Business never sleeps, and for Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris, celebrating his birthday wasn’t a time to loosen the tie.
His 60th birthday party had over 100 invited businessmen and women as guests from Australia, America and Italy, all there to talk investments.
The VIP guest was none other than the Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, who joined the group in the Greek island of Kastelorizo.
Almost everyone was positive about Greece’s financial progress but used their time to persuade Mr Samaras to look at tax issues to enhance investment opportunities.
The general manager of Coca-Cola, convinced that the Greek economy has avoided bankruptcy, voiced his interest in investing in Greece if it changed its tax rates and converted to a flat tax system.
Already, Mr Liveris has showed his business support by brokering a deal to increase Dow Chemical and IBM’s interest in Athens. Liveris sits on the IMB board and facilitated the link between the two multinational giants, so that Dow Chemical will now utilise IBM’s service centre in Athens as a base from
which to offer electronic support concerning its global activities.
“We have witnessed a change in Greece,” Mr Liveris said on the deal and the new landscape of Greece.
“We have seen a recovery of confidence and credibility. We have seen liquidity return.”
Mr Liveris was born in Darwin to migrant parents and has become one of the most influential businessmen in the world.
As well as being the CEO of Dow Chemicals, Mr Liveris has become a political advisor to Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama, and launched the Hellenic Initiative, which looks at supporting crisis relief in Greece and promoting entrepreneurship.
Source: protothema.gr, ekathimerini