DIPLOMAT INTERVIEW

What led you to the inspired decision to establish International Diplomatic Supplies from your bedroom in London as a young man in 1997?

Prior to starting IDS in 1997 I was working for a food exporting company, travelling around the world. I met several diplomats at events, and they complained about the lack of a good selection of wines in Africa and Asia. In early 1997 I decided to take a risk, so gave up my job and began compiling a curated wine range, covering all the major wine producing countries and important regions and sub-regions. IDS were one of the first companies to bring Georgian wine to the UK. We also pioneered English wine before it was recognised as being a great sparkler. In the second year, we began supplying the embassies in London.

In April 1997, I redecorated the spare bedroom in my London home to become the first IDS office. I created the logo and the product range and on 6^th May launched IDS. We had immediate success, being chosen to supply Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to India and Pakistan for the 50^th Anniversary of India's Independence. That led to many other opportunities.

Can you tell us about your journey to where you are today, directing the world’s leading international diplomatic supplies business from the head office in Dubai, with affiliates in the wider Middle East, UK, Europe and North America?

Launching in London in October 1998 at The Cavalry & Guards Club on Piccadilly was very exciting. I didn’t know how the London quota system worked at that time, and learnt on the go, but we won the trust of London based diplomats, as the IDS focus has always been customer service. There was constant growth in the export market, and we were supplying British, US, many EU embassies globally and growing in London.

I then needed to get financial support for further growth and was introduced to John Coe of  third-generation family business, Coe of Ilford. From that moment we haven’t looked back.

I visited Dubai to have a look at the opportunity of opening a branch there, and almost a year later, when the world was in financial collapse, in August 2008, IDS Dubai opened, something that has changed my life.

Years later, COVID came along, and in an inspired moment I decided to set up a company in the US to deliver ‘A Taste of Home’ to US State Department personnel across the world. Replicating the original idea of IDS, but also including American groceries, frozen and ambient. Surprisingly, it was easier to set up a business during the pandemic than it would have been at any other time. We opened in Miami, Florida, employed staff through remote meeting apps, opened a bank account, signed a lease on a warehouse and office, and I had never even visited Miami at that point. IDS US Inc now delivers to American Embassies on four continents.

We built our own office and warehouse in Dubai in 2016. This is now the IDS head office; I moved to Dubai in 2019 as it became impossible to run the business from London.

Your sister Noeleen now runs the UK operation of IDS. Was it your intention to run a family business?

This left my wonderful sister, Noeleen Alexopoulou in charge of our UK business. Noeleen joined IDS in 2005 as a part-time credit controller, and she is now our London Sales Director. Her dedication to me and to IDS has been astonishing, she works harder than anyone else in the business and has the respect of every one of her colleagues in the UK, Dubai and US. It was never my intention to have a family business, however Noeleen’s daughter Jenny is our Procurement Director, based in Dubai, so maybe it is a family business.

With this success, I understand that IDS has developed a culture of philanthropy and giving back. Originally, IDS worked with the charity Kids for Kids in Sudan with its strong British diplomatic links, and more recently with The Sparkle Foundation in Malawi. Can you tell us a bit more about IDS and your involvement in these charities, and any others that you are working with in 2024/5?

Our success has allowed IDS to fund support for vulnerable children in many countries. Deep in the DNA of who we are as a business is the support of children and young people around the world. Twenty years ago, we were asked to provide refreshments for a charity fundraiser in Khartoum for British based charity, Kids for Kids, an organisation run by a remarkable woman, Patricia Parker OBE. Kids for Kids provides sustainable solutions to the poverty and starvation faced by children in Darfur. Their work is terribly hampered by the on-going conflict in Sudan; however, they have been able to provide emergency relief in villages throughout Darfur. As the fundraiser approached, part of the event was an auction of beautiful photographs of Sudan, but they didn’t have an auctioneer, so I offered my services, and so began our 20-year relationship with Kids for Kids.

Inspired by Patricia's work, I began to look at other opportunities to help vulnerable children. With my move to the UAE, I wanted our Dubai company to have their own project to support and discovered Gentle Hands, an orphanage in The Philippines. IDS provides three meals a day for every child and funds the homeschooling of the most vulnerable children, ‘The Foundlings’, little children found by the side of the road who have no language, and many don’t even know their own name.

As the company grew, I visited Ethiopia and was introduced to Karen Kendall, a former Dubai based lawyer. Karen adopted a daughter in Ethiopia and having seen the need, decided to give up her Dubai lifestyle and move to Addis Ababa to start an orphanage and women’s rescue centre, Shamida Ethiopia. IDS also provides all the food for children and staff at Shamida for every day of the year.

With the opening of IDS in Miami, we followed our theme, I was approached by Jean Pillard, Haiti’s former Ambassador to London, who runs an organisation called Life Skills Haiti. Jean told me the story of a girl whose mother had saved every penny she had to pay for her daughter’s first year of nursing training. Her daughter finished top of the class, but the mother couldn’t afford the second-year fees. Hearing this, I offered to provide scholarships for young ladies in Haiti who wished to become nurses. IDS have seen 50 nurses qualify since we started this project.

More recently I have become Vice Chair of The Sparkle Foundation, a UK and UAE registered charity bringing education, nutrition and healthcare to children and families in Malawi. I will be volunteering for a week at Sparkle in December.

How have you been able to incorporate sustainability in such an international business?

IDS was the first diplomatic supply company to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG). Through the 17 goals, the aim is to enable current human needs without compromising the needs of future generations. These goals are at the heart of everything we do at IDS – It comes naturally as we all care so much! This also helps us to deliver on our promise to serve diplomats worldwide with honesty and integrity. 

These goals encapsulate all areas of sustainability: environmental, social and governance. We address the goals in so many ways but one of our proudest achievements is that IDS has been carbon neutral since January 2022. We achieved this with independent auditing and verification by third party, Element6. Utilising the globally recognised Greenhouse Gas Protocol for guidance, we assessed every aspect of our business, across all three carbon emission scopes and all categories of indirect and direct emissions. By doing so, we gained a comprehensive understanding of our environmental impact – from our supply chain, staff commute, waste and daily operations. With this assessment we know where our biggest impacts are and continue to reduce them to the lowest possible value. Between 2022 and 2023 we made substantial strides and reduced our emissions by 11.5 per cent. Our unavoidable emissions have been offset through verified carbon credits, supporting impactful projects in India and Ethiopia. Tackling climate change is a collaborative effort and we are committed to working with our customers, partners and the industry to create a more sustainable future.

What are your major plans and priorities for IDS in 2025 and beyond?

We expect challenges ahead and have learnt never to take our successes for granted. But we have built our company on very high levels of customer service, solid relationships and our strong sense of helping others. We are confident that our history combined with hard work will guide us through these challenges.

How has IDS remained relevant and been able to anticipate the needs of its customers over 25+ years in business?

As we have grown, we have brought together a great team within IDS, and we have a very good company culture. I want people to have the confidence that if they make a mistake, there is no blame culture, so we can fix the problem and help them to avoid similar mistakes in the future. I believe that this has created an extremely healthy environment where people can express their ideas, regardless of their current role. When we moved our website from a viewing platform to a state-of-the-art e-commerce site, we asked everyone for their comments based on their own experiences. One of our team presented me with a long list of things that needed to be included, at that time she was in the Customer Service Team, and now she is a Data Analyst. We have a young senior management team. Our sales team go into different markets to learn and to provide diplomats with the service that applies specifically to the needs of that country. Our management team and staff adjust our offering to ensure that we are relevant and market leading wherever we supply in the world.

What has been the most memorable day or diplomatic experience of your career to date?

IDS has given me incredible opportunities; however, nothing can compare to a chain of events that started at the beginning of 2012. The then Lithuanian Ambassador invited me to become Honorary Consul for Lithuania, and through this process I visited the Embassy many times, and I kept meeting the Ambassador’s PA. When I was finally approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vilnius, the timing coincided with a celebration at the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill for the 15th anniversary of IDS. Ambassador Jusys attended with several of his team from the Embassy, including his PA. Well, two years later I married the PA, Erika, who has been Mrs Doyle for ten years now. I never did become an Honorary Consul, but everything in my life changed from that moment. We have three gorgeous daughters and love each other more each day.

What’s your favourite tipple and/or IDS product these days?

After years of enjoying the top-quality products supplied by IDS – especially a nice glass of champagne at diplomatic events – I decided to give up alcohol. Through this process I discovered a non-alcoholic gin, Sea Arch Coastal Juniper, so this would be my tipple these days. No more Laurent Perrier Rose for me, but please, you go ahead…

And finally, are there any secrets to your success you are happy to share?

I was 32 years old when I started IDS, and I am now 60. I have learned so much along the way. There are so many cliches, but many of them are true. ‘There Is No Substitute For Hard Work,’ would be one that I live by. I have learned to be humble; I have learned to be patient. I have the same drive and desire that I had in May 1997, but now I know how to take everyone with me, and to lead a team by example.

Diplomatic clients looking to make a duty-free booking contact Sales Manager,
Edward Evans E: EdwardE@i-d-s.com T: 07355 674010

www.i-d-s.com/london/