Hong Kong/Dubai/Melbourne Globonder Brett King & Globond Founder Kirstin Myers in Athens

The International Academy of Financial Management (IAFM) presented this Thursday (26th November) in cooperation with SBC TV (Satellite Business Channel), the very first ANNUAL LEADERS ROUNDTABLE in Athens.

Key speakers presented their positions for the upcoming conditions on global and local markets to an audience consisting of 80 of the top businessmen and executives of Greek industry.

IAFM has a long history of pioneering such events with respect to professional and social development, but this event brought to the Greek capital members and affiliates from across the globe to participate in this executive exchange. Panel members included Globonder Brett King from the Board of the IAFM, Remy Cohen of Cohen&Co, Kirstin Myers of Globond and Alkis Magdalinos advisor of the HEPO.

The conference focused on the development of the global economy emerging from the financial crisis, along with strategies and tools for adapting to the new market. Discussion on innovation, corporate diplomacy and change management were also presented and discussed with the bankers, industrialists and presidents of professional associations that were in attendance.

Brett said “The financial crisis is just the beginning for retail institutions. The toughest challenges are yet to come. Continued technology innovations, Web 2.0, social networking, app phones and mobility are stretching traditional banking models to the limit. Customer behavior is rapidly changing, why cheques are disappearing and your mobile phone will replace your wallet – all within the next 10 years."

He mentioned his upcoming book Bank 2.0 and his findings that "90-95% of bank transactions are executed electronically today. Internet, ATM, Call Centre and Smartphones have become mainstream for customers, while banks still classify these as ‘alternative channels’ and maintain an organization structure where Branch dominates thinking."

When Kirstin asked how many attendees were on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, she was surprised to learn that only 2 of the Greek attendees were using any of those social media. She urged them to get connected with rest of the world on these platforms and spoke of a new world which has resulted from “Tectonic Shifts”. The world needs Tectonic Leadership she explained while pointing out that the word Tectonic means not only destruction but creation; the origin of word is the Greek “Tektonios” which means builder.

Kirstin also spoke about the huge opportunity for emerging players like Greece to take their proper place on the world stage and to help lead the new world via their excellent relationship skills, priority on the family and balance between their personal and professional life. She reminded them that Greece was the birthplace of democracy and that it was in Sparta where 300 brave men fought to their death to defend their principles and way of life.

The roundtable was moderated by Athanasios Papandropoulos, emeritus President of the European Journalists associations.

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Ph. Sachinidis was the sponsor of the event representing the City of Athens and the Greek government.

Earlier that day, Brett and Kirstin were interviewed for an hour on SBC, Athens’ financial channel and Bloomberg partner.

Globond Founder Kirstin Myers Speaks at Social Media Networking Conference

(Adapted from a International Executive Resources Group press release) With the widespread use of the Internet in the late 1990s, businesses began to explore new ways of conducting and connecting with business opportunities both on a national and international level. Now with greater access to social media networking, the fundamentals of human connections and relationships (the basic elements that are hard wired in all of us) have become a vital business strategy for companies to embrace to connect cultures with new business opportunities.

To understand the basic principles first hand, the International Executive Resources Group, Inc., featured four experts offering their insights into the opportunities with international social media networking, November 23, 2009, at the Emerging Enterprise Center at Foley Hoag in Waltham, MA. Among the experts was Kirstin Elaine Myers, founder of Globond International.

Kirstin provided insight into her journey along the way of building international business relationships. Globond, founded in 2002, provides a resource where she connects interested, ethical, talented and humble business people with a social media support system. The company was developed to offer a unique global membership club for tectonic leaders who boldly create business models and social change in today’s profoundly shifting world.

Kirstin had found a way to connect to professionals across the generation gap as well, including the Gen Xer’s who have profound technical knowledge and the baby-boomer generation who were new to this medium. As she put it, “I was now able to connect on a business level with a multitude of generational influencers that opened a great portal of business connection. These connections helped provide me with market research, new technologies and ways to improve my overall business.”

The four experts’ unique perspective and insights provided tangible references and tools for business people to consider utilizing social media networking as part of their overall business strategy. The predominate theme of the event emphasized the importance of allowing a company’s employees to explore the human connection that social media offers in a business setting.