“Mytilineos today generates 3% of Greek GDP and aims to reach 4% in 2024, while 70% of our sales is directed to international markets,” Evangelos Mytilineos said addressing an event organized by the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry to celebrate the New Year during which he was named honorary member of the Chamber.
“I relate emotionally with Piraeus. As some of you may know, my grandfather Evangelos Mytilineos started his business here in 1908,” Mytilineos said, adding that a characteristic of his company throughout its history was the fact that it was constantly transforming and re-inventing itself.
He noted that the result of the latest transformation was MYT Energy & Metals and the re-invention of METKA as two companies in construction and accession.
“Starting from a family business, Mytilineos is a modern multinational company with presence in 40 countries and five continents and a workforce of around 5,500 workers. We have created a model of synergies within the company combining its industrial heritage, compatible energy operations, significant activities in renewable energy sources, metallurgy and innovation in AI,” he noted.
Mytilineos said that the priorities of a listed company were simpler in the past: managing and maximizing efficiently a company to ensure a good dividend for shareholders. He added that this era has been long gone. Nowadays, a modern CEO must not be complacent, he must be at the forefront to be able to deal with a series of challenges such as:
- geopolitical uncertainty
- stricter regulatory frameworks and regulations
- high inflation and interest rates
- increasing populism
- cyber attacks and advanced AI
A modern CEO has the obligation to decide when he must participate publicly in conversations over complex political and social issues. The pressure is constant to do and say the right things, he concluded.
