When all the country’s banks were closed in June 2015 for three weeks at the height of the Greek financial crisis, running the business without disruption was a huge challenge. But we succeeded thanks to some smart thinking and quick decision-making by Polydoros.
He put in place a number of processes, including paying employee salaries and suppliers in cash, and negotiating with banks to transfer money and repay loans to reduce business exposure. During the whole period, Unilever Greece maintained an uninterrupted supply of products to customers and consumers.
A year after his heroic efforts, Polydoros travelled to Canada to share his experiences of leadership with similarly driven individuals at the One Young World Summit. This annual event brings together young leaders to debate, formulate and share innovative solutions for the world’s pressing issues.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet fantastic people with dreams, a lot of passion and the will to change the world,” says Polydoros. “One Young World is a powerful think tank of activists and current leaders. Hashtags will not save the world. You need to act right now.”
One Young World is a charity that gathers together the brightest young leaders from around the world, empowering them to make lasting connections to create positive change. At its Summits, individuals from global and national companies, NGOs, universities and other forward-thinking organisations are joined by world leaders, acting as the One Young World Counsellors.
Afterwards, the delegates – known as One Young World Ambassadors – work on their own initiatives or lend the power of the One Young World network to those initiatives already in existence. Of those in employment, many return to their companies and set about creating change from within, energising their corporate environment.
Unilever’s partnership with One Young World helps people like Polydoros realise they can change the world and make sustainable living commonplace.