Diaplous name comes from the Greek ancient word διάπλους [δiáplus], (< διά + πλέω), which means the action of sailing across the sea with safety.
Diaplous has officially been recorded for the first time in Homer’s epic poem, Odyssey, which was written in a poetic dialect of Greek—a literary amalgam of Aeolic Greek, Ionic Greek, and other Ancient Greek dialects near the end of the 8th century BC.The word Odyssey, i.e. the 10-year Diaplous of Odysseus from Troy, in Asia Minor back to his homeland Ithaca, the Greek Island, after the Trojan War, has come to refer to an epic voyage not only in Greek but also in English and many other languages.
OUR MISSION IS TO UNDERSTAND YOUR NEEDS AND SERVE THEM AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL POSSIBLE
The sailing journey of Diaplous Group has begun in October, 2010, in Cyprus with a branch in Athens, Greece. Over the last years it has grown exponentially, broadening and deepening its client base, as well as amassing a wealth of invaluable operational experience.
Diaplous is built on the cumulative experience of its top management, all of whom have a solid background in the Navy, special forces and counter-intelligence of more than 30 years. According to their combined insights, knowledge and experience,Diaplous can provide a unique offering to its clients and handle the most demanding operations, regardless of circumstances. We believe in people. We go the extra mile to ensure that we meet our client’s requirements and deliverables, and we strive to ensure that our people are trained and supported to the highest level, in a complex maritime risk environment. At Diaplous we understand the importance of service delivery and continuing professional development; and to that end we continue to listen to our customers, whilst developing professional skills, and academic acumen, which will place the group at the forefront of academic research, and maritime security risk management skills across land and sea.
We serve our customer according to “Diaplous way”, meaning respect to their needs.
In Numbers
5
OFFICES GLOBALLY
700
PERSONNEL EMPLOYED
0
ACCIDENTS & CASUALTIES
4+2
ISO CERTIFICATIONS
33
FLAG STATES APPROVALS
10
CERTIFIED TRAINING COURSES
450
CUSTOMERS GLOBALLY
11322
TRAINED & QUALIFIED PERSONNEL
Off shore Oil, Gas & Energy Companies
Insurers and Underwriters
Oil Majors
Client Portfolio
Non-Governmental Organizations
Technical Companies – Construction Companies
Law Enforcement Agencies
Government Agencies
United Nations Organizations
EVERYTHING WE DO, IS GUIDED BY OUR CORE VALUES:
SAFETY,QUALITY AND TRUST
Clients’ interests always come first
Continuously Develop our greatest assets. Our people
strive for Excellence in everything we do
Our Reputation is built on zero-incidents
Integrity and decades-mature Know-how is always expressed
Ever Evolve
OUR PEOPLE
OPERATE WITH THE HEALTH & SAFETY MENTALITY OF DIAPLOUS
- Captain H.N. (Ret) Manolis Lazaridis
CEO - Rear Admiral H.N. (Ret) Antonios Papaioannou
Director & Chairman of the board - Daniel Cho
Managing Director / Diaplous Asia - Christos Avgerinidis
Chief Operation Officer - Nikos Georgopoulos
Chief Business Development Officer - Michael Davakis
Chief Financial Officer - Pelagia Chatzikyriakou
Chief Commercial Officer - Katerina Selimou
Operations Manager - Alexandros Kefalas
Quality Manager - Gerasimos Laskaratos
HR Manager - Charles Swanson
Associate Director of Risk - Magda Kosma
Executive Secretariat
Captain H.N. (Ret) Manolis Lazaridis
CEO
Graduated from the Hellenic Naval Academy / Strategy Operations – Hellenic Naval War College / USN Navy Seals and SOF Schools / NATO Operations.
Cpt. Lazaridis served in the Hellenic Navy for 28 years, most of which he spent commanding Special Forces Units, as well as Fast Attack Craft Squadrons.
He served as the Commanding Officer of the Hellenic Navy Seals , including during the 2004 – Athens Olympic Games. His last position was in the Military Counterintelligence of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff.
Rear Admiral H.N. (Ret) Antonios Papaioannou
DIRECTOR & CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Gratuated from the Hellenic Naval Academy / Anti-Submarine Warfare College USA / Hellenic Naval War College / NATO Defense College.
Rear-Admiral Papaioannou served in the Hellenic Navy for 35 years, most of which he spent commanding warships and NATO Units. He was assigned as the First Force Commander of European Union Naval Force Operation Atalanta (EU NAVFOR ATALANTA) for anti-piracy in the Gulf of Aden / Indian Ocean.
He served in Brussels ( European Union Military staff) as well as in London, as Naval and Defense Attaché. His last assignment was as Director Chief in the Resources and Personnel Directorate of the Hellenic MOD.
Daniel Cho
MANAGING DIRECTOR / Diaplous Asia
AGSIM (Thunderbird) University, Arizona USA (MBA)
Study for financing, accounting and international relations
INHA University, Korea M.Sc. & B.S. in Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering
Develop New Offshore Markets in Asia (Vietnam, Malaysia), Africa (Nigeria, Angola), America (Brazil, Canada) and achieve drilling market with M/S 60% for 10 years in SHI.
Successful operation for the performance of major engineering and vendor controls, procurement for EPC offshore projects in Houston and London
In Diaplous Group since: 2019
Christos Avgerinidis
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
Graduated from the Hellenic Naval Academy / Greek Navy Special Forces (Navy Seals)
Mr. Chris Avgerinidis served in the Hellenic Navy for 24 years.
In Diaplous Group since: 2011
Nikos Georgopoulos
CHIEF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Graduated from the Hellenic Naval Academy / Strategy Operations – Hellenic Naval War College / NATO Special Forces training and Operations.
Cpt. Georgopoulos served in the Hellenic Navy for 20 years, most of which he spent commanding Special Forces Units, He served as the Commanding Officer of the Hellenic Navy Seals.
After his retirement he worked as Senior Director and Vice President supervising EMEA country operations in multinational companies
In Diaplous Group since: 2020
Michael Davakis
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
IB Diploma, American Community School (ACS), Athens, 1985
BA, University of Pennsylvania, 1990
Diplom, Diplomatische Akademie Wien, 1993
Magister, Universität Wien, 1996
Experienced senior treasury, finance and risk practitioner.
Joined Diaplous in 2020
Pelagia Chatzikyriakou
CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER
MBA (Master of Business Administration), University of Kentucky-TEI of Piraeus, 2008-2010
BSc in Sociology, Panteion University Athens, 2004-2008
In Diaplous Group since: 2012
Katerina Selimou
OPERATIONS MANAGER
National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Faculty of Mass media and Communication, MSc in Political Communication and New Technologies
National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, faculty of Mass media and Communication, BSc in Mass Media and Communication
In Diaplous Group since: 2012
Alexandros Kefalas
QUALITY MANAGER
Cass Business School, City University, London, UK, MSc in Shipping, Trade and Finance
National and Kapodistrian University, Athens, Greece, BSc in Political Science and Public Administration, International & European studies
In Diaplous Group since: 2014
Gerasimos Laskaratos
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER
License to Practice Medical Physics, Greece
MSc in Medical Physics (with Merit), University of Surrey, UK
BSc in Physics, University of Athens, Greece
In Diaplous Group since: 2014
Charles Swanson
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF RISK
Mr. Swanson is a Chartered Security Professional (CSyP) and has studied at Masters Level with The University of Leicester (Security Risk Management And IT) and St Andrews University (Terrorism Studies). He is a former British Royal Military Police Officer.
Mr. Swanson has recently written an MSc in International Security and Risk Management and is currently the Lead Tutor and Dissertation Supervisor on that degree. Mr. Swanson has also recently had a book titled Professional Security Management: A Strategic Guide Published by Routledge and is currently composing a handbook relating to security risk management.
Mr. Swanson has a practical background, having managed security risk issues on a global scale, including maritime, gas and oil, and the cyber threat. He is a Certified ISO 31000 Risk Management Professional.
He specializes in Business Resilience, Crisis Management, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery to international levels.
As part of the services provided by Diaplous Mr. Swanson will study the risk landscape of an organisation, including the threat platform, before delivering effective, cost resilient and business effective solutions.
He has been with the Diaplous Group Since: 2014
Magda Kosma
EXECUTIVE SECRETERIAT
Private School ‘AKTO’ Department Designer CAD-CAM (Architectural and Mechanical Design and via IT), Architectural, Surveying, Mechanical Engineering, and Building Perspective Plan.
In Diaplous Group since: 2014
