A legacy of fundamental principles

Everyone who knew Aristides Alafouzos agreed on one thing: that he was not the kind of man to go unnoticed. His sharp mind, strong willpower and persistence came together with a sense of professionalism that has left its mark.

He had an instinct for success and the gift of foresight, and it is little surprise that he was the first Greek businessman to visit and fall in love with China, back in 1968, or that he forged new inroads in every career he chose.

A passionate conversationalist, he would never let something slide, especially with people he felt close to. "The newspaper is weak; it's not how I imagined it," is how he would often greet Kathimerini's late editor-in-chief Antonis Karkagiannis.

You never knew if such criticism was in jest or whether it was meant to make us all stricter with ourselves. Whatever the intention, it certainly achieved the latter.

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