Colt Technology Services VP shares his LGBTQ+ journey and highlights the importance of workplace equality

“Working and interacting daily with LGBTQ+ people allowed me to feel a lot more comfortable in my skin, as if I had found a home for the first time.” Nikolaos Koutrakis, VP of Reward at Colt Technology Services, spoke to myGwork about the increasing value of diversity and inclusion, his coming out story, and how Colt provides an open space for the LGBTQ+ community.

Growing up in a small coastal village in Greece, it took Nikolaos Koutrakis a while to comprehend the full spectrum of identities at his disposal. Between the lack of access to an LGBTQ+ network and the atmosphere of a “testosterone-filled house” shared with his masculine father and two brothers, Nikolaos admitted that he wasn’t in the easiest set of circumstances to come out to his family.

That’s not to say that the response was entirely unwelcoming when he did, though. At the age of 18, he came out to his brothers as gay and received a supportive, accepting response. Though it took his mother a few more years to accept him, they went on a journey together that resulted in her being his biggest supporter.

Nikolaos reflected on how throughout this time, he probably would have expressed himself with other sexualities and gender identities if he’d known they existed. Though he is more assured of his identity now, he discussed the influence an early understanding of the spectrum could have had on his younger self.

“I marked myself as gay even though the reality would have probably been closer to bisexual,” he explained. “I also categorized myself as male even though I would have probably identified more within the non-binary spectrum. My gender felt a lot more fluid back then.”

Nikolaos “moved up the career ladder relatively quickly”

Nikolaos’ work ethic has always been incredibly strong. From a very young age, he helped his parents run their local hotel. He even learned English and French along with Greek to translate conversations with clients. After completing army service at the age of 19, he moved to London to work and study management. This eventually led him to his role at multinational digital infrastructure company Colt Technology Services. After a period in the Head of Reward role, he was noticed by senior leaders at the company for his hard work and was offered the VP of Reward role.

“Since then, I had a fantastic trajectory and moved up the career ladder relatively quickly,” he said. “I had ups and downs and in no way was the pathway simple or easy, but I was lucky enough to have key people supporting me along the way. Colt has been pivotal in advancing my career even further and landing the VP of Reward role.”

Throughout his adolescence and young adult life, he hadn’t interacted with many other people in the LGBTQ+ community. As such, there were limitations to how connected and comfortable he could feel within the community. However, the opportunities presented to him in the workplace provided him with the chance to finally connect with members of his community and feel instantly at ease.

“The reality is that whilst I had come out a few years earlier, I had never really met many LGBTQ+ people, so my interactions until that point were very limited. Working and interacting daily with LGBTQ+ people allowed me to feel a lot more comfortable in my skin, as if I had found a home for the first time.”

Having gained the confidence and experience of working alongside the community, Nikolaos then got involved in the LGBTQ+ network at Colt, Pride Matters. The network seeks to raise awareness and educate employees on the full spectrum of LGBTQ+ identities.

With diversity goals at the heart of Pride Matters, they make sure that the policies at Colt are as fair and inclusive as possible. By reviewing company policies and striving for inclusion in the workplace, Colt helps to provide employees with better experiences and equal opportunities.

“More important than ever” for companies to foster standards

“We’ve reviewed our compassionate leave policy,” explained Nikolaos. “Sadly, it’s a fact that many LGBTQ+ people can become alienated from their families due to lack of acceptance, so our compassionate leave policy now refers to a person’s chosen family. We also have specific policies such as our Transitioning at Work policy to support those who may wish to transition.”

Considering the importance of diversity and inclusion in the success of a business, Nikolaos stated that it is “more important than ever” for companies to foster acceptable DE&I standards if they want to see significant progress, particularly with regards to how satisfied employees feel on a day-to-day basis at the workplace.

“Diverse teams bring different perspectives and experiences, and inclusion ensures that everyone feels valued and heard in the workplace,” he said. “These practices are harder to measure but when companies get them right, they manifest in employee satisfaction and retention and improved company reputation – good old word-of-mouth communication.”

Almost 20 years on from his initial travels to London, Nikolaos now lives with his husband of the same name (“We call him Nik, so it doesn’t get confusing!”) and their dog, Dr Freud.

He continues to focus on achieving inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community by working with Colt’s Pride Matters employee network. On the future of diversity and inclusion, he appreciated that the community has made significant steps in recent decades. But he urged that the fight towards equality does not become complacent. He highlighted many areas where progress must still be made for the community. These include education, healthcare (in particular, safe and accessible healthcare for the trans community), and legislation.

“From a societal perspective, we need better legal protection, overall education and awareness, access to healthcare, and to address violence and hate crimes against us. We still have a long way to go”

Colt Technology Services is a proud partner of myGwork, the LGBTQ+ business community. Find out more about jobs at Colt Technology Services.