An ACG 150 Panel Discussion

Co-organized by
ACG Institute for Hellenic Growth and Prosperity
Office of Public Affairs

When: Tuesday, April 13, 2021 | 17:00-18:30 (Greece)

Where: Online event livestreamed from the Events Hall of The American College of Greece

 

About the Event

Digital transformation is at the center stage of the global agenda requiring digital fluency to be the new skill acquired by leaders. By sharing the points of view of three business leaders with distinct and overarching perspective of how technology cuts across almost every industry, the panel discussion will focus on the role of leadership in the successful implementation of digital transformation. Should the leadership handbook be completely rewritten for the digital age? How can business leaders lead by digital example?

 

PROGRAM

 

17:00 | Welcome remarks

Claudia Carydis Benopoulou
Vice President, Public Affairs, The American College of Greece

17:10-18:00 | Panel discussion

Theodosis Michalopoulos
CEO of Microsoft Greece, Cyprus & Malta

Michael Tsamaz
Chairman & CEO, OTE Group

Katerina Vlachou
Managing Director of Mondelēz Greece, Cyprus

Moderator

Joanna Konstantinou
Associate Lecturer II, School of Business and Economics, Deree-ACG
Digital Leadership Coach

18:00 | Q&A and Closing 

You may join the online event here

For more information, please contact College Events-Office of Public Affairs, [email protected] or 210 6009800, ext. 1380, 1570

 

About ACG 150

In view of its 150th anniversary in 2025, The American College of Greece has launched ACG 150, a visionary strategic plan to leverage educational programs for economic and social impact, as well as to consolidate, support and expand ACG’s activities in performing research, creating technology and fostering innovation.

To accomplish these goals, the ACG 150 plan has established Greece’s first Institute for Hellenic Growth and Prosperity (IHGP), which houses the Center of Excellence in Food, Tourism & Leisure,  the Center of Excellence in Logistics, Shipping & Transportation, and the Research, Technology & Innovation Network (RTIN), and which complements the new Institute of Hellenic Culture and the Liberal Arts (IHCLA).

As the Greek economy struggles to overcome both a global pandemic and a continuing economic downturn, now more than a decade old, The American College of Greece has embarked on a set of initiatives designed to promote economic recovery. As a leading academic institution spanning three educational divisions, ACG will therefore be engaging in focused research and related projects and in creating new academic programs and initiatives that address the continuously changing landscape of the Greek and the global economies. ACG 150 initiatives bring together the academic, private and public sectors to ignite innovation and spur growth, empowering ACG to continue to cultivate the necessary soft and hard skills for its students, the leaders of tomorrow.

 

Bios of the Speakers

Claudia Carydis Benopoulou
Vice President, Public Affairs, The American College of Greece

Claudia Carydis Benopoulou is Vice President of Public Affairs at The American College of Greece (ACG) since June 2012. Her responsibilities include government relations and cultivating mutually beneficial relations with key stakeholders of both the private and public sector. She also supervises College Events and the work of three separate ACG entities: The Institute of Global Affairs, the Institute of Public Health and the Center of Excellence for Sustainability. Under her leadership, in 2020, ACG was awarded with the Gold STARS rating by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Claudia has been working at ACG since 2005 and was initially head of Alumni Relations & College Events. Before joining ACG, Claudia worked in leading private companies as a marketing and communications executive. She also worked for the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of European Affairs, for the period 1988-1992.

Claudia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Deree-The American College of Greece and a Master’s degree in International Relations & Communication from Boston University, US.

 

Theodosis Michalopoulos
CEO of Microsoft Greece, Cyprus & Malta

Mr. Michalopoulos is a dynamic and result-oriented leader, who boasts a successful career in the Technology industry. He is the CEO for Microsoft Greece, Cyprus & Malta since December 2019. During his tenure, Microsoft Greece Cyprus & Malta won the Top Subsidiary Award for achieving the highest level of performance excellence while supporting Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Prior to the CEO position, Mr. Michalopoulos served for two years as the Sales Director for Enterprise Commercial & Public Sector, for Microsoft Greece, Cyprus and Malta. From this position, he drove significant commercial success in these markets, while also leading the broader modernization of the company’s sales model. Over these years, and while working with a competent sales and technical team in order to support Microsoft’s top customers in all three markets, he developed an expertise in promoting the digital transformation of private and public businesses and organizations, with an emphasis on advanced technologies, Cloud adoption and Artificial Intelligence solutions. He joined Microsoft in 2014, as Sales Director for the Consumer Channels Group. Before that, he worked at Vodafone, holding executive positions in both Sales and Marketing.

He holds a BEng in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the University of Sussex, an MSc in Communications & Signal Engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London and an MBA from the Alba Graduate Business School.

 

Michael Tsamaz
Chairman & CEO, OTE Group

Michael Tsamaz heads OTE Group, the largest technology company in Greece and subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG, since November 2010.

Under his leadership, with sustainability as a key driver, OTE Group managed to streamline its financials, create new revenue streams and transform into a modern, customer centric, tech enterprise, with COSMOTE as the unified brand for its fixed, mobile, internet and pay TV products and services.

Michael Tsamaz is a strong advocate of technology as the means to sustainable growth. Back in 2016, he set a new vision for OTE Group to become a digital transformation paradigm in Greece, as well as in Europe. From his position as head of the Digital Economy Committee of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) and member of the Athens Digital Council, he focuses on policy making proposals in order to bridge the digital gap nationwide, while creating awareness for the merits of the new digital era through education.

Mr Tsamaz holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick, Canada.

 

Katerina Vlachou
Managing Director of Mondelēz Greece, Cyprus

Katerina Vlachou is the Managing Director of Mondelēz Hellas, responsible for Greece and Cyprus. She has undertaken various roles in Marketing and Sales including the positions of Marketing Manager and National Key Accounts Manager. The Marketing campaigns developed have been recognized with numerous local and international distinctions and awards, e.g. Cannes Lions, Mixx Awards, Ermis, Effies etc. She holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from the Athens University of Economics and Business, a Bachelor in Business Administration from Deree-Τhe American College of Greece, and an MBA from the Athens Laboratory of Business Administration (ALBA). She is Vice President of the Board of Greek Advertisers Association.

 

Joanna Konstantinou
Associate Lecturer II, School of Business and Economics, Deree-ACG
Digital Leadership Coach

Joanna Konstantinou is a Consultant and a Leadership Coach who has contributed to multinational management teams’ Leadership Development, specialized in Change management, Performance coaching, Communication and Team transformation. Innovative, strategic and visionary business consultant with experience in versatile business environments. Advisory member of the REBRAIN Project of the Ministry of Labour.

As a faculty member of Deree-The American College of Greece, she is a professor of the Management Information Systems and International Hospitality Management programs with a focus on Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She has served as a Leading Steering Committee Member at European Commission on Digital Tourism – DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SM.

Joanna has a strong educational background with a Bachelor’s in Computer Information Systems and Marketing Management from Deree-The American College of Greece, MSc in Total Quality Management from Cranfield University, UK, MSc in Leadership from the School of Graduate and Professional Education of Deree-The American College of Greece, and a PhD research in progress, at Sheffield University, UK, in the area of Entrepreneurship and Leadership, and has successfully completed an executive education program by INSEAD University on Leadership in a Crisis Context.