Author: focusbari_user

Keynote Speaker: Xenia Kourtoglou | Exclusive Research by Focus Bari

What does “achievement” and “victory” mean in today’s Greek society? How is the concept of a “champion” interpreted? And how do people relate these ideas to everyday life—whether observing an athlete, an employee, or a business leader striving to contribute to their own personal “myth”? These were among the key questions explored at the ATHLOS Business Summit, organized by THETOTALBUSINESS, held at Aigli Zappeiou in Athens on Thursday, April 2, in a fully attended ballroom. Leading executives from the Greek business arena engaged in meaningful dialogue with professional athletes, Olympians, and Paralympians, aiming to decode the concept of “Athlos” (achievement) in both its visible and invisible dimensions.

A central highlight of the event was the contribution of Xenia Kourtoglou, Founder of Focus Bari, who designed and presented exclusive research conducted for the Summit, based on a nationwide sample of 1,003 respondents, exploring the concept of “Everyday Achievement.” Her findings revealed a powerful insight: the Greek public overwhelmingly attributes success, victory, and distinction to hard work, persistence, and belief—assigning only 10% of success to innate talent. Drawing also from her expertise as a psychotherapist, Kourtoglou emphasized that the way individuals interpret and respond to failure plays a decisive role in shaping their future. Persistence, she noted, is not merely innate—it is cultivated. What ultimately matters is how we act in the present and how effectively we manage challenges.

The research further identified three distinct mindsets that characterize how Greeks perceive “everyday achievement”:

• Realists (37%): View success as a combination of effort and circumstances

• Fighters (36%): Believe success is driven primarily by persistence and personal effort

• Observers (27%): Perceive success as something that mainly αφορά others

Ultimately, the key lies in self-awareness: recognizing which mindset one belongs to, evaluating whether it is truly serving them, and asking the right questions—especially if growth and evolution are the goal.

 

Keynote Speaker & Panelist: Xenia Kourtoglou

The 3rd annual Real Estate Round Table was successfully held at the Eugenides Foundation, bringing together leading professionals from across the real estate and brokerage sector. Focus Bari designed and conducted a nationwide quantitative study, capturing the Greek public’s perceptions of the real estate market, the image of industry professionals, key challenges, areas of concern, and the conditions required for future growth and improvement. In parallel, an in-depth qualitative study among real estate agents provided valuable insights into the everyday realities of the profession, highlighting current challenges as well as the need for professional upgrading and evolution within the sector. Xenia Kourtoglou presented the findings of this extensive research in a dedicated keynote speech, offering a comprehensive and authentic view of the market landscape. Her presentation also outlined the profile of the “Ideal Real Estate Agent,” identifying the key attributes and capabilities required for success in today’s—and tomorrow’s—market.

Valeria Tsami, Keynote Speaker

With an impressive turnout, the annual Women in Digital Conference, organized by Smart Press, took place once again this year, focusing on female leadership in the era of Artificial Intelligence.  Valeria Tsami, Vice President of Focus Bari, presented findings from the international study Global Public Confidence Study 2025 conducted by the IriS Network, along with data for Greece from YouGov’s YouGov Profiles, exploring the evolving relationship between society, employees, and leadership.  Her presentation highlighted that the conversation about women in the era of AI is no longer about their participation in technology, but rather about the role of female leadership in shaping how technology is integrated into work and society.

As Valeria Tsami emphasized in her keynote, the findings show that the difference between men and women does not lie in technological capability, but in the way technology is approached and embedded within organizations and society.  In closing, she underlined that in a time of rapid technological change, female leadership can play a decisive role in managing this transition, bringing greater emphasis on collaboration, awareness of social impact, and the human dimension of technological advancement.

See Valeria Tsami’s full presentation here.

Xenia Kourtoglou Keynote on Sustainability: Change or Transformation?
With the participation of more than 300 delegates — senior executives from the sector of electrical appliances and air-conditioning importers — this year’s APPLIA conference focused on the broad concept of Sustainability for businesses, particularly in light of the ESG regulatory framework that increasingly concerns all companies.
Under the motto “Change or Transformation?”, the conference explored whether sustainability is truly understood within the business world today, and what needs to be done to ensure sustainable companies in the future — companies that respect people, society, and the environment.

Focus Bari, research sponsor of APPLIA for the third consecutive year, conducted a nationwide quantitative survey among the general public to capture attitudes, opinions, expectations, needs, and sentiments on the subject, as well as an in-depth qualitative study reflecting the current image, perceptions and status of businesses within the sector.
In her keynote speech, Xenia Kourtoglou emphasized that consumers need information — and above all, trust — in order to embrace corporate efforts.  She described the “transition process” as a clear need for transformation, so that change becomes permanent, through a shift in culture that begins with leadership and the CEO, and cascades through new strategies, processes, and behaviors across the entire organization.