Eurobank and Grant Thornton awarded the 2021 Growth Awards to six (6) Greek companies that stood out for their strong financial performance, best practices, adaptability and contribution to building a resilient and flexible business landscape in Greece , which is crucial for the new ascension. economic cycle. The 2021 Growth Awards aimed to highlight excellence in business which ranges “from the ability to stand out to the power to stand out”.
The six companies were selected by the 20-member Growth Awards 2021 committee, jointly chaired by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eurobank, Mr. George Zanias and the CEO of Grant Thornton, Mr. Vassilios Kazas, with the participation of eminent entrepreneurs and academics. MG Zanias, in his short speech, highlighted the great progress made by Greek entrepreneurship and the value of the Growth Awards, while emphasizing the impartiality of the procedure and the notable contribution of the Awards Committee.
The opening of this year’s Growth Awards ceremony, which took place in the peristyle of Zappeion Megaron and was broadcast online, was announced by the CEO of Eurobank, Mr. Fokion Karavias, in the presence of the Minister of Development and Investment, Mr. Spyridon – Adonis Georgiadis, who gave a short welcome speech. The event brought together representatives of the country’s academic, research and business community, who honored the “Growth Awards”, an institution which highlights business excellence for the 5th consecutive year. The keynote speaker of the event was Howard Yu, LEGO Professor of Management and Innovation at IMD Business School, who spoke about the post-pandemic business world and the characteristics that will define a successful business today. ‘future.
In his welcome speech, Mr. Spyridon – Adonis Georgiadis, Minister of Development and Investment, mentioned among other things: “The Growth Awards 2021 are part of a period of very good news for the Greek economy: a rate strong growth, investments and exports at record levels. , offers in the latest privatization tenders that shattered expectations, large corporate transactions. The continued improvement in the business climate, in line with the financial “firepower” of the Recovery Fund and the Greek Partnership Agreement (known as “ESPA”), opens windows of opportunity for Greek companies to strengthen and compete with confidence in international markets. “.
Eurobank CEO, MF Karavias, said: “Our bank is committed to maintaining the course it has set for years, financing large investment projects and commercial initiatives of our clients, so that they can have a head start in exploiting opportunities. arising from the ascending economic cycle. As a growth-oriented bank, we encourage and finance mergers, acquisitions and partnership initiatives, necessary for the growth of the average Greek business. We provide financing and advice to small and medium-sized businesses, facilitating their green transition, digital transformation and strengthening of their corporate governance, as ESG criteria are now taken into account in the credit assessment of loans to all businesses. Today, our main concern is to support and accelerate the growth of the country and the economy, alongside the leading Greek companies.
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In his statement, Grant Thornton CEO Mr. Vassilios Kazas said: “Today, we once again reward entrepreneurship that builds a better future. Modern anthropocentric entrepreneurship, carrying out innovations with vision and purpose, resisting and evolving through ever-changing needs, while investing in the national economy. For the fifth year in a row, at Grant Thornton and Eurobank, we see how entities are joining our institution, which supports and rewards companies that combine high financial performance with a successful business history, while helping to reshape the entrepreneurial landscape and work culture in our country. The modern entrepreneurship that we reward today transforms the obstacles caused by the pandemic crisis into opportunities, thus laying the foundation for sustainable business and social development. It is a matter of common obligation for all of us – in business and in the non-business world – to face tomorrow and evolve through the challenges it brings. Therefore, we continue to strongly support the protagonists of entrepreneurship as well as any value-generating effort and to encourage a new dynamic to stimulate our economy.
Keynote speaker Howard Yu, LEGO Professor of Management and Innovation at IMD Business School, said: “Preparing for the future leads to resilience. What makes some businesses more resilient than others is their ability to understand their core knowledge. They made the leap from old to new in advance. These organizations are not just experimenting, they are evolving this capability in advance. So, in times of crisis, they are not only more resilient, they are also poised to grow. This is only possible when you filter out the noise and gain clarity. You will then be able to discover what impacts your organization and make decisions based on reality.
As part of the event, the Grant Thornton team, led by Mr. Manolis Michalios, Partner and Head of Insurance, presented the results of the analysis of Greek companies today. Commenting on the results of the study, MM Michalios said the following: “As we gradually move closer to the next day, it is becoming increasingly clear that Greek businesses are looking to the future with more optimism. as reflected in both the study’s expectations indices and companies’ estimates of how soon their operations will return to pre-pandemic levels. To get back on track in the coming months, businesses will need to adopt a robust and flexible operating model, one that will respond effectively to the changes that the future may bring. It is in fact thanks to their resilience and adaptability that companies have managed to respond to the particular conditions generated during the previous months and to support the course of the Greek economy. Such characteristics should be the decisive factor that allows Greek entrepreneurship to move forward into the future – safely and optimistically. These are the attributes that we reward and will continue to reward through the Growth Awards.
The six (6) companies awarded this year by category are:
Ø Dynamic growth | PAPOUTSANIS SA
Ø Research & Innovation | FLEXOPACK SA
ØExtroversion | THRACIAN GROUP
Ø Digital evolution | SCROUTZ SA
Ø Environmental, Social and Governance | VITEX SA
Ø Commercial excellence | Constantakopoulos family (COSTAMARE Inc., TEMES SA, FALIRO HOUSE, “Captain Vassilis and Carmen Constantakopoulos” Foundation)
The Growth Awards are the premier development and competitiveness awards that recognize companies whose achievements inspire the creation of a modern, dynamic and competitive Greece. In addition, the Growth Awards recognize the dynamism of Greek companies that stand out in crucial sectors, according to global economic trends each year.
The evaluation process for selecting winners involves the use of special analysis of the financial fundamentals of approximately 8,000 companies, based on Grant Thornton’s “Growth/Financial Health Matrix”, but also on real stories companies.
SOURCE: AMNA
