The ACG Office of Advancement – Alumni invites you to
Beyond Business: A Conversation with Mr. Dimitris Daskalopoulos
How can business leaders shape the future beyond profit? In an era of rapid technological shifts, geopolitical uncertainties, and climate imperatives, the role of leadership is being redefined.
Join us for an insightful discussion with Mr. Dimitris Daskalopoulos, one of Greece’s most renowned business leaders—a visionary entrepreneur who built a global enterprise, developed a world-class art collection, and now dedicates his efforts to advancing societal progress through the arts, education, and youth empowerment.
Together, we will explore the future of business leadership, the evolving relationship between innovation, ethics, and corporate responsibility, and how businesses can act as progressive forces for positive change.
This reunion offers a unique opportunity to reconnect, exchange insights, and envision the future of leadership in a world where business and society are increasingly intertwined.
The discussion will be in Greek, with the flexibility to switch to English if needed. A networking cocktail reception will follow.
Please note that due to auditorium space restrictions, attendance will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
Event Agenda
18:30 – 19:00 | Registration
19:00 – 19:10 | Opening Remarks: Dr. Stefanos Zarkos, Professor in the Practice of Finance, Academic Director of The Alba MBA and MSc in Finance
19:10 – 20:00 | Interactive Discussion: moderated by Dr. Kostas Axarloglou, Professor of International Business and Strategy, Dean of Alba Association
20:00- 20:20 | Q&A
20.20- 20.30 | Closing Remarks: Anna Zoakou, Ph.D., Senior Manager of Advancement - Alumni
20:30- 22:00 | Networking Reception
Speaker
Dimitris Daskalopoulos, OBE, is an entrepreneur, the founder of DAMMA Holdings SA, a financial services and investment company. Between 1983 and 2007, he was the principal owner, Chairman, and CEO of Delta Holdings/Vivartia SA, Greece’s largest food conglomerate. He also served as Chairman of the Board of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) for eight consecutive years (2006–2014) and remains its Honorary President. From 2013 to 2015, he was Vice President of BusinessEurope.
Committed to fostering societal progress, he founded diaNEOsis (2015), a think tank that researches and publishes policy proposals on Greece’s major economic and social challenges. In 2013, he also established NEON, a non-profit organization dedicated to making contemporary culture more accessible to the public.
Dimitris Daskalopoulos is a collector of contemporary art, D.Daskalopoulos Collection (1994). In 2022 a major body of 350 important contemporary artworks were donated by the D.Daskalopoulos Collection to four museums (EMST/Athens, Tate, and jointly to Guggenheim and MCA Chicago).
His contributions to the arts have been widely recognized: Recipient of the 2014 Leo Award by Independent Curators International; Honored by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation at the 2018 Guggenheim International Gala for his innovative philanthropy in the arts; In 2022 the Whitechapel Gallery inaugurated the D.Daskalopoulos Gallery; Ηonorary fellow of Goldsmiths, University of London in 2023.
In 2023, he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to the arts and philanthropy. He holds a B.A. in management studies from the Athens University of Economics and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University. Fluent in Greek, English, and French.
Moderator
Dr. Kostas Axarloglou, Professor of International Business and Strategy, Dean of Alba Association (2016-present). He is also a Visiting Professor at Shanghai University (2015–present). Previously, he held academic positions at *Democritus University of Thrace (2002–2016), Babson College (1994–2002), Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business (1993–1994), and the University of Michigan (1990–1993). B.A. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, M.A. University of Michigan, Ph.D. University of Michigan.
Dr. Axarloglou is doing research and consulting work in the areas of International Business Strategy, Strategic Leadership, Strategic Agility and Adaptability and Blue Ocean Strategy. His research has been published in leading management and economics journals such as Management Science, the Journal of Business, the Journal of the European Economic Association, World Economy and Managerial and Decision Economics. He has received several research grants and also participated in numerous international conferences. Recently, he completed a study for the Athens Academy of Science on “FDI Flows in Greece”.
Dr. Axarloglou serves in various company Boards in Greece and abroad, and has done extensive training and consulting work in numerous multinational corporations such as Eurobank, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen-Cilag, Novo Nordisk, Philip Morris International, PepsiCo, Quest, Shell, Titan, Viohalco and Vodafone. Dr. Axarloglou, a recipient of the Fulbright scholarship, has extensive teaching experience in all levels of business education and has also received several teaching awards.
He is a member of the American Economic Association.
Opening Remarks
Dr. Stefanos Zarkos is a Professor in the Practice of Finance at Alba and the Academic Director of the Alba MBA and MSc in Finance. He has extensive teaching experience in Corporate Finance, Financial Management, Treasury Management, Financial Statement Analysis, and Strategy. His research focuses on innovative applications of real options in management decision-making, particularly in developing decision techniques to address challenges in Corporate Finance and Strategy. Dr. Zarkos previously taught Financial Markets and Institutions at the Manchester School of Management in the UK. He has worked as a business consultant and has authored several market reports on various sectors of the Greek economy. With many years of experience as a trainer in educational programs and seminars, he has collaborated with numerous domestic and multinational companies, including Philip Morris, Vodafone, TITAN, Eurobank, National Bank of Greece, Public, Novo Nordisk, Abbott, PepsiCo, Roche, Sunlight, and others. He is a member of the supervisory board of the Hellenic Association of Financial Managers (ΣΕΟΔΙ) and serves on its Automation and Digital Transformation Technical Committee.