In the 18th century, Pirates would give an award to the crew member that first spotted a commercial ship the horizon. We would do that amongst us every time we had a breakthrough.

Until October 2016, when we finally and officially launched IQOS in Greece.

In fact, it was October 19th. I was very emotional on our first day. I stepped cautiously inside our first IQOS store in the Athens Mall and started observing our first customers. That was it. We‘ve made it.

Our journey was complete, another bigger-better-bolder one was just beginning: To completely change our business and be part of the –now infamous- positive transformation of Papastratos.

Learning no3: Mountains move one rock at a time. You just have to start (and not give up)

Epilogue - Where am I today?

A few months after launching IQOS, my second child arrived. This time, I took one full year away from the office (half out of regret for the first time - half out of fatigue from both times!).

I returned in October 2020 and two months later got a call from our MD Christos Harpantidis asking me whether I’d be interested for the “Director Marketing & Digital” role.

Which brings us to today. A very emotional today as I look back and see all the struggling, the insecurity, the x2 effort in everything, the sacrifices, next to some of the best groups of people I’ve worked with, a forward-thinking group of leaders and a significant number of wins.

I wouldn’t change it. But I would take more time to express how grateful I am for the people in my life. My husband, my two kids, my amazing teams in the past, my current awesome team, my 2 closest business partners Themis Chasiotis & George Tirelis, my colleagues, my friends. My dad and my mom.

So, here’s to you all.

Thank you.