IT innovation involves the adoption of new technologies, as well as the fundamental incorporation of security and strategy as a thread through every decision. Dimosthenis Atteia is one such leader. He is serving as a IT & Cybersecurity Manager at Flour Mills Kepenos S.A., and also is a accomplished leader having over 20 years of experience in designing, implementing, and managing complex infrastructures across various industries.
His experience in managing multicultural teams, creating risk-aware cultures, and coordinating information security with corporate business plans are supportive during times of transition. With expertise in putting security frameworks like GDPR, NIST, and ISO 27001 into practice, he is bridging the gap between executive management and IT teams.
He is successfully transforming the waves of complex security issues into strategic business services, enabling organizations to move beyond the traditional approach to innovation, enhance their success rate in protecting organizational resilience, and benchmark the current environment of IT leadership.
Building a Smarter Food Industry
Dimosthenis views innovation in food production as a strategic necessity, not just a technological upgrade. In a traditional sector where quality and safety are expected, he believes innovation should focus on integrating modern technologies to enhance efficiency, improve process management, and reduce risk, particularly in areas such as cybersecurity and compliance. He sees digital transformation, automation, and real-time data as key enablers of agility and responsiveness to market and security demands. For Dimosthenis, each technological advancement must be supported by strong cybersecurity to protect product integrity and consumer trust. He promotes a holistic approach that combines technology, risk management, and human expertise to build a smarter, safer, and more sustainable production cycle for the future of the food industry.
Adaptive IT Leadership
Dimosthenis’s leadership in IT is driven by three core values: integrity, adaptability, and collaboration. He promotes trust through transparent communication and accountability, ensuring alignment with stakeholders. A strong advocate for flexibility, he promotes continuous learning to keep systems secure and sustainable in the face of evolving technologies and threats. Believing that people are central to success, Dimosthenis emphasizes team empowerment and engagement, creating a collaborative culture where everyone feels responsible and motivated. These values enable him to build resilient IT systems that not only safeguard the organization but also effectively support its mission to deliver high-quality food.
Pillars of Operational Excellence
Dimosthenis believes that operational excellence is the cornerstone of daily operations and the foundation of customer trust. In an industry as critical as food production, he maintains that consistency in quality, safety, and reliability is non-negotiable.
At the same time, he recognizes that pushing boundaries and embracing emerging technologies is essential to maintaining competitiveness and meeting evolving market and safety demands. To achieve this, he focuses on adapting a balanced and strategic framework that integrates innovation with stability. He begins by promoting strategic experimentation, encouraging the careful evaluation of new technologies through well-defined pilot projects. These initiatives are designed to demonstrate added value while avoiding disruption to core operations. Recognizing the importance of protection in a rapidly digitalizing environment, he incorporates risk management from the outset embedding cybersecurity and compliance into the design of new systems to minimize potential threats.
Understanding that technology is only as effective as the people who use it, he places strong emphasis on human resource development, advocating for continuous training and upskilling so that teams are fully equipped to safely and efficiently leverage new innovations. Finally, he integrates continuous evaluation into the framework by establishing robust performance metrics and feedback loops. This ensures that each innovation not only supports operational excellence but also avoids introducing unnecessary risks, creating a culture where improvement is both intentional and sustainable.
“In this way, we manage to combine the stability and reliability required by food production with the flexibility and vision brought by new technologies, ensuring the sustainable development of our company.” shares Dimosthenis.
Cybersecurity Leadership in Food and Manufacturing
Dimosthenis recognizes that the food and manufacturing industry currently faces numerous cybersecurity challenges stemming from the complexity of industrial systems and the increasing digitization of the supply chain. The most significant risks identified include:
- Attacks on Industrial Control Systems (ICS/SCADA): These can disrupt or manipulate critical production processes, leading to substantial economic losses and food safety risks.
- Ransomware and Malware: Targeted attacks that encrypt vital data have the potential to halt production and compromise product integrity.
- Third-Party and Supply Chain Risks: The interconnectivity with suppliers, carriers, and other partners broadens the attack surface, increasing the likelihood of data breaches.
- Weaknesses in Sensitive Data Protection: Protecting sensitive information—ranging from employee personal data to proprietary recipes and process details—is essential.
To address these challenges, Dimosthenis implements a comprehensive cybersecurity framework grounded in the following pillars:
- Network Segmentation: Isolating industrial networks from office and web environments to limit traffic flow and reduce exposure.
- Continuous Monitoring and Threat Detection: Employing SIEM and EDR technologies to enable early identification of unusual activities.
- Training and Awareness: Conducting regular security training for all personnel to mitigate risks associated with human error.
- Compliance and Risk Management: Adhering to best practices and standards such as ISO/IEC 27001 and NIS2 to ensure full compliance and legislative alignment.
- Incident Recovery and Business Continuity: Maintaining disaster recovery and business continuity plans that are tested regularly.
By applying these measures in a coordinated manner, Dimosthenis ensures the protection not only of information systems but also of the reliability of products and the company’s reputation in the market.
Promoting Collective Responsibility for Security in the Workplace
Dimosthenis regards cultivating a strong security culture, particularly in organizations where a large portion of the staff lacks technical expertise, as a critical pillar of protection. His approach is based on three fundamental principles:
- Communication in Simple Language: He avoids technical jargon and delivers security messages in clear, everyday terms. This approach frames security as a matter of personal responsibility and team effort rather than a technical burden limited to specialists.
- Training Through Realistic Scenarios: Dimosthenis uses examples and exercises that reflect typical work situations and potential risks, such as recognizing phishing emails or managing passwords effectively. This makes training more relevant and experiential.
- Continuous Reinforcement and Reward: He promotes a positive security climate by recognizing and encouraging good security practices through rewards and feedback, helping to build security as a collective culture instead of an imposed obligation.
Dimosthenis shares, “I believe it is critical to create channels of two-way communication where staff feel they can express concerns and suggestions without fear, reinforcing trust and accountability.”
With this holistic approach, Dimosthenis achieves a culture where security awareness and practice become ingrained across the organization regardless of employees’ technical backgrounds.
Modernizing Supply Chain and Production
Dimosthenis highlights that the use of automation, cloud solutions, and data analysis serves as a key lever for optimizing business processes and strengthening competitiveness.
- Automation: Through automated workflows and integrated ERP systems, he significantly reduces manual errors, accelerates production and inventory management processes, and ensures consistent quality. In cybersecurity, he implements automation for threat detection and response (SOAR), enhancing both speed and efficiency.
- Cloud Services: Dimosthenis adopts cloud infrastructure to gain flexibility, scalability, and agility in developing new services while maintaining high standards of security and compliance. This approach enables dynamic resource adjustment during periods of increased demand, such as production peaks or critical campaigns.
- Data Analysis: By collecting and utilizing data from across the entire production and supply chain, he extracts valuable insights that support informed decision-making, identify improvement opportunities, and predict risks. Real-time data analysis enables rapid response to potential deviations.
Ongoing investment in these technologies, combined with a robust cybersecurity framework, ensures that Flour Mills Kepenos remains at the forefront and can respond securely to the challenges of today’s business environment.
Integrating Tech, Ops, and Leadership for Growth
Dimosthenis emphasizes the importance of interoperability between IT, operations, and business leadership to achieve shared goals and successfully implement digital strategies. He focuses on promoting a common language to bridge the technical and business teams, creating cross-functional working groups to foster collaboration, and ensuring transparency through continuous updates and open communication. By integrating technology as a strategic partner and embedding collaboration into the company culture, he has found that digital transformation and security initiatives are executed more effectively and sustainably. This approach drives better alignment and long-term success across the organization.
From Hybrid Cloud to Security Culture
Dimosthenis prioritizes strengthening IT infrastructure and cybersecurity resilience to support critical food industry processes in 2025 and beyond. His focus includes developing and testing comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery plans with automation for rapid response. He leads the consolidation and management of hybrid cloud environments to ensure security, flexibility, and compliance. He integrates AI and machine learning to enhance threat detection and response. He also emphasizes the management of third-party risks to secure the supply chain and invests in continuous skills development and awareness, supporting a security culture rooted in collective responsibility.
Modernizing Food Tech Infrastructure
Dimosthenis prioritizes strengthening the resilience and security of IT infrastructure to support critical food industry operations reliably and flexibly in 2025 and beyond. His focus includes enhancing cyber resilience through robust business continuity and disaster recovery plans, integrated with automation for rapid response. He leads the consolidation of hybrid cloud environments to ensure security, scalability, and regulatory compliance. He advances threat detection by leveraging AI and machine learning for real-time prevention and response. He reinforces supply chain security through strict third-party risk management and continuous assessment. Committed to a strong security culture, he champions ongoing skills development and leadership at all levels. These efforts reflect his dedication to safeguarding systems while fostering innovation and sustainability in food production.
Career Strategies for IT and Cybersecurity Innovators
Dimosthenis views a career at the intersection of IT, operations, and cybersecurity as both exciting and demanding, requiring technical expertise alongside business acumen and leadership skills. His advice to young professionals includes developing a holistic understanding of technology and industry-specific business processes to bridge gaps effectively.
He stresses the importance of continuous learning through certifications, seminars, and staying updated on emerging technologies and threats. He emphasizes the importance of cultivating strong communication skills to effectively translate technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders, thereby facilitating collaboration and digital transformation. He encourages taking initiative, proposing solutions, and leading projects rather than waiting for directions.
Additionally, he values building professional networks and seeking mentors to guide career growth. According to Dimosthenis, combining knowledge across IT, operations, and cybersecurity with leadership supports significant value and opens numerous career and influence opportunities.
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