THE LONGEST silence in the hall during the Marfin AGM yesterday was when Andreas Vgenopoulos gave his detailed explanation for the proposed transfer of the banking group’s headquarters to Greece.
Vgenopoulos’s performance during the Q&A session which followed was operatic – he was by turns calm, irritated, sarcastic, over-heated and genuinely angry. He appeared to nearly deafen the poor sound-guy by shouting into the PA’s main microphone on three separate occasions.
Before the histrionics had begun, people had started arriving early to ensure a place at the meeting. Even the timekeeping was distinctly un-Cypriot. The general seating for shareholders was full by 4.50pm, ahead of a 5.00pm start.
The head stewards told the Cyprus Mail that in their experience this was unprecedented, and that people had even started arriving at 3.30pm in order to be sure of getting a seat. In the end, more chairs had to be brought in, and even then there were people left standing.
The VIPs were another matter, milling around the front of the ballroom as 5.00pm came and went, chatting, schmoozing and posing nonchalantly for photographers. Eventually, the VIP seating filled up with big shareholders, politicians, heads of business associations and the like, and proceedings got underway.
Most people listened quietly to what was being said, although occasionally one could hear the customary murmur of a not-so-discreet conversation. Every now and then, tempers would rise as someone from the audience would say: “The dividend is not enough!”, or someone on the platform would shout: “Keep quiet for a minute, and you’ll get your answer!”
Once the drama of the main event was over, a number of people moved forward to greet Vgenopoulos, pat him on the back and express their full support. They did so under the watchful gaze of two security guys wearing suits and ear-pieces, plus another minder who was evidently too senior to wear an ear-piece.
Finally, the big boss gave the order, and he and his entourage swept out of the hall to their waiting cars, leaving his (mostly) adoring public to chat among themselves.
