‘I went in as a girl, I returned as a woman’: Nadia Pace on being given first major opportunity 20 years ago

Executive Mentor Nadia Pace on Monday recalled how much her first work experience in Greece helped her grow and develop as a person, having initially feared the unknown.

This came after she revisited Perideo S.A. Group’s offices in Greece, the company she started her distinguished career at in 2003, initially working as a Research and Development Executive. At the fashion jewellery, watches, and accessories company, she worked on establishing a relationship with Italian and Chinese suppliers, handling procurement of samples and orders, preparing collections, among many other tasks.

Ms Pace noted that her career has come “full circle”, adding: “I went in as a girl, I returned as a woman”.

She explained that 20 years ago, she was offered “the opportunity of a lifetime” by Perideo S.A. Group’s Nancy, who gave her the chance to work at the company “against all odds”, as Ms Pace “could barely utter a word in Greek”.

This new opportunity led to her feeling scared and overwhelmed by the fear of the unknown.

“Calling it quits was the easiest decision. But I decided otherwise. I took the first step which resulted in the pivot required to embark on my future endeavours,” she added.

During her stint there, she learnt the virtues of resilience, agility, and the ability to adapt to a different culture and business methods. These are “all key prerequisites” when chairing board meetings and facilitating strategic change management programmes nowadays.

Her time at Perideo S.A. Group paved the way for a long and established career across different sectors, having gone on to serve in management, directorship, and C-suite positions since then.

Ms Pace said that she will be “forever grateful for the opportunity”, before concluding with: “Every journey starts from that first step.”

Today, Ms Pace is Non-Executive Director at Bluerock Operations Limited and Automated Revenue Management Services Limited. She is also a Non-Executive Chairperson at Studioseven, and an Executive Mentor at her own company. She describes herself as a “strong advocate for innovation and business transformation”, and has a passion in mentoring business leaders and companies as they “navigate through challenges and unravel new business opportunities”.