Alex Athanassoulas addressed two major conferences in Athens — on the future of commerce and the future of education — with a single, clear thesis: design from the future, not for it.
On 5 and 6 June 2026, Alex Athanassoulas, President and CEO of STIRIXIS Group, was invited to speak at two of Greece’s most significant professional events, held simultaneously at the Olympic Centre in Faliro: the ECDM Expo — dedicated to eCommerce, digital marketing, and retail technology — and the EduTech Summit & Expo, focused on the future of educational technologies.
The two keynotes were different in subject. The argument running through them was the same.
At ECDM Expo
Speaking to an audience of retail, eCommerce, and digital commerce leaders, Athanassoulas opened with a character called Stefanos — 25 years old, living in Pangrati, Athens, in March 2035. A young man who has never visited a supermarket, never opened a banking app, and never filled a petrol tank. Not because of any particular circumstance, but because none of those things exist in his daily life anymore. His fridge orders. His agent pays. His car charges itself and is shared while he sleeps.
The point was not to describe technology. It was to make visible the customer that retail organisations are already building for — whether they know it or not.
“There are two ways to design. For the future. Or from the future. They are not the same discipline. They produce opposite businesses.”
The speech drew on examples from Apple, Tesla, and Aesop as companies that reversed the design question: they did not ask how to improve what existed. They decided what the world would look like and worked backwards. The argument closed with a direct challenge to the room: when everything is one tap away, the only durable competitive advantage is the experience that has to be lived — not delivered, not personalised by an algorithm. Lived.
The Value Creation Circle™ was referenced not as a credential but as a method for ensuring that the strategic intent behind a space or brand survives every phase of development — from concept through execution and evolution.
At EduTech Summit & Expo
The following day, Athanassoulas addressed education leaders and technology executives with a different character: Eleni, 16, in Athens, 2035. Her AI tutor has known her for five years. It argues with her. By eleven in the morning, she has gone deeper into ancient Greek economics than most law graduates. In the afternoon she builds a real project with peers in Lisbon, Singapore, and Melbourne.
The thesis was precise: when every student can carry the best teacher who ever lived in their pocket, the school’s only durable advantage is what the tutor cannot do. Not transmitting knowledge. Forming a human.
“AI can teach Latin, grade the essay, set the pace. It cannot become the laughter in a room.”
The invitation to both conferences reflects a growing recognition of STIRIXIS Group’s position at the intersection of strategic foresight and built environment — a perspective shaped by three decades of work across 900 projects in 29 countries, and informed by METALLAXIS, the company’s strategic foresight think tank.
STIRIXIS Group designs from the future. Strategy governs everything.
As Seen In
Alex Athanassoulas and STIRIXIS Group’s participation at both events was covered and featured across the following platforms:
ECDM Expo
— ECDM Expo — Official Conference Programme
— ECDM Expo — Retail Conference
— LinkedIn — Post-Event Industry Wrap
— Verticom Greece — Official Press & Social
EduTech Summit & Expo
— EduTech Summit & Expo — Official Platform
— Athinorama — Event Programme Coverage
— Athens Chamber of Tradesmen (EEA) — Event Announcement
— LinkedIn — Industry Updates
— TechPress
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