Leadership 100 29th Conference to Convene in Palm Beach

By NEO Magazine on January 13, 2020

The 29th Annual Leadership 100 Conference will convene February 20-23, 2020, at The Breakers in Palm Beach, attended by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, who will address Leadership 100 for the first time, according to Argyris Vassiliou, Chairman of Leadership 100. Featured speakers will include Michael Kratsios, United States Chief Technology Officer, Tim Tassopoulos, President & Chief Operating Officer, Chick-fil-A, Inc, and Rev. Fr. James W. Kordaris, Director of the Department of Stewardship, Outreach and Evangelism, Philip Nicozisis, best-selling author and commercial property owner and operator, George Bousis, e-commerce entrepreneur, Doretta Mistras, healthcare investment banker, and Athan Stephanopoulos, digital media news executive.
The Opening Forum with Fr. Kordaris will be on Thursday February 20 with a Luncheon and Forum addressed by Tassopoulos. The program on Friday, February 21, will include the General Assembly and a Luncheon and Forum addressed by Mr. Kratsios. Nicozisis will speak prior to the General Assembly on Friday.

The Saturday, February 22 events will include a Brunch and Special Forum at which Bousis, Mistras and Stephanopoulos will serve on a panel, Golf and Tennis Tournaments and Awards, and a Walk/Run event. The Grand Banquet at which the Archbishop lakovos Leadership 100 Award for Excellence will be presented will take place on Saturday evening. The Hierarchical Divine Liturgy will be celebrated on Sunday, February 23 at Saint Mark Church in Boca Raton.

Michael Kratsios

Kratsios, who has served in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy since March 2017, was confirmed by unanimou voice vote by the U.S. Senate on August 1, 2019. During the confrimation hearing, held the prior week, Kratsios expressed an intention to continue with the kind of work he’s been doing for the past two-and-a-half years. “From the start, I united OSTP around a clear mission: ensure continued American leadership in emerging technologies,” he said. “Our goals are bipartisan. We all want American innovation, built by American workers and underpinned by American values, to lead the world, increasing our prosperity, enhancing our security and raising our quality of life in the process,” something that as U.S. CTO, he “can ultimately chart the path to accomplish this.”

Tim Tassopoulos

Tassopoulos began his 40-year career at Chick-fil-A as an hourly restaurant team member and was appointed as President and Chief Operating Officer in 2016. He has served as Director of Field Operations, Vice President of Operations, Senior Vice President of Operations, and, most recently, Executive Vice President of Operations. He graduated in 1981 as valedictorian from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science. He received his Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, in 1983, where he was recognized with the Graduate School Service Award.

Fr. Jim Kordaris

Fr. Jim was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church in Minneapolis, under the spiritual leadership of Fr. Anthony Coniaris, he served in many capacities. In his youth he attended Sunday School and served as altar boy. As an adult, Fr. Jim served on the parish council including two years as president. He also served the parish as Bible Study leader, camp counselor, IOCC coordinator, Festival Co-Chair and Stewardship Committee Chair. He has BA-Psychology (1979) and MBA-Finance (1983) degrees from the University of Minnesota. Following twelve years in the financial services industry, he entered Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, receiving his Master of Divinity degree in 1999. He was ordained to the Diaconate in 1998 and to the Priesthood in 1999. He has served at St. Demetrios Church in Jamaica, NY and Archangel Michael Church in Roslyn Heights, NY. Fr. Jim was appointed Director of the newly formed Department of Outreach & Evangelism in January of 2003. In 2009 Stewardship Ministry was added to his responsibilities.

Philip Nicozisis

Philip Nicozisis, a longtime member of Leadership 100 and best-selling author, who owns and operates a family commercial real estate business spanning five states, is the author of Have Laptop, Will Travel: Memoirs of A Digital Nomad, which was number one in seven countries in 2019. He is also a public speaker and activist on his vegan lifestyle, credentialed as a health educator from the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida. His lectures have taken him to 20 countries around the world.

“This year, Leadership 100 has invited three outstanding young members of the Greek American Community to share their experiences as highly successful entrepreneurs and innovators in significant sectors of the business world,” stated Argyris Vassiliou, L100 Chairman, who expressed gratitude to the speakers for this important addition to the program.

Michael Bapis, a member of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Audit Committee, will moderate a panel at the Saturday Brunch, February 22, 2020, consisting of George Bousis, Founder and Executive Chairman, Raise and Owner and Chairman, Riot Squad Esports; Doretta Mistras, a Managing Director in the Healthcare Investment Banking Division of Citigroup, based in New York; and Athan Stephanopoulos, President of NowThis, the leading digital media news brand known for producing and distributing short-form video news for a predominantly millennial and Gen Z audience.

George Bousis

George Bousis, a member of Leadership 100, began his career at the age of 14 as a professional gamer for a variety of internationally recognized esports organizations. Following his retirement from competitive esports, he began working at his family-owned business, Cermak Fresh Market which today is one of the leading independent grocers in the Midwest. After a successful tenure in various leadership roles, Bousis went on to found Raise, a leading retail payments and gift card company, that today is the largest exchange and mobile prepaid wallet in the world. Since 2013, Raise has been globally recognized as one of the fastest growing and transformative e-commerce companies. Under Bousis’ leadership, Raise has generated nearly $4 billion in transactions and saved its millions of customers over $175 million to date. In addition, he has attracted more than $147 million in funding from leading global investors including Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, and PayPal. Most recently, George returned to his roots and love for professional gaming by founding Riot Squad Esports, a professional esports organization focused on enabling the growth and advancement of gaming across the world. Bousis is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Leadership 100, a Major Contributor to FWD.us, a recipient of Chicago Business 20 in their 20’s, a three-time recipient of the Goldman Sachs 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs List, and an esteemed honoree of the Forbes 30 Under 30 List.

Doretta Mistras

Doretta Mistras, also a member of Leadership 100, is responsible for the Health Investment Banking Division of Citigroup’s coverage of the Healthcare Technology and Outsourcing Practice. Prior to joining Citigroup in 2019, she spent 15 years at Goldman Sachs & Co. in their Healthcare group focused on M&A. While at Goldman Sachs, Mistras advised on over $200 billion of M&A transactions for Healthcare companies. Mistras earned a dual degree from the University of Pennsylvania, receiving both a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in Spanish and International Studies. She also serves on the Board of the National Hellenic Society and the PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation.

Athan Stephanopoulos

Athan Stephanopoulos, as President, oversees all operations of NowThis — from sales & revenue, editorial & product strategy, data & audience insights and brand partnerships. NowThis is the #1 video news publisher in the world with a singular mission: to make news engaging and relevant for young adults by humanizing and explaining the complicated world through insightful and informative context, and delivered directly to the social platforms where these audiences spend most of their time consuming content. Today, NowThis has more than 70 million social followers and generates 2.5 billion monthly views with more than 8 billion monthly impressions. As the pioneer of the distributed media model, NowThis has revolutionized how news is consumed and has become the trusted news source for young audiences. Previously, Stephanopoulos was the founder and CEO of Cliptamatic, a social video distribution platform that was acquired by NowThis in 2014. He currently sits on the board of the publicly traded company Akazoo, a leading global music streaming and technology platform. He has also served as an adjunct professor and board member at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business in New York City, where he has taught courses on Media Entrepreneurship and Social Media. He resides in Manhattan with his wife and two children.

In an interview with NEO magazine, L100 Chairman Argyris Vassiliou said that the organization “celebrated its 35th Anniversary at its 28th Annual Conference in February of 2019. In 2020, we entered a new phase in its history that fortunately corresponds with the Enthronement of a new Archbishop of America, who has set forth his vision for the future of our Church. At the 29th Annual Conference, His Eminence Arcbishop Elpidophoros will address Leadership 100 for the first time and join us at meetings of the Executive Committee, Board of Trustees and General Assembly. Our Executive Committee and Board have already formally met with Archbishop Elpidophoros, who shared his vision at meetings in November in New York. At that time, His Eminence reported that the Archdiocese is financially stable and that efforts to revitalize Hellenic College/ Holy Cross and complete the building of St. Nicholas Church and National Shrine are making progress. However, he added a word of caution. ‘We are faced with numerous challenges all around us. We need to address these challenges head¬ on, bolstered by our faith and heritage. The Church needs your honesty, your integrity and your fighting spirit!”

According to Vassiliou, the “Conference will, however, take the next step in offering the support of our members, meeting their expectations for the future. Our Annual Conference is primarily the Annual Meeting at which the grants are approved, annual financial reports are submitted, and all committees report to the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees. All actions and reports are then shared with all members at a General Assembly. An opportunity is afforded to all members to participate in the General Assembly.” And he concluded by pointing out that the conference program “of inspirational speakers and stimulating activities will demonstrate the depth and breadth of Leadership 100 as a fellowship dedicated to the pursuit of excellence.”

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