DEREE Business Week 2012, a four-day business-oriented conference organized by students of the DEREE School of Business in cooperation with their faculty, acquired additional poignancy this year, when its opening speaker, Greek enterprises union president, Dimitris Daskalopoulos, ventured to say that Greek society suffers from a deep-seated and short-sighted ideological deformation that amounts to “left wing conservatism.” Daskalopoulos said that this is one of the main causes of the current crisis, since it has consistently stifled reform and entrepreneurship in the country (see Daskalopoulos’s full address [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4nNCw1WiJA&context=C4168f3fADvjVQa1PpcFMkn1sb-1awTS4vOlMu4G9CJoy2dMA_dLg= ] in English).
Four days later brand strategist Peter Economides, closed the conference in front of a standing-room-only audience of students with a stirring oresentation about the need for learning in an interconnected world. Economides said that Greece has to learn its way out of the current, severe financial crisis. (see Economides’s full presentation in English [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m66R1Guncw4&context=C4e14a97ADvjVQa1PpcFMkn1sb-1awTYWdcOzwLhTGKjoE6xrOlFo=]).
Throughout the week a series of high profile speakers discussed the week’s topic, “The Learning Organization: A Key to Competitiveness?” They included Aegean Airlines CEO Dimitris Gerogiannis, TNT Greece CEO Christina Alevizou, Costa Navarino General Manager hotelier Peter Alatsas, venture capitalist Onic Palandjian, journalists Babis Papademetriou and Antonis Papagiannides.
Dozens of DEREE Business School students worked hard to bring off Business Week. In fact, Business Week stands out as a learning experience that teaches students the exhilarating results of cooperation and teamwork. They were assisted and advised by faculty members who brought to the table years of experience with similar events and ensured that the choice of speakers served the core theme of this year’s event.