Greg Efthimiou, '99
Bridge-builder relies on communications and Jepson education to bring about positive change
November 5, 2009
March 2009
Greg Efthimiou, ’99, has spent a good portion of his life and career focusing on communications as a way to bring about positive change and improve interactions among people and institutions. He has built a successful career combining his natural talents to communicate with others and his education from the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.
This Reunion Weekend, he is honored for co-chairing the 150 Days in a Lifetime of Service campaign and will receive the Jepson Award for Leadership and Service.
“The Jepson School experience — including its spirit of service — is something that lives with you for all of your days,” Efthimiou said. “When our alumni committee gathered to brainstorm ways to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the first graduating class in the Jepson School, we kept running into the same challenge: How do we gather alumni for a community service event when they’re scattered across the country and the world? The answer became clear: We don’t. The merits of a 'virtual' community service project became readily apparent.”
As co-chair of the 150 Days in a Lifetime of Service campaign, he has been a thoughtful and diligent volunteer who helped with the project’s communications infrastructure — a Web site, social networking group and a blog. He has also reconnected with his own volunteer roots; he and his wife regularly devote time to volunteering for the Special Olympics.
“The Jepson experience taught me one lesson above all: leadership is a discipline that can be applied to any field, interaction or setting in life. I learned from my days in the Jepson School that adaptability and self-awareness are traits that will serve you well throughout your career and your life,” Efthimiou said.
After graduating from the University of Richmond in 1999, Efthimiou joined the change management practice in the Washington, D.C., office of Accenture, a respected global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. In working with federal government and telecom clients, he discovered his passion for communications. Over the course of seven years, he led the work of more than 20 analysts, consultants and sub-contractors. Accenture is known for its deep relationships with the world's leading companies and governments and for its work with organizations of all sizes.
In 2006, he was awarded a Roy H. Park Fellowship for two years of graduate study in mass communications at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of the nation’s top programs. He was recognized as the Outstanding Master of Arts Graduate for 2007-2008.
His study focused on corporate communications. For his final project in the program, he wrote an award-winning master’s thesis that explored how JetBlue Airways survived a public relations disaster that began on Valentine’s Day 2007 after an ice storm crippled the airline’s operations and stranded passengers across the country. Nine JetBlue flights sat on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for more than six hours before returning to the gate. JetBlue implemented an industry-first Customer Bill of Rights just five days after the crisis began. Efthimiou won first place in the communication school category with his case study titled, “Jet Blue Airways: Regaining Altitude after the Valentine’s Day Massacre of 2007.” The award was given by The Arthur W. Page Society in alliance with the Institute for Public Relations. An objective of the competition is to showcase research which contributes to the profession's body of knowledge and provides practical suggestions on how to improve the corporate public relations function.
Immediately after completing his master’s degree in May 2008, he secured a position with Duke Energy in Charlotte, N.C. As a communications manager, he provides public relations support for Duke’s growing wind energy business and leads efforts to educate stakeholders about sustainability and environmental issues.
He and his wife, Mary, live in Charlotte, N.C.
Efthimiou is the recipient of the 2009 Jepson Award for Leadership and Service. This award recognizes a person who has taken an active role in community life and sets an example for others and whose actions reflect the mission of the Jepson School. The award was created in 2009, the 15th anniversary of the School’s first graduating class. During 2008-09, the Jepson School Alumni Networking Committee conducted a service program, the 150 Days in a Lifetime of Service campaign, in which graduates, students, faculty and staff reported on and reflected on their service in their communities.
Article ID: 401
