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The ALBA Quarterly Newsletter

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►►► ALBA has been officially granted a license to establish a college

►►► MSc in Finance included in Financial Times’ list for 3rd consecutive year

► ► ► Greek Labor market still affected by the crisis according to the RCI survey

► ► ► Extended Deadline for the Part-time MBA Programs

► ► ► The ALBA Roadshow 2009-2010 has been launched

► ► ► Upcoming Executive Development Open Seminar: Finance For Non-Finance Managers

► ► ► Interview of the MBA team that made it to the top 10% in the world at the Google Online Marketing Challenge

► ► ► New Academic Chair for ALBA Professor Olga Epitropaki

► ► ► Enterprising ALBA success story of Mariangela Lestou, Full-time MBA Alumna

Special Points:Special Points:Special Points:

One out of four companies is expected to reduce its number of employees during the second half of 2009. Stagnancy in all recruiting

p r o c e s s e s , s a l a r i e s increase from 3 to 6% and fear for the impact of the

financial crisis are some of the findings of the

Recruitment Confidence Index survey (Δείκτης  τάσεων 

Αγοράς  Εργασίας) for the 2nd half of 2009. (continued on page 4)(continued on page 4)(continued on page 4)

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ContentsContentsContents Academic Programs…………………...2 New Knowledge created at ALBA….3 Applied Research & Innovation……..4 ALBA Events…………………………… 5 Executive Development………………. 6 Experience from our Students.……..7

The ALBA Insider………………..…….8

Enterprising Alumna Feature……...9

Career & Alumni Office.……………11

Dear ALBA friends, I have the pleasure to announce to you that ALBA has been officially granted a license to establish a college under the name “ALBA   ΚΟΛΛΕΓΙΟ  ΔΙΟΙΚΗΣΗΣ                  ΕΠΙΧΕΙΡΗΣΕΩΝ”. This is the time for ALBA to highlight its unique characteristics that differentiate it from other licensed colleges, such as its not-for-profit character; its commitment to research; its close relations with the

business community and its humanistic culture. All of us at ALBA are committed to our vision to become one of the leading research-driven Graduate Business Schools in Europe, on the basis of excellence in teaching and intellectual impact on the business world. We are happy to have you with us along this exciting journey. With my best wishes for a productive academic year.

Nickolaos G. Travlos “The Kitty Kyriacopoulos Chair in Finance”, Dean

MSc in Finance included in Financial Times’ list for 3rd consecutive year

Watch the Watch the Watch the ANT1 NewsANT1 NewsANT1 News

FeatureFeatureFeature

MSc in Finance has been included in the Financial Times 2009 list of Masters in Finance Programs for the third year in a row. The list featured in the Special Report titled ‘Financial Training’, which was published by the

Financial Times in the issue of June 22nd, and includes 164 postgraduate academic programs in Finance from 89 selected institutions across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Once again, ALBA is the only Greek academic institution to be included in this prestigious list, which features established universities and business schools across the world such as London Business School, HEC Paris, and UCLA.

Greek Labor market still affected by the crisis

Message from the Dean

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The following guest speakers, who visited ALBA in the framework of the Strategic Information Management elective Course, presented and discussed strategic challenges in the IT sector.

Rick Browne Jr., Project Executive and Director for the outsourcing team at IBM was invited by P-MBA student Spyros Armyros, Head of IT Account and Demand Man-

agement at Vodafone, in order to contribute to the group study presentation of Spyros and his team, on June 11

Kosmas Nikolaidis, ALBA MBA-12 Alumnus and Business Processes & Technology

Manager at Frigoglass, on June 4

John Fletouris, Regional IT Manager at Novo Nordisk (Africa & Gulf), on June 18

Nikos Ragos, Senior Operations & Production Support Manager at Wind Hellas, on June 25

Students of the MSc in Strategic HRM had the opportunity to meet and attend a presentation of Mr. Bovolis Constantinos, Human Resources Director of L’Oreal Hellas S.A., titled “Compensation  &  Benefits at L’OREAL”.  The presentation took place in the framework of the Strategic

Performance Management II:  Compensation  &  Employee Benefits course instructed by Dr.  James C.  Sesil,  Visiting Fulbright Scholar  at City University of Hong Kong.

Following the EFMD-EPAS accreditation that ALBA received for the MSc in Finance and MSc in Strategic HRM in June 2009, Dean Travlos received from EFMD the certificate for this accreditation during the 2009 EPAS Award Ceremony, on June 8.

EPAS Award CeremonyEPAS Award CeremonyEPAS Award Ceremony

1 full and 4 partial scholarship are offered by Hay Group, the British-Hellenic, Greek-German and Dutch-Hellenic Chambers of Commerce, as well as e-TEE, respectively.

More Info

3 full scholarships offered by ALBA in collaboration with the Hellenic Bank Associa-tion. More Info 2 partial scholarships offered by ALBA and WISTA Hellas to two women working in the maritime sector. More Info 4 partial scholarships for professionals working in the field of HRM (two of them will be given to members of GPMA-ΣΣ∆Π), are offered by ALBA. More Info

Available ScholarshipsAvailable ScholarshipsAvailable Scholarships

An ALBA degree will undoubtedly open up a large range of career opportunities. Graduates of the ALBA part-time programs experience significant career advancement upon graduation. Extended Deadline for Classes that begin in January

Deadline: 30/10/2009

Deadline: 12/10/2009

Annual Deadline for the MSc in Business for Lawyers: 30/11/2009

APPLY NOW for a PartAPPLY NOW for a PartAPPLY NOW for a Part---time Programtime Programtime Program

Guest Speakers at ALBA ProgramsGuest Speakers at ALBA ProgramsGuest Speakers at ALBA Programs

Dean Travlos receives the EPAS Certificate

Ms Lila Efstathiadi [email protected]

Ms Teta Arvaniti [email protected]

Ms Marilia Koukou [email protected]

Ms Vicky Moschopoulou [email protected]

Moreover, AHEAD - being loyal to its mission to support innovative entrepreneurial Greek businesses - is proud to announce that it offers partial scholarships. These cover1/3 of P-MBA fees and are open to entrepreneurs and managers from micro businesses with less than 10 employees. The AHEAD scholarships aim to support entrepreneurial talent by pairing it with the knowledge, network, and skills required to join the rising stars of Greek entrepreneurship.

Ms Theoni Triandafillidou [email protected]

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Recent Papers in leading International Journals Recent Papers in leading International Journals Recent Papers in leading International Journals Theodore Sougiannis with Baruch Lev and Siyi Li, “The usefulness of accounting estimates for predicting cash flows and earnings”, Review of Accounting Studies, forthcoming

ABSTRACT Estimates and projections are embedded in most financial statement items. These estimates potentially

improve the relevance of financial information by providing managers a venue to convey to investors forward-looking, inside information (e.g., on future collections from customers via the bad debt provision). On the other hand, the quality of financial information is compromised by: (i) the increasing difficulty of making reliable estimates and forecasts in a fast-changing, often turbulent economy, and (ii) the frequent managerial misuse of estimates to manipulate financial data. Given the ever-increasing prevalence of estimates in accounting data, particularly due to the move to fair value accounting, whether these opposing forces result in an improvement in the quality of financial information or not is among the most fundamental issues in accounting.

We examine in this study the contribution of accounting estimates embedded in accruals to the quality of financial information, as reflected by their usefulness in the prediction of enterprise cash flows and earn-ings. Our extensive out-of-sample prediction tests, reflecting both the statistical and economic significance of estimates, indicate that accounting estimates beyond those in working capital items (excluding inven-tory) do not improve the prediction of cash flows. Estimates do, however, improve the prediction of next year’s earnings, though not of subsequent years’ earnings. We conclude that the usefulness of accounting estimates to investors is limited, and provide suggestions for improving the usefulness of estimates.

Sarah Dodd with Susan Moult, Alistair Anderson and Sarah Jack, “Changing Nature of Entrepreneurial Networks: Transformation of Structure and Emergent Process”, International Small Business Journal, forthcoming 2010

Contribution to Books & ConferencesContribution to Books & ConferencesContribution to Books & Conferences

Sarah Dodd with Alistair Anderson and Sarah Jack, “Social capital in the capitalisation of new ventures: accessing, lubricating and fitting”, book chapter in "Venture Capital", Nova Press, August 2009

Nicholas Tessaromatis, participation at the panel titled: “Critical Issues Facing Pension Funds for the next year” at the EUROPEAN CUP of ETFs and Investment Management Conference, London, UK, September 2009 Dean Travlos on SBCDean Travlos on SBCDean Travlos on SBC

ALBA Dean, Professor Travlos, commented on education issues and ALBA as a guest of the SBC TV show "Δρόμοι Ανάπτυξης" on March18, 2009.

ALBA Contribution to Business ConferencesALBA Contribution to Business ConferencesALBA Contribution to Business Conferences

ALBA continues its intensified scientific contribution to high-profile, business-oriented Conferences of renowned organizations, by offering academic expertise as well as special offers to its students and alumni. Moreover, an ALBA representative is available in each of the Conferences providing anyone interested with all the necessary information. For a full list of the Conferences please click here.

MSc in Finance Students’ Essay in the PressMSc in Finance Students’ Essay in the PressMSc in Finance Students’ Essay in the Press

An essay, written by MSc in Finance students, was published in the “Οικονομικά Και Ναυτιλιακά Νέα” (“Financial and Shipping News”) magazine, Issue 1066, September 2009. The essay titled: “Η Χρήση Οικονομετρικών Μεθόδων στη Χρηματοοικονομι-κή”, was prepared by the student team of: George Kaknis, Charilaos Seferiadis, Evgenia Mavrou, Konstantinos Konstantellos, Katerina Bougiouri and Aggeliki Papakalodouka in the framework of the Financial Econometrics and Forecasting course of Dr. Ilias Visvikis.

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SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS BY ALBA FACULTY

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Greek Labor market still affected by the crisis

(continued from front page)(continued from front page)(continued from front page)

Click here to view the main findings of the survey.

The survey is conducted by the Applied Research & Innovation Department at ALBA and its main objective is to explore the perceptions and trends regarding recruitment and selection processes over the next 6 months. The 2nd round of 2009 was carried out in the time period May-June 2009 with the support of ECDL Hellas, while the Special Theme of the survey titled ‘The

Financial Crisis and its Repercussions’ was sponsored by Accor Services. More than 2,400 invitations were sent to HR departments, Recruitment and Selection Managers and CEOs in Greece.

Data collection for the next RCI round (1st half of 2010) will take place during December 2009-January 2010.

For more information please visit: www.alba.edu.gr/rci, or contact Mr. Panagiotis Tarsinos, e-mail: [email protected].

A New and Highly Innovative Applied Research Project starts! The new Learning for Security (L4S) project, a new European-funded project in which ALBA participates, has started this month with its kick-off Partners Meeting taking place in Astir Palace Hotel, in Athens. In this project, ten research, teaching and industrial partners from 6 European countries will focus on the transportation sector and will try to help managers overcome crisis situations. The project will heavily use the edutainment approach (learning through virtual gaming applications) to fulfil its stated targets.

The consortium consists of: • DELLOITTE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS (GREECE)

• ATHENS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (GREECE)

• CREUERS DEL PORT DE BARCELONA (SPAIN)

• UNIVERSITA CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE (ITALY)

• UNIVERSITAET DER BUNDESWEHR MUENCHEN – UAFM (GERMANY)

• OESTERREICHISCHE STUDIENGESELLSCHAFT FUER KYBERNETIK – OFAI (AUSTRIA)

• FREQUENTIS AG (AUSTRIA)

• ALPHALABS (FRANCE)

• FVA SAS DI LOUIS FERRINI (ITALY)

Maximize your research potential and visibility through Platon+ Project

On June 15, 2009, ALBA successfully organized the training workshop “Ef-fective Collaboration in Multidisciplinary Research: A Learning Experience”, within the framework of Platon+ project, funded under the Socioeconomic

Sciences and Humanities theme. Ms Louisa Anastopoulou - DG Research, Directorate L “Science, Economy and Society” from the EC presented the EC policy perspective on the Socio-Economic and Humanities area and invited the researchers to promote their research through Platon+. Moreover, the participants had the opportunity to fill in their collaboration profile and register at the Platon+ da-tabase, as well as to take part at a simulation educational game (developed at CALT, INSEAD). Click here for more information on the workshop. For more information please visit: www.platonplus.net or contact Mr. Dimitris Gardikiotis, e-mail: [email protected].

The ALBA internal Innovation Competition “INNOSPHERE 2009” was concluded on June 26, 2009. Eleven ALBA employees submitted seven-teen innovative ideas. The Competition’s evaluation

committee thoroughly examined all ideas and reached a unanimous deci-sion to qualify the top three that best fulfilled the competition’s criteria. The winning idea was “theALBAf@ce” by Mr. Panos Tarsinos, who was awarded the gold award, whereas the other two finalists (Ms Vicky Mo-schopoulou, and the team of Ms Lila Efstathiadi, Ms Lida Komninou and Mr. George Christianos) were awarded the silver and bronze awards respectively.

The main point of “theALBAf@ce” is the re-introduction of the ALBA image to the public through a new, dynamic marketing and promotional campaign mainly focused on the ALBA faculty, alumni and employees.

Innovation Starts Here with You!

Specialized Staff Administrative Staff 

   Half  Half             Half               Half              Half             Half 

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The Applied Research and Innovation Department at ALBA has launched a new survey in collaboration with ECDL Hellas. The main goal is to explore employees’ needs in computer skills, train them accordingly and, finally, measure the subsequent change in their working performance.

More than 40 companies have already applied to participate. All of them will train and certify with the ECDL Expert certification (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and/or Access), 3-4 employees, free of charge. The participating employees and their direct supervisors will fill in two questionnaires, the first prior to their training & certification, and the second afterwards. Questionnaires will also be answered by the HR and IT Managers of the participating companies. ARIP plans to extract important knowledge on how official training and certification on computer skills affect job performance and work efficiency. The survey will take place in the time period September-December 2009 and the results will be available by spring 2010.

The scientific coordinator of the project is ALBA Professor, Dr. Evangelia Baralou. For more information please contact Ms Zoe Kourounakou at: [email protected].

A New Survey for “Measuring Efficiency after Training” in Collaboration with ECDL Hellas

For information on the ALBA events you may contact the Marketing & Communications Department, e-mail: [email protected].

This year’s annual event for the Aristides Daskalopoulos Endowed Professorship in Business Ethics, took place on June 15, 2009 at SEV Hellenic Federation of Enterprises. The event focused on the ethical implications of the current crisis and featured a presentation and comments of ALBA Professors Richard Nielsen and Nickolaos Travlos, on the find-ings of their academic research: “The Current Financial Crisis, Structurally Related Ethics Issues, and Potential Reforms”. During the event, Mr. Dionissis Nikolaou, Vice President of the Aristides Daskalopoulos Foundation gave a welcome address, while Mr. Nikos Ebeoglou, Chairman of the Board of ALBA made the concluding remarks.

Annual Event for the Aristides Daskalopoulos Annual Event for the Aristides Daskalopoulos Annual Event for the Aristides Daskalopoulos Endowed Professorship in Business Ethics Endowed Professorship in Business Ethics Endowed Professorship in Business Ethics

From left : Mr. Nikolaou, Mr. Ebeoglou, Prof. Nielsen, Dean Travlos

ALBA has launched the ALBA Roadshow 2009-10, during which it will visit a number of cities in Greece as well as developing markets in Europe and Asia:

12/10/09 WORLD GRADUATE TOUR Bucharest 13/10/09 WORLD MBA TOUR Bucharest 21/10/09 WORLD GRADUATE TOUR Athens 22/10/09 WORLD GRADUATE TOUR Thessaloniki 22/10/09 WORLD MBA TOUR Athens 15/11/09 WORLD GRADUATE TOUR Sofia 21/11/09 ACCESS MBA TOUR Sofia 22/11/09 ACCESS MASTERS Sofia 23/11/09 ACCESS MBA Bucharest 24/11/09 ACCESS MASTERS Bucharest 25/11/09 ACCESS MBA Athens 13/12/09 WORLD MBA TOUR Cairo

The aim of this initiative is the promotion of Greece as a destination for graduate studies, as well as the recruitment of international students.

ALBA Roadshow 2009ALBA Roadshow 2009ALBA Roadshow 2009---101010

2009 Graduation Ceremony October 8

Athens College Theatre

Information Session for the MSc in Business for Lawyers

October 14 SEV Hellenic Federation of Enterprises

Information Sessions for the

Part-Time MBA Programs October 20

Dais Center in Marousi

Upcoming EventsUpcoming EventsUpcoming Events

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Issue 23, Summer Issue 23, Summer Issue 23, Summer --- Fall 2009Fall 2009Fall 2009 Page 6Page 6Page 6

“Finance For Non-Finance Managers” on October 14 -15, 2009 Participants will be taught how to use financial data to make better business decisions and will be given the tools they need to: (a) integrate financial performance with shareholders, accountants and financial managers in their firm; and (b) understand the impact of their decisions on their firm's profitability, efficiency and riskiness.

Duration: 16 hours Venue: ALBA

Conductor: Dr. Andreas Charitou Professor of Finance & Accounting, School of Economics & Management, University of Cyprus

For more information, please contact Executive Development Office, tel.: +30 210 89.64.531-8, e-mail: [email protected].  

UPCOMING OPEN SEMINAR – FALL 2009

The Graduation Ceremony of the 4th and 5th Class of the “Diploma in Management Studies” executive program took place at

ALBA on May 30, 2009. During the Ceremony, the graduates of the program presented their final projects to a number of executives from VIOHALCO Group and to members of the ALBA Faculty.

The Graduation Ceremony of the 2nd class of the Vodafone “Executive Diploma in Management Studies” took place at Vodafone on July 7, 2009. During the Ceremony, the graduates of the program presented their final projects to the CEO of Vodafone Hellas, Mr.

Nicos Sophocleous, to Vodafone executives and to members of the ALBA Faculty. Some of the graduates will be continuing their studies with the ALBA Professional MBA.

ALBA – VODAFONE “Executive Diploma in Management Studies”

Class 2007

ALBA – Minerva “Crash Executive Course in Management”

The “Crash Executive Course in Management”, with a duration of 48 hours, took place during June 2009. It was offered to 14 newly appointed managers of the Organization and aimed at arming participants with knowledge that will strengthen their functional and managerial skills. Moreover, the Program aimed at offering executives common knowledge and at providing a basis that will assist them to manage their work and their teams according to Minerva standards. Upon completion of the Program, the participants were assigned a group project that will incorporate knowledge

from the total of the courses taught.

We would like to thank all companies for their fruitful cooperation and to wish all

graduates all the best in their future endeavours.

ALBA – VIOHALCO GROUP “Diploma in Management Studies”, 4th & 5th Class

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We interviewed the MBA team We interviewed the MBA team We interviewed the MBA team that made it to the top 10% in the world that made it to the top 10% in the world that made it to the top 10% in the world

at the at the at the Google Online Marketing ChallengeGoogle Online Marketing ChallengeGoogle Online Marketing Challenge against 2,200 other teams worldwide!against 2,200 other teams worldwide!against 2,200 other teams worldwide!

The goal for students in this Competition, in which ALBA student teams participated for the first time, is effective online marketing via sound marketing analysis to optimize, manage

and update a Google AdWords campaign.

The team of Despoina Exadaktylou Sarantis Katsikis, Alexandra Miric, Themis Kontogiannis and Georgina Sporou, who had 3 weeks and $200 at their disposal, completed a “Strong Campaign” and made it to the top 10% worldwide.

The company that we chose to work with is an olive oil producing company TerraCreta based in  Crete, which mainly deals with exports and currently its largest markets are Germany and Belgium. We chose such a company firstly because the international online competition in this field is small, secondly because we wanted to promote a high-quality Greek product and thirdly because we wanted to expose a Greek company to the benefits derived by the online weaponry available nowadays. What we should highlight is that no member of our team had any relationship with the company, however it entrusted us with some of its internal information. Our campaign ran for 20 days and was divided into three parts according to the addressed countries. To be more specific, our ads were written in three languages: Greek, English and German that targeted Greece, Germany, Belgium, China and several other European countries. Each of these three versions was combined with 6-7 keywords that everyone associates with olive oil when making inquiries about it. All versions proved to be very effective with click-through rates above 1%, however the Greek and German campaigns exceeded our expectations. The Greek campaign achieved a remarkable click-through rate of 11% during one of the days that our campaigns ran. Moreover, the company received numerous calls mostly from German citizens who wanted to congratulate them about our inspiring campaign, learn more about the product and possible ways of ordering. It is also worth noting that our campaign came first among all Greek Institutions that participated in the competition this year.

The main ingredients of our success were our diversity, our ability to coordinate ourselves and the support we received from ALBA. In simple words, our team comprised of 5 individuals with different experiences and nationality backgrounds, something that enabled us firstly to be able to use many languages in our campaign and secondly to share our perspective on how different cultures perceive olive oil and make inquiries about it or, in general, about healthy nutrition. Alexandra was our German-speaking colleague responsible for the German campaign, Despoina and Sarantis were responsible for the Greek campaign and finally Georgina and Themis for the International campaign having experience from South-Africa and the USA, respectively. The result of this clear set of responsibilities, along with our chemistry as a team, led to the perfect coordination of our actions. Finally, ALBA provided us with the initial guidelines and valuable tricks in order to build our effective campaign and for this we must thank Dr. Mylonopoulos and Mr. George Christianos, ALBA MSc in Finance Officer. On top of that, we are grateful that ALBA gave us the opportunity to participate in such an event.

We cannot say that we faced difficulties; they were more like challenges. The first was our limited budget of $200 that had to be allocated in all three campaigns in the most effective way and had to last for 20 days. Therefore, and since we faced the Google Challenge as an interesting game, each one of us strived for a larger piece of the budget. However, these issues, through humor and team discussion were instantly resolved without hindering the course of our campaign. The second was the usual suspect; the competition. And when we talk about competition we do not mean the competition with other teams of the Google challenge, but other Greek and International olive oil companies. In simple words, it was the real-life competition that raised the bar. However, the clever choices of our keywords along with the proper allocation of our budget allowed us to surpass our competitors. In the end, the number of unique visitors to TerraCreta's website went up by 10%. After the end of the campaign, this percentage started declining again. However, the company still has this fully functional and strong campaign at its disposal that it may use it whenever it sees best.

The e-Business course and especially our professor Dr. Mylonopoulos have definitely prepared not only our team but also all ALBA teams for this challenge. Especially Dr. Mylonopoylos’ encouragement to view the whole chal-lenge as a game, enjoy it and learn from it, proved more than crucial particularly for the team members that had not been previously exposed to such “IT” projects. Needless to say once more, that the e-Business course not only prepared us for the competition but also gave us the opportunity to participate.

Which were the biggest difficulties you faced? What did the company gain in the end?Which were the biggest difficulties you faced? What did the company gain in the end?Which were the biggest difficulties you faced? What did the company gain in the end?

What would you say is the secret of your team’s success? What would you say is the secret of your team’s success? What would you say is the secret of your team’s success?

Could you give us a brief description of your online advertising campaign? Could you give us a brief description of your online advertising campaign? Could you give us a brief description of your online advertising campaign?

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From left: Themis Kontogiannis, Alexandra Miric, Georgina Sporou, Prof. Mylonopoulos, Despoina

Exadaktylou and Sarantis Katsikis

Do you think that the eDo you think that the eDo you think that the e---Business course has prepared your team in order to face this demand-Business course has prepared your team in order to face this demand-Business course has prepared your team in order to face this demand-ing challenge? How valuable is the knowledge that you have gained from this experience?ing challenge? How valuable is the knowledge that you have gained from this experience?ing challenge? How valuable is the knowledge that you have gained from this experience?

Issue 23, Summer Issue 23, Summer Issue 23, Summer --- Fall 2009Fall 2009Fall 2009 Page 8Page 8Page 8

Embracing, enhancing, and championing the interest of ALBA in contributing to socie-tal well-being, the ALBA Good Citizenship Committee continued its work especially in:

► ► ► Philanthropy: Volunteerism, Employee Giving ► ► ► Environment: activities related to Recycling, Protection of the Seaside and Sea Life, ‘Forest Friendly’ Practices

The Committee wishes to enrich existing activities, as well as to expand its activities during 2009-2010 to include:

► ► ► Community Involvement: contributions and involvement with the Local and the Global Community ► ► ► Health: events and contributions that relate to health issues ► ► ► Human Rights: Child Labour Policies, discrimination policies, health and safety issues, and codes of conduct ► ► ► Informative Events and Training on Good Citizenship Areas / Topics: that raise awareness on social responsi-bility / good citizenship issues

Good Citizenship (GC) Activities Good Citizenship (GC) Activities Good Citizenship (GC) Activities

Visit the GoodCitizenship Committee blog at: http://alba-goodcitizenship.blogspot.com/

Dr. Christos Cabolis has been recently promoted to the rank of Associate

Professor, after a thorough evaluation by the Faculty Evaluation Committee.

The promotion reflects the great contributions of Dr. Cabolis in the areas of Teaching, Research, and Institutional

Building.

A new member has joined the ALBA family:

Mr. George Batsakis is the new Research Assistant at AHEAD (ALBA Hub of Enterprise & Development). Mr. Batsakis has a BA in Manage-

ment and a Masters’ degree in Entrepreneurship at Rotterdam

School of Economics. Let’s welcome him and wish him all the best!

New EmployeeNew EmployeeNew Employee

PromotionPromotionPromotion

Associate Professor Olga Epitropaki has been formally appointed to the newly established Academic

Chair, The Stavros Costopoulos Chair in Human Resource Management and Development, funded by Mr. Yannis Costopoulos, Chairman of the Board of ALPHA BANK, who has been a strong supporter of

ALBA since its establishment. This appointment reflects the great academic accomplishments of Dr. Epitropaki and her significant

contributions to ALBA.

New Academic Chair New Academic Chair New Academic Chair

AAA has created two “ALBA Alumni Association” groups on Facebook and LinkedIn social networks, in its attempt to keep all

members updated and connected.

  www.facebook.com/find‐friends/index.php#/group.php?gid=89304778014 

www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2060531&trk=hb_side_g 

On July 9, 2009, the ALBA Alumni As-sociation successfully organized its an-nual summer party at the “Island” night club in Varkiza, for the fifth consecutive year. Participation was especially high this year as well, as approximately 400 people from the ALBA faculty, staff, students and alumni, attended the party and had a unique opportunity to network, while enjoying themselves.

Annual Summer PartyAnnual Summer PartyAnnual Summer Party Stay connected Online!Stay connected Online!Stay connected Online!

For any purpose regarding the Association, please contact its Board at: [email protected].

It was a mind-altering journey full of unique experiences. ALBA is not difficult; it is challenging! It is up to the stu-dents to take the most out of ALBA. Either you study at your own pace and receive a good degree, or you fully commit to ALBA and experience a trip that will alter your way of thinking and expose you to a variety of unique experiences. Because ALBA provides the opportunities and it is open to students’ suggestions. The question is: “Are you ready or willing to experience all these opportunities by sacrificing a little more of your valuable free-time?” Since you have been chosen by ALBA, then your answer is a definite yes! Enjoy a fruitful year!

Reaching towards the end of your ALBA experience, what title would you give to this journey Reaching towards the end of your ALBA experience, what title would you give to this journey Reaching towards the end of your ALBA experience, what title would you give to this journey and what advice would you give to the students that now start their studies at ALBA?and what advice would you give to the students that now start their studies at ALBA?and what advice would you give to the students that now start their studies at ALBA?

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Alumni Entrepreneur: Mariangela Lestou Program Attended: MBA 12

Name of Enterprise: Look4Studies.com Description of Enterprise: The most complete website for studies in Greece Year founded: 2007

Number of Employees: 1

Website of Enterprise: www.look4studies.com

I always wanted to create my own business. The idea for Look4Studies.com came from the search for a good idea, the gap in the market, as there was no single place where one could find information on studies, as well as the increasing usage of the Internet, especially by young people. Based on the above, I created Look4Studies.com in August 2007, which concentrates all information on studies. At Look4Studies.com prospective students and other interested parties can find information on studies, profiles and courses of educational institutions that offer undergraduate, postgraduate and professional education in Greece.

Before launching Look4Studies.com, I was working as a marketing executive in a big multinational company. From my experience, there are a lot of differences between having a dependent job and having your own company, and it really depends on what one wants and needs. On the positive side, I would definitely mention the satisfaction stemming from creating Look4Studies.com, the services, the marketing plan etc and getting the positive feedback both from users and the market, which come to further confirm the need and the value of the services offered and compensate for the hard work put on the project. The freedom to take the “boat” to the direction you want to is also a big plus! On the other hand, there is a lot of responsibility, hard work and moments of disappointment and sometimes loneliness, when you must have the discipline and patience until the “storm” passes.

Find what you want, do what you want and you will be happy! This is the most important thing.

I try to relax and do things that will make me feel good, such as spending time with friends and family, go boating and fishing, have a good meal, dance, shop, laugh.

After the idea conception, the next step was the creation of a good business plan. One of the main parts was the research of the market and competition – was there a real need for the services that Look4Studies.com would offer, were potential clients willing to pay for the services? – designing of the services, finding the “right” partners and implementation. This is an ongoing process in order to constantly improve. Concerning the future, Look4S-tudies.com aims to provide all information, complete and accurate, around studies, by constantly enriching its content and services. Based on this, one of the next steps is the addition of more information on opportunities on studies abroad, as well as the creation of a forum for exchange of views and experience on topics around studies.

Knowing and pursuing what you want and thus, finding happiness, in both professional and personal life.

People who know what they want and pursue it and also stay close to their values. Fortunately, there are a lot of examples around us, both renowned individuals who are recognised in their fields, as well as in our closer environment, from whom I get inspired.

What do you most like about this career path? Is there something that you don’t like about it?What do you most like about this career path? Is there something that you don’t like about it?What do you most like about this career path? Is there something that you don’t like about it?

Who or what would you say was the source of your inspiration? Who or what would you say was the source of your inspiration? Who or what would you say was the source of your inspiration?

What is your personal mission statement?What is your personal mission statement?What is your personal mission statement?

What do you do in your spare time? What do you do in your spare time? What do you do in your spare time?

How did you develop your business? What are your plans to develop it further?How did you develop your business? What are your plans to develop it further?How did you develop your business? What are your plans to develop it further?

Issue 23, Summer Issue 23, Summer Issue 23, Summer --- Fall 2009Fall 2009Fall 2009 Page 9Page 9Page 9

What does "success" mean to you? What does "success" mean to you? What does "success" mean to you?

Who do you admire? Why?Who do you admire? Why?Who do you admire? Why?

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The industry that Look4Studies.com operates in has not been affected so much by the current financial crisis in real terms, rather than on a psychological level, thus making it more challenging to educate the market on the value of the Internet, as it is a relatively new medium for the market, and the results that it can bring, especially in the sector of education.

Many people say that they would like to start their own business, but they don’t have a good idea, the experience or the money. From my short experience, first of all I would say that one does not have to “invent the wheel” in order to start his/her own business. There are a lot of ideas out there, one has to combine the facts and “create” a better offer. Moreover, there is no need to know how to do everything, rather than have the ability to choose the right partners. Regarding financing, if the idea is good and the entrepreneur has thought of the ways the business can make money, he/she would also find financing. Stay very close to the market and don’t forget your goal. The only constant thing is change. Be patient. Good luck in whatever you do!

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What advice would you give to someone who would like to follow your footsteps and start their own business?What advice would you give to someone who would like to follow your footsteps and start their own business?What advice would you give to someone who would like to follow your footsteps and start their own business?

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Mr. Alexis Komselis, Assistant Director at AHEAD (ALBA Hub of Enterprise And Development) comments on family business issues, during the "Στιγμιότυπα"  show on SKAI Radio, on August 28, 2009.

Watch Watch Watch the the the

VideoVideoVideo

For the second year in a row, the eponymous Stelios Haji-Ioannou Award will provide generous support to rising stars of entrepreneurship in Greece.

The Stelios Haji-Ioannou Award is given to young entrepreneurs who have recently started a high-growth business.

The Award is organized under the auspices of the Hellenic Entrepreneurship Association which also include the Kouros Award for the Greek Entrepreneur of the Year, won by Stelios himself more than a decade ago. ALBA organizes the Award’s administration and research. The Award's prize of €50,000 is a practical expression of Stelios’ support for innovative entrepreneurship in Greece, where Stelios himself was born and went to school.

The Awards Ceremony will take place in the context of the 2009 Kouros Awards.

For more information please visit: www.alba.edu.gr/stelios

Stelios HajiStelios HajiStelios Haji---Ioannou Award: Ioannou Award: Ioannou Award: Application Deadline has endedApplication Deadline has endedApplication Deadline has ended

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AHEAD on SKAI RadioAHEAD on SKAI RadioAHEAD on SKAI Radio

The “Green Dreams” Competition, organized by the Hellenic Entrepreneur-ship Association and ALBA, takes place for the second consecutive year following last year’s success.

This year, 22 environmental entrepre-neurship ideas by 20 participants (individuals and teams) were submitted by August 30, when the application deadline ended. Idea owners will proceed to the next phase of the competition by attending the Green Dreams seminar on new ven-ture development, organized by ALBA in October. The next step will be the selection of the finalists by the Competition’s evaluation committee that will make it to the final phase of the Competition.

The Awards Ceremony will take place in the context of the 2009 Kouros Awards by the Hellenic Entrepreneurship Association, in November.

ALBA would like to thank this year’s Communica-tions Sponsors for their support in this initiative:

For more information please visit:

www.alba.edu.gr/sites/greendreams

Green Dreams Competition: Green Dreams Competition: Green Dreams Competition: Application Deadline has endedApplication Deadline has endedApplication Deadline has ended

What risks will your company face due to industry changes?What risks will your company face due to industry changes?What risks will your company face due to industry changes?

We are happy to unveil the ‘new and improved’ Career

Services site: www.alba.edu.gr/career.

Please take a look and pro-vide us with your feedback.

171717ththth Career Forum Career Forum Career Forum

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A Career & Alumni page on Facebook, where you can find career tips, announcements and other job-related

topics has been set up. Sign up here!

Don’t forget to join the ALBA group which can be used as a live platform to get in contact with fellow alumni,

post ideas, announce events and even upload job posts.

Don’t Forget!Don’t Forget!Don’t Forget!

Get the utmost, stay up-to-date, improve your productivity and personal development now!

The ALBA Library offers access to EBSCO's Business Source Complete (BSC) to any AAA (ALBA Alumni Association) registered alumni. BSC is

the world's definitive scholarly business database. A great opportunity to cope with the latest developments in business and its related sciences, life-long learning and continuous education, and why not, research.

Please contact the AAA for more details: [email protected].

ALBA Library OfferALBA Library OfferALBA Library Offer

To celebrate the recent international accreditation of the MSc in Strategic HRM, a Networking Reception was organized for all HR alumni and students on June 18, at ALBA. During the Reception: ► ► ► ALBA Professor Haridimos Tsoukas made a presentation titled: “What Can Contemporary Managers Learn from Aristotle” and discussed how Aristotle's thinking can inform contemporary managers to deal with problems in a practically wise manner. ► ► ► Petros Katsampouris, CEO of Vivechrom reflected upon the above issues. Following the speeches, a cocktail reception took place in order for alumni to reconnect with old friends, fellow classmates, ALBA staff and faculty.

Contact us to receive a free copy of the CV Book 2009 (CD format) which contains the curriculum vitae of students from the following programs: ►►► Full Time MBA ►►► Professional MBA (under 5 yrs. work experience) ►►► MSc in Finance ►►► MSc in Strategic HRM

CV Book 2009CV Book 2009CV Book 2009

The Career & Alumni Office would like to congratulate all graduates who have thus far

found jobs. We wish you the best of luck

in your new careers!

The 17th ALBA Career Forum was held with great success on September 16-17. The Career Forum is the pinnacle of the Career & Alumni Office’s activities. This is the time and place for recruiters to meet with our students and explore employment possibilities. It serves as a platform that supplies the market with tomorrow’s leaders. Based on feedback we received, participating executives were impressed with the high caliber of ALBA graduates. General Statistics (approx.) ►►► 90 companies ►►► 150 recruiters ►►► 70 students ►►► 1,300 interviews  ALBA would like to thank all participants for making this Career Forum such a success! Sponsors

Communication Sponsors

Petros Katsampouris, CEO of Vivechrom

HR Alumni Networking ReceptionHR Alumni Networking ReceptionHR Alumni Networking Reception

View View View the the the

slideshowslideshowslideshow

Career Services Site Career Services Site Career Services Site Gets a Facelift!Gets a Facelift!Gets a Facelift! The Career & Alumni Office is here to support you through your recruitment

process. Whether you host a company presentation, participate in one of our career panels, sponsor a career-related event or post a job or internship, we will ensure you attract and retain the right talent for your company. There are multiple ways to engage with our students and alumni. Contact us if you are interested in: ►►► Hosting a Company Presentation ►►► Participating in a Career Panel ►►► Posting a Job ►►► Posting an Internship ►►► Accessing ALBA CVs

Calling All Recruiters for the Academic Year 2009Calling All Recruiters for the Academic Year 2009Calling All Recruiters for the Academic Year 2009---10 10 10

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The ALBA Quarterly Newsletter

TheTheThe

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MBA Program [email protected]

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Issue 23, Summer 2009Issue 23, Summer 2009Issue 23, Summer 2009 Page 12Page 12Page 12

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