Neo Magazine and Leadership 100 have partnered to present a monthly profile of the New Generation of Leaders who belong to the Leadership 100 Partners Program which recruits young Greek American professionals on the rise in their careers, making membership affordable and providing a network for meeting their peers.

Leadership 100 was founded 25 years ago by the visionary Archbishop Iakovos and a small band of outstanding Greek American businessmen who wished to support the Greek Orthodox Church and perpetuate their faith and Hellenic heritage in America, passing it on to future generations.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Morristown, New Jersey, and raised in Chatham, New Jersey, where I attended public schools.

Who or what were the main influences in your life?
My family and the Greek Orthodox Christian faith. I am blessed with loving parents who stressed the importance of faith in our religion and education. They selflessly sacrificed to provide me with the opportunity to pursue my academic interests. I also have a very close relationship with my sister Lia, who has always been there for me and who knows that I am always there for her in return. My faith in Christ continues to guide my life.

How did you get into your present work?
My mother grew up in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, with my noni, pappou and her three sisters. My pappou was very traditional and college was not an option for his daughters. My mom, however, wouldn’t accept this and enrolled at Vernon Court, a junior college in Newport, RI. She supported herself by working at the Hasbro, Inc. toy factory in Pawtucket. After succeeding in her studies, she transferred to and graduated from George Washington University, in Washington D.C. where she met my father.

When I was seven-years old, my Aunt Lillian gave me five Hasbro stock certificates as a birthday present. I couldn’t believe that I had actually become an owner of the company where my own mother once worked, the very same huge factory we would drive by a few times a year when visiting my noni. I treasured the gift and my father would help me check its value a few times a week in the local paper. It is through this practice that my interest in the stock market gradually developed. We lost my Aunt Lilly to cancer, but I am thankful that one of the many gifts she left behind was exposing me to my present career.

As a successful American you could and perhaps have joined major organizations that are focused more on mainstream society. Why L100?
For many of us, the Greek Orthodox Church is the focal point of our lives and an integral part of what shapes us as Greek-Americans. We are all baptized in the church, yet our understanding and appreciation of how deeply it impacts our lives tends to grow with time. I became especially close to the church after being tonsured a reader and acolyte at the age of 15 by Archbishop Iakovos. Whether living in New York, Miami Beach or Sydney, Australia, I have always attended church faithfully and have looked forward to Holy Week as a time of renewal. Now a pacesetter of the Archdiocesan Cathedral, I am able to make additional contributions and become more involved as I progress in my career.

Through the significant financial contribution required of its members, Leadership 100 is the preeminent endowment fund responsible for supporting the priority needs of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. It holds the deepest impact among major organizations in maintaining the life ministries of the church. This impact has been demonstrated by the commendable disbursement of grants throughout its 25-year history.

How would you evaluate your so far experience in the organization?
I have been very impressed with Leadership 100; the quality of the organization has exceeded even my initial high expectations. Through the annual conference, recruiting events and informal networks, I have been able to interact and develop relationships with some of the most interesting and successful Greek-Americans in the U.S. These relationships are rooted in a deep reverence for the Greek Orthodox Church, which makes for an overall positive experience and pervades all organizational activities.

As a new generation leader, what are some ideas of yours on the future of Leadership 100?
Leadership 100 Partners are uniquely positioned as part of a community of both established Greek-American leaders as well as Greek-American young adults. This group may therefore come across charitable initiatives that could help serve the Archdiocese, events and programs which may not have been presented to the more senior members of Leadership 100. With this in mind, I think it makes sense to have the Leadership 100 Partners involved in identifying potential grant recommendations (on a smaller scale), which will help serve the Greek Orthodox Church.

How has your involvement in Leadership 100 proved valuable in other activities of your life?
I have made many new friendships through the Leadership 100 organization and given our common interests and values, I know that these relationships will endure. The annual conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico was truly outstanding and an excellent way to meet other members from various parts of the country.

What qualities do you most admire or value in others?
Strength of faith, creativity, humor, integrity, humility and selflessness.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I think we all have achievements which serve as milestones at different points in our lives. My greatest recent professional achievement is surviving the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and being promoted within its wake. Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15th, 2008, and this was the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. I worked within the firm’s private equity division, which was substantially dismantled, and I ultimately became one of two senior professionals to remain employed out of an original team of over 20 people. We are now a part of Neuberger Berman, which assumed the private equity assets of Lehman Brothers.

Who are your heroes in real life?
I feel fortunate in saying that my real-life heroes are within my own family. My father is a New Jersey State Judge, a position which warrants the respect of individuals outside of our family. He is also an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the highest honor awarded to a layman in our faith. My father has balanced his faith and his career. That said, my personal respect for him is founded in the man and father that he is, and whom I aspire to emulate. Similarly, my mother is an author and a loving woman who has always put her family first. Finally, my first cousin John Vartanian is a soldier in the U.S. Army Special Forces based in Iraq. His son, my cousin John Jr., chose to heroically follow in his father’s footsteps and is an airman in the U.S. Air Force with tours of duty in Iraq. We enjoy the freedom which they help to provide and protect.

How do you spend your time outside of work?
I enjoy spending time with my family and group of friends, particularly at events within the New York Greek community. Working out regularly and Greek dance comprise my physical fitness routine. I am also a cinemaphile and a big New York Giants fan.

What are your thoughts on the current economic crisis?
The current economic crisis has a profound impact upon on us all. I miss seeing the friends I had worked with daily at Lehman Brothers. I’m not sure that there is a clear-cut remedy; however, Wall Street can modify its proactive and reactive approaches to the crisis.

I think we can start with proactive measures, namely stimulating the availability of liquidity to protect bank lending, money market funds and making sure that working capital exists for the sustenance and growth of new businesses. Multi-billion dollar bailout packages inject funds into financial institutions, but do not ensure an increasing supply of necessary loans or ease in mortgage repayment terms. In addition, the financial marketplace is a global economy and, as such, we must be open to the idea of growing our international fiscal policy though a marked expansion in exports.

Wall Street can be a questionably myopic place. Through my nine years in the industry, I have seen entire divisions of major investment banks let go during a downturn, only to be rebuilt and hired back immediately during the inevitable upturn, which can ironically follow shortly thereafter. I think this is somewhat analogous to the traditional approach in dealing with the cyclical extremities of the U.S. economy. Letting suffering businesses fail and cutting multi-billion checks are a reactive start; creative initiatives involving international cooperation and immediate liquidity are preventative solutions.

Where would you like to be in your professional and personal life 20 years from now?
I would like to own my own business: specifically an alternative capital firm which principally invests in other alternative capital partnerships. I also have an interest in the placement agency business and am fortunate that my current position allows me to explore both avenues. With time, I would like to exit the finance industry and pursue independent film production. I love what I do, but am also very passionate about film and would like to pursue this as a new chapter later in life, if blessed to have succeeded in my current profession.

In terms of my personal life, I hope to have a loving wife who makes me laugh. My parents have been together for 39 years and my ultimate hope is to have a marriage as happy as theirs, with children who have the same love and respect for one another as I have for my sister.

What is your idea of happiness?
I am happy when I see the people I love most and care about at peace, in good health and enjoying their lives. I am at peace within my Greek Orthodox Christian faith.