»Be humble enough to listen and brave enough to share«
Charalampos Saperas on mentorship, mistakes and meaningful leadership
Early impressions that stuck
Charalampos joined Netcompany in 2009, fresh out of university and ready to get hands-on with code. One of his first projects involved building systems for an EU agency, and something about the way the work was done stuck with him.
»It wasn’t just about writing good code,« he says. »From the beginning, I saw how much people here cared about growing others. There was always time for sharing knowledge, even during high-stakes projects.«
That early culture of both technical drive and personal investment would go on to define how Charalampos leads his own teams today.
One pivotal moment came when he was asked to lead the migration of a legacy system to a new architecture. It was high-pressure work with tight deadlines and complex requirements, but he was trusted with both responsibility and room to lead. »That level of trust early on really stayed with me,« he says. »It pushed me to grow.«
Leading through learning
With a background in Electrical & Computer Engineering and a Master’s in Risk Management, Charalampos approaches both technical architecture and leadership with a clear sense of foresight.
»Risk management taught me to look for weak points. Not just in systems, but in how teams communicate and work together,« he explains.
That mindset plays a key role in how he mentors others today. He sees leadership less as handing down answers and more as creating space for others to figure things out. Even if that means letting them fail safely.
»I encourage open discussion, framing it as a learning opportunity for the whole team. Watching colleagues grow confident and take ownership of complex challenges is incredibly rewarding.«
On one recent project, an engineer on his team was keen to take on a bigger role but unsure how to start. Instead of stepping in with a ready-made plan, Charalampos broke the task down and paired with them in short sessions to work through the problems together.
»Rather than just handing over requirements, I explained the reasoning behind the design and helped him navigate it step by step,« he says. »It led to a robust solution, but more importantly, it helped him feel ownership over the result.«
The same principle applied when a team member accidentally introduced a bug that caused downtime. Rather than brushing it off or assigning blame, Charalampos used the incident as a team-wide learning moment.
»He was hesitant to speak up afterwards. But we talked openly about what happened and what we could all learn from it. These are the moments that shape better engineers and stronger teams.«
Sharing beyond the office
His commitment to helping others doesn’t end at the office. Through his involvement with The Tipping Point, an educational initiative connecting professionals with high school students, Charalampos has found a new outlet for mentorship.
One student in particular, Orestis from Kalamata, left a lasting impression. Curious about mobile apps but unsure how to begin, he worked with Charalampos to build a simple weather app.
»By the end of the session, he had something working. Something he could show to friends and family,« Charalampos recalls. »It may have seemed small, but it sparked something in him. That’s how it starts.«
Shaping tomorrow’s mentors
Fifteen years in, Charalampos is still learning – and still sharing. For him, mentoring is less about teaching and more about being present: listening, guiding, and stepping back when needed.
»Mentorship is a two-way street. Be humble enough to listen and brave enough to share,« he says. »Often, the more you give, the more you grow.«
