AHI Presentation in Athens Features Top PR Executive

AHI President Meets Prime Minister, Top Level Government Officials in Athens

WASHINGTON, DC — The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) and its Athens Chapter hosted a presentation and reception featuring Chryssa Zizos, CEO/president, Live Wire Media Relations, LLC, Dec. 3 2015, at the Hotel Grande Bretagne.  Zizos presented on the topic, “The Process of Electing a U.S. President and the Role of the Media.”

Zizos is an entrepreneur who has rocketed to the top of the public relations industry. Her firm serves diverse business organizations, Fortune 100 executives and elected officials, counseling them on a broad range of critical public relations issues.  She has been the driving force behind some of the country's most recognizable public affairs campaigns, including the merger of MCI-WorldCom; and Girl Power, the national award-winning public education campaign established to raise young girls' self-esteem.  Moreover, with the 2016 U.S. presidential election on the horizon, Zizos has emerged as the go-to source on how the presidential candidates are using the media and social platforms to persuade and influence the public.

 In her presentation on the topic, Zizos creatively paired the major 2016 presidential candidates with their Greek tragedy counterparts to include the fatal flaw that could keep them out of the White House.

“As a proud Greek American, I'm going to speak to you about the role of the media in U.S. Presidential elections, but in a way that merges the best of Greek and American cultures,” Zizos said. “The United States has taken the wonderful Greek gift of democracy and put a uniquely American spin on it.”

Zizos went on to explain how an American election works, including the primary process, and highlighted presidential campaign strategy to achieve the necessary 270 Electoral College votes needed to become president.  She also explored the role that the media plays in electing a U.S. President.  In doing so, Zizos offered, “…while the media determines which issues are important, they don't determine how people feel about them.” She also dispelled the popular perception of the media's involvement in shaping the presidential race is a new phenomenon, fueled by the 24-hour news cycle, and the Internet. 

“But, in actuality, the media have been heavily influencing elections since the days of the Founding Fathers,” Zizos said.

Zizos concluded her presentation by returning to the main players of the 2016 presidential election and offering her thoughts on each one.  A Q&A with the audience followed.

“We thank Chryssa Zizos for her time and for taking a creative approach with her presentation that truly enticed our audience,” AHI President Nick Larigakis said.  “It is clear to see why she has propelled to the top of the public relations world.  The Greek American community should be proud that one of its own has achieved so much in her respective professional field.”

• To read Zizos’ remarks, as prepared, click here.

AHI thanks the following sponsors for their support of the presentation and reception:  Major Benefactor: The Libra Group. Benefactors: G.C. Economou & Associates. Sponsors: Agora Trading, Deree - The American College of Greece, K. Arvanitis S.A., Greek Dream, Inc., Hotel Grande Bretagne, Kapotas S.A., James H. Lagos, Springfield, Ohio; Theodore & Erika Spyropoulos Foundation, Chicago; Leonidas Raptakis, Rhode Island; Tsakos Group of Companies; and Athena Social Care Institute. 

“We thank all our benefactors and sponsors that helped to make this event a success,” Larigakis said. “We especially are grateful to The Libra Group, our Major Benefactor, for its generosity and support.”

On Sidelines, AHI President Meets with Prime Minister

In Athens, President Larigakis met with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on the sidelines of the annual conference on the Greek economy hosted by the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, Dec. 1.   President Larigakis also met with Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism Giorgios Stathakis and Minister of State Nikos Pappas on the sidelines of the conference.

AHI President Meets with Greek Government Officials

Also while in Athens, President Nick Larigakis met with Greek government officials, including Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, Nov. 30, and Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas, Dec. 3

“I appreciated the opportunity to meet with a wide array of senior Greek government and military officials,” Larigakis said. “We discussed AHI’s programs and initiatives that work to keep Greece at the forefront of policymakers’ agenda in Washington.  We also discussed Greece’s critical role to national security interests in the eastern Mediterranean and the broader region.” 

In addition, President Larigakis met with the following Greek government officials in the ministry of Foreign Affairs:  Michalis Kokkinos, head of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad; Petros Mavroidis, director general for Political Affairs, who invited President Larigakis to brief the heads of three directorates: Amb. Dimitris Alexandrakis, director of the A7 Directorate for North America; Amb. Dimitrios Chronopoulos, director of the A4 Directorate for Turkey; Counsellor Ioannis Papameletiou, acting director of the A2 Cyprus Division.

Larigakis also met with senior Greek military officials, including Lt. Gen. Christos Vaitsis, chief, Hellenic Air Force General Staff, Nov. 30; and Adm. Evangelos Apostolakis, head, Hellenic National Defense General Staff, Dec. 4.

From the non-governmental side, President Larigakis met with Thanos Dokos, director-general, ELIAMEP; and Dr. Fani-Palli Petralia, vice president, International Olympic Truce Foundation, on Dec. 1.  

Finally, Vassilis Leventis, leader and founder of the Union of Centrists (Ένωση Κεντρώων) political party met with President Larigakis, Dec. 2.

The American Hellenic Institute is a non-profit Greek American public policy center that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.

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For additional information, please contact Georgea Polizos at (202) 785-8430 or at pr@ahiworld.org. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at https://www.ahiworld.org and follow us on Twitter @TheAHIinDC.