EFG Eurobank Ergasias - ALBA MBA in Financial Services

EFG Eurobank Ergasias, one of the leading organizations in the banking sector in Greece, cooperates with ALBA for the design and implementation of an in-house MBA in Financial Services.

This Program, unique in Greece, is designed in order to offer specialized contemporary knowledge on the methods of developing and selling products, services and technologies in the banking & finance sector. This is the first time that a Greek bank creates, offers and supports such a Program for its executives.

The Bank's initiative to create this Program reflects the belief that pursuing the achievement of high professional performance and the improvement of individual competencies, leads to the constant and successful development of the Bank's human resources.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of EFG Eurobank Ergasias Nicholas Nanopoulos, ''observing and understanding important developments in the domestic and international financial markets, is better assured when we combine it with the acquisition of a solid educational background in a creative work environment''.

Lessons for the 33 participants of the first academic class who have been selected by strict criteria, irrespective of age and hierarchy (22 women and 11 men, with 9.5 years of professional experience on average), have begun on January 9th 2003 and the duration of studies is two years. The creation of the Program is the result of careful and detailed planning, and close cooperation between ALBA and the Bank's Human Resources Division.

The Program supervision and the selection of participants have been assigned to an Academic Committee, members of which are, on behalf of EFG Eurobank Ergasias, the Deputy Chief Executive Officers Νikolaos Karamouzis and Βyron Ballis, and the Assistant General Manager Human Resources Theano Zambella, and, on behalf of ALBA,the Managing Director N. Ebeoglou and the Dean Professor N. Travlos. The Program is also supervised by the Selection and Development Department of the Bank, head of which is Anna Scarlatou, Selection and Development Manager.

Internationally renowned faculty, both ALBA resident faculty, and visiting faculty from the best universities around the world (e.g. INSEAD, NYU), will be teaching in this Program, which is characterized by the high quality standards of all ALBA programs. The participants will have the opportunity to combine the acquaintance of theoretical knowledge with the familiarization with practical tools and methodologies, enhancing thus, in the best way, their professional experience. Twenty courses will be delivered in total (16 core courses and 4 electives), covering all areas of contemporary management, and the Program will be completed by a final group field consulting project. It is important to note that the EFG Eurobank Ergasias executives who will participate in the Program will be, after the completion of studies, members of the ALBA Alumni Community.

The Dean of ALBA, Professor Nickolaos Travlos, emphasized that ''the EFG Eurobank Ergasias - ALBA MBA in Financial Services constitutes an important initiative of the Bank, which will further contribute to the development of its exceptional human resources'' and added: ''It is an honour for ALBA to have been selected for the design and development of the Program and this indicates the degree of recognition of our work for the last ten years. As all our academic programs, this one as well is characterized by academic excellence and the high quality of services provided to participants''.