By Terry Poulos, Special to the Hellenic News of America
KAVLI PRIZE WINNER: Dr. Paul Alivisatos, who serves as President of the University of Chicago in addition to being the John D. MacArthur Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Chemistry, was recently awarded the prestigious 2024 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Alivisatos will share the $1 million prize with two colleagues.
GOOD WITH FAMILIES, PETS: Rising through the ranks of the City of Chicago government is Nikki Garbis Proutsos, assistant Commissioner of Family & Support Services. In a previous administration, she served as Executive Director of the Commission on Animal Care & Control, where she worked at times with PAWS (Pets Are Worth Saving), the area’s premiere no-kill animal shelter, founded by retired banker Paula Fasseas.
CONSTRUCTION EXPANSION: Founded by family patriarch Nick Papanicholas, Nicholas Construction now boasts offices in three states, including headquarters in Mount Prospect, IL, a sprawling 35,000-square foot facility, and satellites in Florida and Wisconsin. Nick’s four children run the business: Nick Jr., Joe, Tony, and Gina. Projects include commercial, residential, municipal, and education, with a strong presence in athletic facilities.
FROM TV TO AI: Veteran TV reporter/anchor Pete Zervakis stepped down from Spectrum News in Milwaukee to accept a position as chief of staff for artificial intelligence firm RAIC Labs. Pete is also an MBA candidate. A couple of choice assignments on the newscast were a pair of feature interviews with Milwaukee Bucks NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo.
MIDA$ TOUCH: One of the most innovative finance pros is John Koudounis, CEO of Calamos Investments, headquartered in Naperville, IL, with offices around the globe. Koudounis was just named Global Investments Leader by CEO Today and made the cover of the most recent edition. Along with company founder John Calamos Sr., the two have led an impressive charge in recent years. They expanded into vertical markets beyond the company’s bread-and-butter convertible bonds, pioneered by Calamos, and made a PR splash by partnering with NBA great Giannis Antetokounmpo on an ETF. The company was already into sports marketing and sponsorship by placing its logo on the court of the United Center, home of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. And now they’ve debuted what may be an unprecedented 100% upside protection fund, which has caused quite a stir in the risk-averse (by clients and money managers) finance industry.
GREEKTOWN WHISPERER: Recently deceased beloved Greektown whisperer Leo Louchios received a high honor when the City of Chicago this Summer dedicated an intersection on Halsted Street in his name, Leo Louchios Way. The longtime Secretary of State official and founder of the Greektown Educational Foundation served as an advisor and helped Alexi Giannoulias get elected as the state’s current SOS. But right as he neared retirement and hybrid Greece-America lux living, Leo passed suddenly. This is a man who served in an executive capacity for the State, who personally accompanied former SOS Jesse White on two trips to Greece, yet instead of delegating what many would consider a routine exercise, Leo insisted on personally delivering blank statues (part of the Greektown outdoor art exhibit) because he so treasured the looks on the Greek school kids’ faces when they saw their new tabula rasa ready to be painted with the creativity of youthful vigor. Leo will be missed but never forgotten.
ARTS ALLY: Expo Chicago president and executive director Tony Karman has been a leading art industry leader for almost three decades in the Windy City. Expo Chicago “showcases leading contemporary and modern art galleries each April at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, alongside a diverse and inventive program of talks, on-site installations, and public art initiatives,” reads AE’s website. Karman also serves on several non-profit boards and civic committees, including Redmoon, School of the Art Institute–Fashion Committee, Chicago Artists Coalition, and the Chicago International Music and Movies Festival.
BOILERS UP! Three Greek Americans are making the Purdue University Boilermakers proud. Tim Stratton, a former All-American tight end and Mackey Award winner, was recently inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Purdue University. He hails from Oak Brook, IL. Another former Boiler gridiron star, attorney/MBA Brian Liston, is now reliving his football glory days through the lens of his son Jimmy Liston, an Illinois All-Stater and also state wrestling champ, who’s now in line to lead Purdue’s offensive line for the next four years. Proud mama is Kiki Liston, a Chicago radio newscaster and host and “Chief Kefi Officer.”
PGA SECTION CHAMP: Recent grad Charlie Nikitas, who hails from a sports-rich family, won his first professional golf tournament and took home a $20,000 check at the 75th Illinois Open Championship, PGA Section. His father, Danny Nikitas, was a star college basketball player and so was his uncle, Chris Nikitas, who was the first guard off the bench on DePaul University’s 1979 Final Four team. Charlie’s older brother, Jamie Nikitas, also played college basketball.
ACTION JACKSON: Cook County Circuit Court Judge George Canellis, a South Side White Sox fan, is one proud papa as his son, Jackson Canellis, recently raised $9000 for the Beds Plus homeless organization via a North Side Wrigley Field-to-Guaranteed Rate Field (Cubs to Sox) charity run, all while wearing a Sox jersey.
NAME HOPPING: Chicago-area native Dina Papadakis is impressing as a young aerospace engineer at Pratt & Whitney…Elena Angelos, whose career has taken her from marketing executive at ESPN Radio Chicago to the finance world, recently accepted the VP-level position of Strategy Manager for Sponsorships & Events-Innovation Economy at JP Morgan Chase bank…George Kamberos, Sr. VP of Mortgage Lending at CrossCountry Mortgage, was recently featured in Chicago Agent Magazine…Rising sportscaster Joey Christopoulos is the new host of the All Big 10 Show for CHGO Sports and the ALLCITY Network.
Terry Poulos is a writer, entrepreneur (TheSportsIndex.com), and geometer-artist (Scientiquity.com) who has also covered Greek America for decades for various outlets. He’s co-founder of Chicago’s Greek Media Club and a member of the AHEPA Athletics Hall of Fame selection committee
