Distinction and Awards for the “Protagonists of the Greek Economy”

Aegean Airlines is the Enterprise of the Year
More than 550 business executives attended the Awards Ceremony

 

The leading enterprises which have driven the efforts for return to growth and paved the way for a better tomorrow, were honored at the Awards Ceremony for Greek entrepreneurship excellence, “Protagonists of the Greek Economy”, organized for the fourth time by Direction Business Network on Monday June 11, 2018.

Enterprises were awarded for their protagonistic role in the field of real economy with sustained success, demonstrating growth and overcoming challenges within a generally dire business environment. The Ceremony took place at the Banqueting Hall of the Megaron Athens Concert Hall, attended by more than 550 top executives.

The awards bestowed were based on the official financial results of the companies, as reflected in the balance sheets which were collected and analyzed by Direction Business Reports and are included in the publication “The Strongest of the Greek Economy” by Direction Business Network which has just been released.

In particular, initially the Protagonists by Sector were awarded, and they were comprised of the leading companies within important sectors of the Greek economy, based on turnover, profit before tax and cash reserve. In this category, the companies that were distinguished were Amvyx S.A. (Alcohol Beverages – Trade), Iaponiki S.A. (Automobile Spare Parts), Toyota Hellas (Automobile Representatives), B&F Commercial & Garment Group (Clothing Industry), Kri Kri S.A. (Dairy Products), Lamda Development (Shopping Malls for the Company Lamda Olympia Village Α.Ε), Public Power Corporation S.A. (Energy), Athens Brewery (Brewery), Samsung Electronics Hellas (Electric and Electronic Products – Importers & Distributors) Bioiatriki S.A. (Medical Services), Ηousemarket S.A. – IKEA (Household Goods Stores), Pavlides Marbles-Granites (Marbles – Granites), Cavino S.A. (Winery), MEGA Disposables S.A. (Personal Hygiene Products – Τissue), AB Vassilopoulos (Supermarket), Accenture (Business Consultancy), ΑCS Courier (Courier Services) και PEIFASYNPE (Medicine Sector).

Also, Coca-Cola Tria Epsilon, ΟΤΕ S.A. and GR. SARANTIS S.A. were honored for their significant strategies in the area of Growth and Investment, whereas MEGA Dispasables S.A. and Pharmathen were awarded for their distinction in the area of Entrepreneurial export-led development.

The Turnaround Business Awards were presented to the companies Genesis Pharma S.A., DODONI S.A., MEVGAL S.A. and Wind Hellas, for their achievement to recover and grow despite the difficult economic environment.

The Greek Business Champions Awards were bestowed to companies with annual turnover exceeding 10 million Euros and as reflected in the 2016 financial statements, they succeeded in that particular year to simultaneously increase the turnover and profit before tax by over 20%.

Specifically, in this category, the companies which were awarded were: Amvyx S.A., Anastasopoulos Vasileios  S.A., ΑΝΕDIΚ Kritikos S.A., Armos Prokataskeves S.A., ΑΤΕSΕ S.A., Βandai Namco Entertainment Ηellas, Viacar S.A., Gefsinous S.A., DSV Hellas S.A., Elinoil S.A., Hellenic Brewery of Atalanti  S.A., Ernst & Young, FCA Greece S.A., Frezyderm S.A., IFET, Inventor A.G. S.A., Landis + Gyr, Leaseplan Hellas S.A., Manessis Travel S.A., Mavrogenis D. Nippon S.A., Mineral Trade Ltd., Novo Nordisk Hellas Ltd., Novastar Ltd., Nuntius Brokerage and Investment Services S.A., Dromeas S.A., Piraeus Direct Services S.A., Pescanova Hellas Ltd., POTPAN Foodservice S.A., Selonda Aquaculture S.A., Shire Hellas S.A., Toyota Μaterial Handling Greece S.A., Vestas Hellas Wind Energy Technology, Vicko Ilias Triantafyllidis S.A. and West S.A.

The enterprise Petros Petropoulos S.A., active since 1922, was presented the Historic Greek Enterprise Award, and the Excellence Award for European Contribution was presented to Panos Karvounis, who worked 35 years at the European Commission and headed the Greek Delegation during 2010-2017.

Finally, the highlight of the evening, the Enterprise of the Year Award was awarded to Aegean Airlines, resulting from the vote, taking place for the second consecutive year, among 6,500 top executives from the largest Greek companies. The candidates included 20 significant Greek enterprises with a positive performance and dynamic growth strategies, who were nominated following a preselection procedure executed by a special Awards Committee of the organization.

The presenter of the Awards Ceremony was the journalist Mr. Georgios Kouros, and the evening was opened by the publisher and Managing Director of Direction Business Network, Mr. Evangelos Papalios, who stressed that “those who are awarded as well as those who are included in the publication “The Strongest of the Greek Economy” represent the center for growth and optimism, from which the country’s economy will recover.”

It is worth noting that just before Mr. Papalio’s opening speech, a minute of silence was kept for the three very important representatives of Greek entrepreneurship who recently passed away: Stelios Sklaventis, Theodore Vasilakis and Pavlos Giannakopoulos.

The “Protagonists of the Greek Economy 2018” was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and Development and of SEV – Hellenic Federation of Enterprises and was made possible by our Major Sponsor Piraeus Bank. Sponsors also included Wind, Goodrive Technologies and Mobileye while Supporters were Amvyx (Glenfiddich), ΒΝΙ Greece, Hellenic Wine Cellars, The Design Agency, Zazoo, ImagePro and Future Μodels & Management. The event was also supported by Weber Shandwick (Οfficial Partner), Pressious Arvanitidis (Printing), Polichromo (Digital Printing) and eventora (Voting Platform). Media sponsors included the websites advertising.gr, ΒusinessNews.gr and euro2day.gr, the magazine Business News Magazine and the television channel SBC.