8th WIB FORUM

The American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with its Women in Business (WIB) Committee, held its 8^th WIB Forum, Mastering Chaos | The Art of Thriving in Ambiguity, on June 5, 2024, at The Ellinikon Experience Centre.

The WIB Forum Mastering Chaos opened the conversation on mindsets, insights, skills, and best practices, to embrace chaos and seek growth through it. Diverse panels, academics, business leaders, disruptive entrepreneurs, and bold innovators shared the stage to offer their expertise on navigating ambiguity with confidence and agility. There is a need to be transparent, connected, and supportive of each other, so that we create cultures, and lives,  that thrive in chaos

Key forum highlights included:

Nikolas Bakatselos, President, American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce

“Chaos is not our enemy. It is our teacher. It guides us to be adaptive, creative, resilient. It teaches us to live in the present, to appreciate the beauty of uncertainty, to embrace the infinite possibilities that life holds.”

Elias Spirtounias, Executive Director, American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce

“We need to add chaos management to our skill set. If we want to continue to thrive, we must build our inner “muscles” of endurance in unusual circumstances. And that’s because chaos isn’t just a threat. In chaos lie the seeds of innovation, creativity and progress.”

Myladie Stoumbou, Chair, Women in Business (WIB) Committee

“Change, uncertainty, chaos ultimately hide opportunity. To paraphrase Einstein: “In chaos, look for simplicity. In discord, seek harmony. In difficulty, look for opportunity.”

Theofanis Tasis, Lecturer Contemporary Practical Philosophy, Alpen-Adria University

“We are at a radical intersection because of the issue of survival arising from climate change and because of all the changes brought about by artificial intelligence. To deal with the uncharted we need to find the right measure, which will allow us to be resourceful and daring, but not overstep the bounds, to develop intuition and judgment.”

Marina Economou-Lalioti, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Athens

“Amidst all the upheavals, in this quicksand, we are always looking for something stable. And that constant can only be ourselves, as we seek  self-awareness.”

Lena Papaligoura, Actress

“What is it that changes for man when everything around him changes? Both everything and nothing. Everything around us and nothing in us. Our basic anxieties, including death, life, love, remain unchanged throughout the ages. Uncharted, we need to find the right measure, which will allow us to be resourceful and daring but not overstep the bounds, to develop intuition and judgment.”

Eleni Maria Kontoravdi, Coordinator & Founder, The Laughter Experience

“Positive feelings can start from the mind and spread to the body, but they can also start from the body and then spread to the mind, to our thinking and our attitude. This is why we need to have the embodied experience of laughter and humor, to give the spark to our thinking and our solutions.”

Eleni Vrettou, Chief Executive Officer, Attica Bank

“Don’t be afraid of chaos. It has helped me personally. Try to take advantage of it, to take it in stride.”

Eve Psalti, Senior Director Artificial Intelligence Engineering, Microsoft

“Adaptability and flexibility are virtues that I have used a lot in my career, as our world is constantly changing. Coupled with my need and desire to constantly acquire new skills to adapt to new circumstances.”

Manolis Kellis, Professor of Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence, MIT

“From the biology of the human genome to the technology behind AI, imperfection can give us the optimal solution. Even better than perfection. After all, our mistakes and imperfections allowed us to evolve into what we are today.”

Michael Tsamaz, Chairman & CEO, OTE Group

“In cases of chaos and turmoil you must keep your cool and find the lifeline, the springboard from which you will start the work and build the next steps. Our partners and our team are very important success factors.”