On Thursday afternoon (February 28, 2024), senior executives from Piraeus Bank’s agricultural sector visited the headquarters of the export company "Cooperative Greek Exports S.A. – COGREXPO S.A." The visit marked the beginning of synergies between the two parties, aimed at familiarizing themselves with the professional team managing the company, exchanging proposals, setting priorities, and strengthening their collaboration.
During the meeting, the Bank reaffirmed its significant support for the Cooperative’s commercial venture from its early stages and emphasized its ongoing commitment to ensuring its success.
Representing Piraeus Bank were Mr. Alkis AlexandrouGeneral Manager of Agricultural Banking, Mr. Giorgos Avatangelos, Manager of Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Centers, Mr. Nikos Ntziachristas, Director of Business Center, Mr. Athanasios Dedousis,, Director of Corporate & Investment Banking, and Ms. Sofia Efthymiou,International Senior Relationship Officer (Piraeus Factoring). On behalf of the export company, the meeting was attended by President Christos Giannakakis, Vice Presidents Mr. Andreas Dimitriou and Mr. Nikolaos Koutliampas, General Secretary Mr. Spyros Antonopoulos, Treasurer Mr. Savvas Argyrakis, the President of ETHEAS, Mr. Pavlos Satolias (who serves on the company’s Board ex officio with full rights), General Manager Mr. Panagiotis KatsikarisPurchasing Manager, Mr.Konstantinos Gougoulias, Operations Manager Ms. Maria Dimitraina, external associates Mr. Thanasis Manavis and Ms. Arminta Plangaritza as well as associates Ms. Katerina Thanasi and Ms. Maria Kosmidou, who support the export initiative. Also in attendance were ETHEAS General Manager Mr. Moschos Korasidis and the Director of EAS Kavala, Mr. Klearchos Sarantidis.
In his introductory remarks, Mr. Christos Giannakakis discussed the steps taken so far in establishing and developing the company, highlighting existing collaborations and emphasizing the key role this commercial initiative will play in international markets. As he stated: "The company’s success is based on 33 healthy and productive Agricultural Cooperative Organizations, which serve as the main pillars of this endeavor. We are in a favorable position, as we have unique tools at our disposal and approach agri-food trade with a focus on cooperation and value creation.».
Vice Presidents Mr. Andreas Dimitriou and Mr. Nikolaos Koutliampas stressed the importance of a common goal for the success of the initiative and the need to leverage agricultural banking services, offering their personal experience to the company’s benefit. Additionally, Mr. Spyros Antonopoulos and Mr. Savvas Argyrakis emphasized that COGREXPO represents a national effort, with Piraeus Bank serving as an essential and integral partner in this venture.
Piraeus Bank’s executives presented the financial tools that will be made available to the company, reaffirming their commitment to actively supporting its operations and contributing to the best possible outcome for trade transactions. Furthermore, they underlined the need for an organized and strategic approach, noting that this independent initiative could achieve results that individual Agricultural Cooperatives would not be able to accomplish on their own.
The meeting concluded with a tour of COGREXPO’s offices and a mutual commitment by both parties to maintain their collaboration, with the goal of further developing and strengthening the country’s export activities in the agri-food sector.
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