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Club Spotlight: Greece
Wharton Club of Greece Joins With Peers to Create Larger Network
Networking is about expanding
contacts through a broad net of
acquaintances, but until 2005, the
Wharton Club of Greece formed a
tightly closed circle. While the Club
started its operations in 2003, the limited
number of Wharton graduates in
the small European country prevented
the club from holding big events. In
order to open up the network and have
a bigger impact, in 2005 the leaders of
the club invited other "small" alumni
clubs of prominent U.S. and European
universities and graduate business
schools to join in activities. A powerful
new network was created.
A total of 17 alumni clubs
(Babson, Bocconi, Boston University,
Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard,
INSEAD, Kellogg, LBS, Michigan,
MIT, Northeastern, NYU, Oxford,
University of Pennsylvania, Stanford,
and Wharton) joined forces and
formed the Coordinating Committee
of Alumni Associations. The single
loose association created a large network
of graduates who share a common
business culture, who care about
their professions and their careers
and who want to see their country,
Greece, become more involved on a
world stage.
An Outward View
The first joint event was held a year
ago on July 6, 2005, at the Hilton
Athens Hotel. Entitled "Extroversion
as a Factor of Modernization and
Development," the half-day conference
included speakers from the
government, NGOs, the diplomatic
corps, and the academic community,
as well as the business community.
Greece is currently engaged in an
effort to modernize, and alumni
members who have lived and studied
abroad have the outward-looking
mentality that is the first prerequisite
for modernization.
The conference was attended by
more than 500 people. The opening
remarks were made by the Leader of
the Opposition, Andreas Papandreou,
the guest speaker at the dinner was the
Minister of Economy G. Alogoskoufis,
while the closing speech was given by
Christian Hadjiminas, WG'83, president
of the Wharton Club of Greece.
The Network Grows
Following the success of the first event,
the association grew to 21 alumni
clubs with the addition of Tufts, Yale,
Princeton, and LSE. The 2006 conference,
"Education & Extroversion," was
held June 18, 2006. The new conference
highlighted the ways education influences
and enhances competitiveness,
pointed out the obstacles in the Greek
educational system that prevent the
achievement of this aim, presented successful
educational systems from foreign
countries but mainly to propose a number
of "small, feasible, and immediate"
actions that can upgrade education in
Greece in a manner that can contribute
to the country's effort to become more
extroverted and competitive.
The Wharton Club of Greece has
found its outreaches are paying off. The
club has grown to 38 members, and
plans to hold an event in November,
inviting a Wharton faculty member
to speak, as well holding its annual
Christmas party in December.
Says Hadjiminas, "We are happy to
say that despite its initial modest beginnings
with a maximum participation of
10 to 15 members, the Wharton Club
of Greece has now become a well-known
alumni club in Greece and a coordinator
of 21 alumni clubs, with an active membership
that exceeds 1,500 persons."
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