Philo4Thought Hellenic Professional Mentoring Initiative is pleased to present our January 2017 Young Professional of the Month! The goal of our publications is to provide positive, successful role models who will inspire the next generation of young professionals. Preliminary criteria for YPM candidates is that they are actively engaged in an entrepreneurial initiative or have made a successful career for themselves, thereby serving as strong role models to the next generation of young professionals. Candidates are typically of Hellenic origin and part of a humanitarian (educational, sociological, scientific, etc.) or environmentally-conscious field. Given the gradual expansion of our readership, we currently interview candidates who embrace a specific Hellenic philosophy best described in a word… Philotimo (φιλότιμο). The most important qualifications all our candidates share are the spirit and compassion to persevere, and the heart to share their knowledge and experience with others.

We had the pleasure of meeting this month’s honoree Christos Markakis, Senior Business Systems Analyst at the celebratory activities for the Pancretan Association of Americas’ centennial celebration of Crete’s unification with Greece in 2013. He is currently President of the Pancretan Youth Association and is an avid philanthropic participant in several Hellenic initiatives designed to help promote creativity and cultural pride among today’s youth. He is a fine example of our Hellenic youth who is at once connected to his family and culture while still searching for new opportunities. We are honored to share his story with you today.

ARTICLE LINK: Striking a Chord: Balancing Creativity & Analytics

CREDIT & RECOGNITION: Many thanks to Christos Markakis for sharing his story with us and to all those who contributed to this story, including our graphic designer Menios Georgopoulos as well as Mary Papadakis and the members of the Pancretan Association of America who recommended the interview.