and it was a field of fruitful dialogue for the 400 business executives who attended the Conference in person and online. The Conference addressed the concept of Purpose,, which, in recent years, has become a prominent term in business language and this concept is the starting point for redefining organizations and leaders in a changing world, focusing on how a business can take care of its profitability as well as for the common good.

In his opening speech, Mr. Vassilis RabbatChairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Chief Executive Officers (ACEO) and President and Managing Director at XEROX HELLAS, welcomed the participants and he referred to the message of the Conference: “During the last two years we are dealing with a pandemic that reminded us of our interdependence. We became a chain in order to achieve a common goal. In this day and age, we have to do it again. A war is escalating day by day. Inflation and price increases have an impact on the weakest, unprotected and needy strata of society. Climate change is showing its teeth. In the past we may have had the luxury as business leaders to focus on the tree, on our goals. I ask you that we collectively focus on the forest. This is the common good that gave its name to this year’s Conference”.

The first day of the Conference began with a historical review of the importance of Purpose. Mr. Nikos Mourkogiannis,Business Consultant, Lawyer, Visiting Professor at Cass Business School and author of the book entitled “Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies”, analyzed the concept of the Aristotelian final cause, e.g., the purpose, as the crossroads between ethics and morality which individuals and businesses go through and he stated that “In recent years, we have been talking about the dominance of Purpose in various areas, from climate change to quality. Its relationship with the company’s performance is very much in the limelight. It’s the sustainable advantage that allows companies to reach their full potential”.

Live from London, Mr. Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance at London Business School, Managing Editor at the leading academic finance journal in Europe ‘Review of Finance’, author of the book “Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose & Profit” as well as a member of the Steering Group of The Purposeful Company, he referred to the implementation of Purpose in practice. He replied to the fundamental question: How can we turn purpose into measurable results. The leader of each company gives the definition of what the purpose is and what it is NOT, so that this definition is spread throughout the entire structure of the company. During the speech, he stressed that: “Purpose allows the Management of a company to think in a way that is not strictly financial”.

Then, four executives, Vasilios Katsos, Chairman & Co Founder of VNK Capital SA, Mr. Nikos Loulis, Chairman of LOULIS MILLS S.A, Theodosis Michalopoulos, General Manager at Microsoft Greece, Cyprus & Malta and Mr. Michalis Petychakis, Chief Technology Officer at Orfium, referred to their own leadership experiences and the important lessons learned from these experiences.

Speaking from the rostrum of the Conference, Mr. Katsos said that “We must constantly listen to the secrets and the essence of the companies and the market”. . He referred to the importance of the Purpose to the success of a company, as well as to the importance that Millennials and Generation Z attach on the culture of their potential employers. Mr. Mr. Loulis described his own journey towards changing his company’s culture and adopting inclusion policies and he stressed that “We will only move forward if we work as a team, starting from the leader’s admission that there are weaknesses that must and can be fixed. We must become agents of change, being faithful to our values”.

Mr. Michalopoulos focused on inclusion and integration policies that help organizations evolve. He stressed that “Purpose must be communicated from the leader to the employees. Only then they will feel that they are proudly parts of this purpose”. Finally, Mr. referred to transparency, justice, efficiency and technology as the essential pillars that are required by the organizations aiming to the common good.

The first day of the Conference ended with the speech of Ms. Christa Gyori, CEO and co-founder of the Organization Leaders on Purpose, who referred to the new business asset, the purpose! She defined the purpose as the commitment of individuals and companies to create value for the common good. The role of today’s CEOs is now decisive since research shows that their actions will affect significantly the next hundreds of years! She stressed that “The role of leadership is today more important than ever”.