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HABA Honors Brent Callinicos, Vice President of Google

By on June 20, 2013

Brent Callinicos, Vice President, Treasurer & Chief Accountant of Google, was honored with HABA’s (Hellenic American Bankers Association) Executive of the Year Award, the organization’s highest distinction, this past May during a lavish gala held at the Union League Club of Manhattan. The annual event also marks the end of another successful business year for HABA, bringing together members, supporters, friends and people from many venues and fields of endeavor in a celebratory environment highlighted this year by the David Segal Trio that mesmerized guests at the reception.

    HABA President Costas Kellas welcomed the participants at the event before giving the floor to Harry Prassakos, Vice President of Sun National Bank, to introduce the honoree. Fr. Alex Karloutsos offered the Invocation and a particularly charming and sparkling Alexis Christophorous, CBS News Correspondent, was the Mistress of Ceremonies. A little while later, John Catsimatidis, who’s running for mayor, stormed the hall to make the presentation of the Executive of the Year Award to Brent Callinicos, who seemed to enjoy his inaugural appearance at a major Greek American event. After his brief speech, in which he mostly described what he does at Google, having more than $50 billion at his disposal to finance innovative ideas, something that even entire countries, like our Greece, could not even dream about at this point, he opened the floor to questions, a very unusual move for a gala event that made the presentation a two-way experience. He also stayed at the hall until the very end to greet and talk with people eager and enthusiastic to meet him.

    Brent Callinicos’ story qualifies to be called an Odyssey if not for any other reason, because his grandfather emigrated to …South Africa from the island of Ithaca! His grandfather’s brothers came to the US, shortened their last name and they built their lives here. Brent was able to locate them when he came in North Carolina at the age of 16 to study, a decision he made a couple of years earlier when his father brought the entire family to the US for a visit.

    Callinicos has been Treasurer and Vice President of Google Inc. since 2007 and is responsible for all capital markets, banking and risk management activities. He served as Chief Financial Officer of Platform and Services of Microsoft Corporation since January 2006 and also served as its Corporate Vice President of Platform and Services Division. He oversaw the development and support of licensing programs, product licensing and usage rights, enterprise sales solutions, channel strategy and overall pricing policies for Microsoft. He also served as Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Licensing and Pricing at Microsoft Corporation. He previously served as Microsoft’s corporate vice president and treasurer, overseeing Microsoft’s corporate assets along with the full range of its financial responsibilities and activities. He joined Microsoft as a financial analyst in 1992 and began working for the treasury organization in 1994, where he served as Assistant Treasurer since 1998 and Treasurer since 2000. He served as Corporate Vice President of Microsoft since July 2001. Before joining Microsoft, he worked in various finance and treasury positions for the Walt Disney Co. and the Procter & Gamble Co. He was the Founder of Microsoft Capital. He has many years of experience managing corporate treasury, risk management and asset management teams. He has been a Director of EOS Climate, Inc., since July 2011. He serves as Member of Advisory Board at FiREapps, Inc.

    He has also served on two Washington State’s Governors’ Council of Economic Advisors from 2001 to 2006. Mr. Callinicos has received numerous leadership awards, including a 2008 Risk Magazine award for “Corporate Risk Manager of the Year” and a 2010 Adam Smith Award for “Overall Treasury Excellence.” In 2009, he was named one of the “100 Most Influential People in Finance” by Treasury and Risk Magazine, for the 4th time. He was named Ernst & Young Global Risk Manager of the Year in 1998 and received the 2004 Distinguished MBA alumni award from UNC-Chapel Hill. During his tenure, Microsoft’s Treasury won numerous awards, including a Chief Financial Officer Magazine award for financial risk management (1999), Risk Magazine’s 2002 Corporate Risk Manager of the Year Award, and Treasury & Risk Management’s Alexander Hamilton Award for Overall Treasury Excellence (1998, 2001, 2003). Mr. Callinicos is a certified public accountant (CPA) and holds a Bachelor of Science and a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

    The Hellenic American Bankers Association, Inc. (HABA) is one of the premier Greek-American organizations in the New York metropolitan area. HABA is a not-for-profit organization established in 1982 to promote the professional and educational interests of Greek-Americans in the banking and finance industries. Its current active membership consists of professionals representing dozens of institutions across the financial services spectrum.

    About Demetrios Rhompotis

    Demetrios Rhompotis is Publishing Committee Chairman at NEO Magazine. E-mail: dondemetrio@neomagazine.com. Phone: (718) 554-0308