Having survived more than a decade of upheaval, Greek hotelier Yiannis Retsos believes he has honed the ability to withstand any form of adversity. “I’m the ideal [person] to deal with crises,” says the 55-year-old chief executive of Athens-based luxury hospitality group Electra Hotels & Resorts.
Retsos sees himself as part of a lost generation of Greek businesspeople whose ambitions were crushed as they grappled with the worst economic slump in a developed country since the Depression. “You learn to be defensive,” he says. “You stop dreaming.”
But following the end of the pandemic, Retsos and many of his peers are facing an entirely new challenge. All of a sudden, they have to contend with an unexpected economic boom in their region.