Industry leaders on where insurance careers can lead you

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“I’ve been part of the DE&I conversation since moving from Greece,” he said. “But when I stepped into the world of law, I wrote about 60 applications and had less than a handful of initial interviews. I got two degrees and got decent grades.

“The problem was that my application was sent to the desk of my recruiting partner in 1989. My partner at the time was constantly told that he was ‘old, masculine and pale,’ as we now put it. was They were interested in where I lived, what sports I played, what club my parents belonged to, what social circle I was in, and so on.

Born in Greece, Goulios and his family arrived in Australia from a ship with a suitcase and lived on the outskirts of town. He suspects that most partners working in law firms in these cities have never set foot. He knows he could have taken the easier route of pursuing a job at a suburban law firm serving the Greek community. It was fueled by his determination to one day go out on the town and sit at the same table with people he couldn’t see beyond his background.

After pursuing this single-mindedly for a while, he almost gave up and went to accounting instead. The newly formed team saw his potential and within a few years he was promoted to partner and he remained with the company for almost 20 years.

When he met DLA Piper, he was drawn to the global reach and natural diversity of the team, and enjoys the opportunities his role presents to work alongside colleagues based around the world. He said Goulios and his family lived in Singapore for 11 years before recently returning to Melbourne. Motivated not only by his passion for new adventures, but by his and his wife’s unchanged commitment to broadening his family’s exposure to DE&I.

“I was born in Greece and my wife was born in Argentina and had her formative years,” he said. “And my three children of his are now not only growing up in their respective cultures, but also the amazing mix of Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures that Singapore has to offer and the foreigners there. It has lived and breathed a unique mix of communities.

“I think this has really got diversity, equity and inclusion at its core. In fact, you see this in the outlook they presented as young people. I think it’s especially important for the ongoing progress we’re making. [as a society] made in this area. ”

Recognizing his career so far, Goulios is proud of the work he has done in the DE&I field beyond the success of building and profitably growing the practice across multiple jurisdictions and business lines. emphasized. At every stage of his career, he has championed diverse talent and promoted them based on potential as well as performance.

Everyone goes through stages that don’t necessarily correlate with traditional career progression paths, but leaders need to realize that the path doesn’t have to be so rigorous, he said. A leader must be able to see potential, champion it, and help individuals realize that potential. , he recognizes the competencies, experiences and insights that can be lost if leaders and employers take a rigid approach to recognizing talent.

“One of my biggest success stories is how a hard working family like mine contributed to Australia’s development and how my children today wear their ethnic and diverse backgrounds as a badge of pride. there is,’ he said. “Because when I grew up, to be brutally honest, I didn’t wear a badge that made me proud to be ethnic. Go and be one, go home and be another, and you didn’t want to mix those lives.

“I am proud to say that my children come from diverse backgrounds. The same is true in the workplace: Diversity, equity and inclusion are critical elements of a modern, prosperous and successful workplace. But these take time and require the right mix of representative leadership and ongoing messaging.”

To start further conversations on this important topic, he said having leaders with lived experience of diversity is very important as it adds depth and credibility to these conversations. And what can be said about the trailblazer when it comes to DE&I is that the world needs as many professionals as possible to really define and redefine what it takes to be successful in his service career. is. That’s why Dive In Festival and the forums it creates are so important. Because Dive In Festival will continue to provide everyone with an opportunity to think about this subject.

“And it encourages people to act and reflect, which I think is especially important because the pace is slow,” he said. “But the conversation is definitely moving forward in my career and heading in the right direction.

“But the shift in attitudes from the youth culture of the time is self-evident. I think.”

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