Argos Multilingual Promotes Alexander Ulichnowski to CEO

US-headquartered language services provider (LSP) Argos Multilingual, which runs a large operation in Poland, has appointed COO Alexander Ulichnowski as CEO, effective December 13, 2023.

Argos’ roots go back to 1996, when then Polish translator, now Chairman, Kimon Fountoukidis founded the company. Through the years the company has expanded, opening its first American office in Chicago in 2007 and acquiring some competitors, such as San Francisco-based Venga Global in 2021, to enhance its reach and offerings. 

Ulichnowski’s predecessor, Véronique Özkaya, began her tenure as CEO in 2020. As Özkaya explained at SlatorCon Remote March 2023, the LSP moved away from a focus on production to turn its sights on a more client-centric view. Ulichnowski told Slator that his vision for the company moving forward similarly emphasizes people.

“Even though AI is allowing us to automate more than ever before, I believe being human is actually a differentiator,” Ulichnowski said. Of course, after what he described as “a year of AI hype and noise,” AI also plays a significant role in his plans for the company. 

“The board and I have agreed that the company’s focus in 2024 is going to be the large-scale implementation of AI across the organization,” Ulichnowski stated. “My goal is for AI to touch every word we produce and almost every process in our company within the next 12 months.” 

More specifically, Ulichnowski believes that AI will enable Argos to generate more multilingual content for clients — above and beyond what would be possible on clients’ budgets while using traditional methods. 

Argos is currently working on customizing workflows that use large language models to get the most out of translation memory, machine translation, and quality control.

Summing up Argos’ attitude toward the new technology and the year ahead, Ulichnowski added, “We’re definitely bullish when it comes to how AI can help our clients.”