The Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry South Australia (HACCI SA) marked the close of 2024 with its End of Year Networking Event, held on Wednesday, November 13 at The Gallery in Adelaide.
This celebratory evening brought together more than 100 professionals from HACCI SA’s engaged network, which has grown to nearly 500 people since its revival.
It was a night to reflect on the year’s achievements, embrace new beginnings, and celebrate the organisation’s commitment to enabling business communities to connect, interact and grow together.
A year of achievements and new opportunities
Newly elected Chair, Alex Demetriou, reflected on the chamber’s achievements over the past year, emphasising the opportunities created for its members.
One of the chamber’s key initiatives this year was the establishment of the HACCI wine group, supporting Australian wine makers with the view of helping them to generate revenue streams outside of Australia, connecting them to Greece and Greek markets to showcase their wines. Mr Demetriou highlighted the success of this initiative, and emphasised the appetite to replicate this with other industry sectors.
The initiative exemplifies HACCI SA’s focus on fostering trade and economic ties between South Australia and Greece, a vision shared by the Consul General of Greece, Dr Alexandra Theodoropoulou, who addressed the audience during the event.
The Consul General spoke about the consulate’s role as a bridge between the two countries, highlighting the importance of maintaining strong ties with Greece.
“You are all great examples of unity and of working together and believing in the potential of our peoples,” she remarked, underscoring the value of HACCI SA’s work in enriching the state’s Hellenic community while building meaningful connections with the mother country.
Passing the torch
After three years as Chair, Kosta Koutsonas stepped down, passing the reins to Mr Demetriou. Mr Koutsonas reflected on his tenure with heartfelt appreciation, acknowledging the chamber’s re-emergence and the strong foundation it has established over the past three years.
“The last three years have been an incredible journey,” Mr Koutsonas said. “We didn’t want to be the people that talk about change and complain that change doesn’t happen. We wanted to put our money where our mouth is, to start the chamber and be those people that do [make that change].”
Mr Koutsonas’ vision was rooted in fostering a sense of community and purpose within the chamber: “… What I am most proud of is that people in the chamber are transacting with each other, that’s what we started the chamber for, so people can think to themselves ‘who in my community can I help? Who in my community can I do business with? Who in my community can I share my knowledge with and how can I help the future generations [and] the generations that came before us’.”
The chamber expressed gratitude to Mr Koutsonas for his exceptional service and leadership in building HACCI SA from a dormant chamber into the vibrant and thriving community it is today.
As the event concluded, attendees raised their glasses to a year of success, looking optimistically forward to a year of growth, expanded networks and future prosperity.
Special guests at the event included the Hon. Andrea Michaels MP, SA Minister for Arts, Small and Family Business, and Consumer and Business Affairs; The Hon. Zoe Bettison MP, SA Minister for Tourism and Multicultural Affairs; The Hon. Chief Justice Chris Kourakis, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia; and Cr Mary Couros of the City of Adelaide.
The new HACCI (SA) Board is: Alex Demetriou (Chair), Sylvia Villios (Vice-Chair), Kosta Koutsonas, Vas Marinos, Lambro Manouras, Ilias Demourtzidis, Deonie Chrisakis and Alicia Tsiolis
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