When you think bankers, and financiers, business development managers and lenders – loyalty might not be the first word that springs to mind. But it was the only word used to describe the longevity of the careers held by members of the finance industry who attended the Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HACCI) lunch at the Press Club on Tuesday 26 July.
The theme of the luncheon was networking with people with a finance background to see what they had to say about this elusive industry.
As everyone around the table told their stories, from the CEO of the Beirut Hellenic Bank, James Wakim – who added that the Lebanese and Greeks are similar in many aspects, especially business – to Helen Karakassis, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), one thing rang true, how loyal they all are to their customers, their clients and their places of employment.
Most people at the luncheon had worked at their respective places of businesses for 20 or more years. And not one person said they were in it for money or climbing the corporate ladder of the Big Four; they were in it for the people and loved the job they are doing.
Dennis Achtypis, ANZ, said “when I get sick of the people, I might think of changing jobs”.
And the loyalty, they all agreed, stems from a culture that is embedded with respect and pride – the Greek culture.
Jim Papadopoulos, business development manager, CBA, has been with the bank for over 25 years and even though he said the “focus of banks has changed”, his pride as a Hellene gives him the strength to do the best for his clients. Wakim said what has kept him successful in banking is that he chooses to invest in people, in the culture of the bank and not just in the dollar. And while the word filotimo was used in abundance when trying to describe why bankers do what they do and why they do it so well, trying to translate it was a different matter altogether.
A luncheon that was supposed to be discussing banking, interest rates, and the current financial crisis in Greece soon turned into a conversation about migrants, heritage, culture and Hellenism.
Mathew Panopoulos, director at KPMG, said his Hellenism allows him to bond with other big players in the industry in a way that no other culture can. Panopoulos added being Greek and Australian is always a benefit. He always saw it as having the best of both worlds, never one or the other.