The Rector of the University of Piraeus, Professor Michael Sfakianakis, described the honoree as an outstanding personality in business who fully embodies the virtues of a modern leader.
A leader who does not settle, who chooses challenge over the safe option, who contributes substantially to recovery and progress but at the same time has his eyes fixed on supporting the productive class, healthy entrepreneurship, the environment and sustainable development, leaving his own mark on society and the country, with a network of initiatives and actions. The culmination of his business vision for Piraeus was the award in 2024, just a few years after assuming his duties as CEO, in the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2024, as the first Bank worldwide with the best reorganization (The World’s Best Bank Transformation).
At the same time, the contribution of the honoree to culture, the strengthening of the new generation, young entrepreneurship and education is of high value. Christos Megalou played a key role in the establishment and operation of the Master's Program MBA in Sustainability powered by Piraeus at our University, the only tuition-free Master's Program in Greece. Among others, he is a member of the Advisory Board of the Department of Banking and Financial Management of the School of Finance and Statistics and contributes decisively to the adaptation of the curriculum to the modern market needs, as it has been established for other Schools in our University, in the context of our quest for extroversion.

This was followed by the presentation of the honouree’s work (Laudatio) by the Chair of the Department of Business Administration Professor Dimitrios Georgakellos, who welcomed him to the circle of honorary doctors of the University and the academic family and cited his truly impressive life journey. After completing his studies Christos Megalou restless spirit leads him away from Greece, where he excels in the international financial sector working for Barclays Worldwide, Credit Suisse Europe and Credit Suisse Investment Banking Europe, the investment banking for Southern Europe Fairfax Financial Holdings and Advent International.
In 2013, Christos Megalou, with a sense of responsibility towards the motherland, leaves Credit Suisse to take over as CEO of Eurobank Ergasias S.A., completing a successful tenure, which ended in 2015. At Eurobank, he carried out the largest capital increase in the financial sector in Europe in 2014, amounting to 2.9 billion euro with which Eurobank returned to the private sector. In 2017, at a significantly difficult point in the Greek economy, he took over the helm of Piraeus Bank, for which he drew up a consolidation plan that ended with great success and in fact, a year earlier than forecast.
A personality with strong social interests and concerns, he implements an integrated strategy with support initiatives in a number of axes, such as culture, education, entrepreneurship, gender equality, sustainable development and the environment.

The award ceremony concluded with the speech of the honoree, Christos Megalou, who thanked the University and the School for the honor they bestowed on him, pointing out that the successful course in Piraeus Bank is a team effort, and in this sense, this honor is shared with his colleagues. As he mentioned, he owes gratitude to his parents who inspired his selflessness and love for his country, but also to his mentors, his teachers and his family who supported his efforts. He emphasized that as an exponent of moral leadership, he considers that the position cannot be an opportunity just for privileges, but to the pursuit of responsibility that is proportionate to a society as a whole, the country and humanity. In this sense, a leader feels accountable to his conscience and to all of his fellow citizens, not only his business partners.
Finally addressing the students, he said, "Looking at the faces of the young people who are present with us today, I see the dynamics of their generation and I feel that our country is now on the right path. Greece, with everyone's efforts and sacrifices, was able to get back on its feet. Move forward with optimism and dynamism, with confidence in yourself and your abilities and paraphrasing Andreas Kalvos, I would say "life needs virtue and courage".

The President of the Hellenic Parliament Nikitas Kaklamanis, the Deputy Minister of Immigration and Asylum Sofia Voultepsi, the President of the Unified Authority for Public Contracts Androniki Theotokatou, the GS of Demographic and Housing Policy Konstantinos Gloumis-Atsalakis, executives of Piraeus Bank and the wider business sector, as well as a number of academics and students, honoured the ceremony with their presence.

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