2012 Global Summit of Women to be hosted in Athens, Greece (May 31st - June 2nd)

Athens, May 15th 2012. The Vice President of Vietnam, the CEO of Siemens Spain, the Executive Vice President of France’s Danone and the Senior Vice President of Kraft Foods USA are only a few of the government leaders, CEOs and high-ranking executives from every corner of the world, up to 1,000 of whom will converge in Athens to attend the 2012 Global Summit of Women. With a 22-year history of success, this year’s Global Summit of Women, which will be held between May 31st and June 2nd at Athens Intercontinental Hotel, is the foremost international economic forum for women.

Unique in bringing together public, private and non-profit sectors to come together for exchanges of creative solutions to dramatically expand women’s economic opportunities globally, the Summit’s theme this year – “Women: The Engine of Economic Growth” – echoes women’s pivotal role as important stakeholders in the global economy as almost half of the world’s workers, as the dynamic engine behind small business growth globally and as the majority of the world’s consumers. The theme also reflects the Summit’s response to the current European financial crisis and the ongoing global recession – utilize women’s underused talents.

Irene Natividad, President, Global Summit of Women, commented: “We deliberately chose Greece to host this year’s Summit, because we firmly believe that we should always be where we are needed the most. The Summit will bring fresh ideas, possible alliances through the business-to-business meetings between Greek entrepreneurs and Summit participants, and showcase talented Greek women in business to provide another image of Greece to the world.” Angeliki Frangou, CEO of Navios, who has been featured both in Fortune and Forbes’ listings of top women in business; Nellie Katsou, Managing Director of Pharmathen; and Maria Vlachou, Co-Founder of Fereiko-Helix – representing a new generation of women entrepreneurs – are some of the Greek women business leaders in the Summit’s program.

Male leaders, such as the CEO of Booz Inc, the former CEO of Alcan, and the Head of Mckinsey Europe, will also present in various Summit sessions, supporting Nelson Mandela’s words at the 2000 Johannesburg Global Summit of Women that “The battle to put women in the forefront must be fought by everybody who wants lasting peace and stability”. The Summit begins with a Ministerial Roundtable on May 31st in which 40 current and former women Ministers will be participating. Summit sessions on Global Megatrends Impacting the

World’s Economy, the use of Social Media to Grow Businesses, Ethics and Transparency in Corporate Governance, along with very practical sessions on Negotiation Skills, Assessing Cross-border Business Opportunities, Best Practices in Workplace Flexibility are just a few of the topics covered in the three-day Summit by over 80 speakers.

Sophia Economacos, Secretary General of the Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Summit’s Host Committee added: “We are absolutely thrilled to host this year’s Global Summit of Women. Despite the adverse economic conditions that have also generated a negative image of the country abroad, Greece still gives home to many dynamic, creative and often pioneer women who can have a significant contribution towards our exit from the crisis and the course to growth. This is the picture of Greece we want to convey, and we are convinced that the Global Summit of Women is the ideal vehicle to achieve that objective”.

Media Contact:Maria Theodoropoulou, H & K Strategies,