A furniture magnate, a hospitality icon and an academic are just some of those recognised at the Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HACCI) Excellence Awards on November 14.

Five Greek Australians have taken home awards in five different categories this year.

PR professional and candle maker Nicole Condos received the HACCI Award for Young Achievement, furniture icon Stelios Koukouvitakis received the Lifetime Achievement Award, philanthropist Kaliope Paxinos took out the Community Service Award, restaurant/bar mogul Con Christopoulos received the award for Business Excellence and academic Nikos Papastergiadis received the Professional Excellence Award.

The event, hosted at the Savoy Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne, saw hundreds of Greek Australian business minds gather and mingle, with Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship Matthew Guy and Consul General of Greece in Melbourne Christina Simantiraki also present.
HACCI president Nicholas Mylonas spoke fondly of all the award recipients, saying most remained influential community members and all embraced their migrant heritage.

Receiving the award for lifetime achievement, Stelios Koukouvitakis embodied the spirit of the awards, having worked as a taxi driver, a grocer and a property developer before he started his successful family furniture business.

“Mr Stylianos Koukouvitakis personifies the concepts of humility and philotimo,” Mr Mylonas said. “He is motivated by a deep sense of community and fulfilled by community progress and well-being.”

Now 73, Mr Koukouvitakis initially came from Crete and migrated to Australia in 1964.

Con Christopoulos’ heritage played a big role in his future career, giving him a love of the Mediterranean palate and instilling a hard work ethic.
Known for starting famous eateries and bars like The European, Siglo, The Supper Club, Benito’s and DeGraves Espresso, Christopoulos has been a innovator in the Melbourne food scene.

Volunteer Kaliope Paxinos has led most of her life connected to children, making sure those with Greek heritage know and understand its significance.

As a bilingual speaker, she helped many Greek mothers give birth, even teaching Australian midwives words in Greek to comfort their patients during labour.

She became a teacher’s aid, helping students with language and cultural issues and giving teachers guidelines on how to deal with migrant children.

She also became a probation officer for eight years, and an advocate for mental illness.

As a leading public cultures academic, Nikos Papastergiadis has been a ‘go to’ expert for government agencies on cultural identity and continues his work on the turbulence of migration, cosmopolitanism and culture.

As an entrepreneur, Nicole Condos has used her heritage to start a new line of Greek-inspired scented candles, with the likes of ouzo and cinnamon making the product list.

The event marked more than 20 years of HACCI rewarding Greek Australian business excellence, and is the chamber’s most prestigious event of the year.