Alumnus Profiled: Nikitas Koutoupes
Graduated: Pierce ’91
Lives in: New York, USA
Current Position: Managing Director, Insight Venture Partners, Private Equity
“Mottos are inherently limiting.”
NIKITAS KOUTOUPES was born in Athens and graduated from Pierce in 1991. At Pierce, he was President of the Student Government and won the Minnie Mills prize. Nikitas holds a BA from Princeton University (summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa) and an MBA with high distinction (Baker Scholar) from Harvard Business School. He is a Managing Director at Insight Partners, a private equity firm with over $50 billion in capital commitments, investing in high-growth technology companies. Prior to Insight, Nikitas co-founded Citadon, a software company that became part of Insight’s portfolio. He started his career with McKinsey & Company, working on strategy, turnaround, M&A, and corporate finance engagements. Alongside his work in finance, Nikitas is pursuing an MA in the Philosophical Foundations of Physics at Columbia University. He and his wife live in New York City, playing zone defense with their three children.
INTERVIEW
Q.: What are three enduring lessons you learned during your studies at Pierce?
- Hard work creates opportunity and access.
- Learn what you will need, but also learn about what you enjoy.
- The bus ride from Piraeus to Agia Paraskevi can take a long time, so make the most of it!
Q.: Describe Pierce in three words.
Transformative, diverse, beautiful.
Q.: One of your favorite Pierce memories?
Celebrating our graduation, and the feeling of anticipation for what was to come.
Q.: What do you miss most from your days at Pierce?
My friends.
Q.: Where was your favorite spot on campus?
The volleyball court. Spent practically every lunch there.
Q.: Who was your favorite teacher and why?
Georgia Marketos taught me to express myself in writing, to appreciate literature, and to not chew gum when I want to be taken seriously.
Q.: Have you kept in touch with any of your classmates?
I count a handful of them among my closest friends.
Q.: Did having studied at Pierce help you during your university studies and beyond?
Pierce changed my life. Without Pierce I would not have had the opportunity to come to the United States to study, which in turn created a set of opportunities which would have otherwise been entirely inaccessible.
Q.: What’s the greatest piece of advice you’ve ever received?
That life has more imagination than we do. It is therefore futile to try to control everything.
Q.: What (or who) inspires you most?
My children.
Q.: Your motto in life?
Mottos are inherently limiting.
ACG Alumni: We Stay Connected!
