Odisseas Athanasiou: The element of extroversion as a success factor on the business and national level
LAMDA DEVELOPMENT
“If you take Greece apart, in the end you will be left with an olive tree, a vineyard and a boat.” Taking a quick look back at the recent past, we realize that the words chosen by poet Odysseas Elytis include timeless pieces of truth. They could still acquire a different weight of meaning in the current period, during which the real strength of the country appears to have emerged.
The unprecedented health crisis we are experiencing has forced us to adjust our priorities on a new basis. We are redefining opportunities and threats on all levels: in society, in the economy, in labor, as well as in the overall national way of thinking. Greece, its enterprises, the people and their daily routine, have changed dramatically in a short period of time.
It took fewer than 90 days for leaps forward to be made, across almost all sectors of public life. Institutions and perceptions were to a great extent modernized. Inhibitions that had for decades hampered every innovative initiative were overcome.
A small revolution took place, which may have started from the government but was adopted by virtually the whole of society.
The success story we all built together was eventually based on two key notions: confidence and reliability. When people believe that these two notions form part of the relationship between the state and the citizens, a strong net is developed, protecting the social fabric. The state and society agreed and marched together having signed a “contract of humanism.” Human life and the need to protect it took a step ahead of the economy. Without delay.
The burden of decisions was passed on to specialized scientists, which is not common in our country.
The state stood by the business world, taking balanced measures that guaranteed the sustainability of entrepreneurship. It protected jobs as much as possible. It laid a strong foundation for the gradual restart of the national economy. Now is the time we must assess and select everything we really need to do immediately, so that we continue to make Greece better.
Let us focus on our effort over how to have the strongest growth in Europe in the next four years with a modern and quantifiable agenda.
Investment in digital transformation and green entrepreneurship is vital. The digital transformation of public administration will have to be among the basic priorities of the reform program for Greece to be able to be a pioneer in developments.
The incorporation of digital technology in the urban environment constitutes the next step of progress in services for the benefit of citizens: Smart cities, automized transport, infrastructure of high connectivity, especially in utilities, and a low environmental and energy footprint that will improve performance and upgrade our quality of life.
We want Hellinikon to be the product of national cooperations, and at the same time the best example of foreign capital attraction in the country. History has taught us again and again that being extrovert is the main factor of success on a personal, business and national level. It is in this spirit that we will develop this emblematic project.
Our goal is that along the course of its completion it offers Greece a special place on the international investment, tourism and cultural map, led by architectural aesthetics and environmental protection.
THE COMPANY AT A GLANCE
LAMDA Development, a member of the LATSIS Group, is active in property development, investment and management. Its developments include three shopping and leisure centers (The Mall Athens, Golden Hall and Mediterranean Cosmos), the Flisvos Marina, as well as the Hellinikon project, the biggest private investment in Greece.
