For the fifth consecutive year, alongside the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Davos Lodge has served as a private international platform bringing together representatives of various countries and institutions. Its founder and Chief Executive Officer is Irene Vantaraki, now an internationally respected figure.
You are an entrepreneur and lobbyist, a specialist in international relations strategy, and the organiser of major events promoting dialogue, innovation and international cooperation. Is that a complete description, or would you add something?
It is a generous description and, in essence, an accurate one. I would add one more dimension that runs through everything I do. I create environments built on trust. Events, platforms or strategies are merely tools. The true essence of my work is creating conditions in which people who would never normally meet come together around the same table and discovering common ground. I also see myself as someone who connects different worlds while remaining neutral with regard to individual countries. I do not represent any particular government or interest group, and precisely because of that I am able to bring together people with very different perspectives and interests. Perhaps a less visible part of my work is my role as an entrepreneur in the traditional sense of the word. I look for gaps in the architecture of global dialogue and build institutions from the ground up that can fill them. Without ready-made blueprints, without any certainty of success, but with the conviction that they truly matter.
Monaco House Davos and Greek House Davos are considered the flagships of your activities. What goals have you achieved through these projects, and are you preparing any new initiatives?
The Greek House Davos project was established in 2022 out of the conviction that Greece deserved a permanent and credible presence where key global decisions are shaped. I wanted the platform to be independent, privately led and focused primarily on substance rather than grand displays. During five consecutive Annual Meetings of the World Economic Forum, we have welcomed heads of state, leading investors, diplomats and distinguished public figures. We have created a platform that our partners now regard as one of the most respected national initiatives of its kind in Davos. What gives me the greatest satisfaction, however, is not a single meeting or a particular agreement. I value most the institutional credibility that we have succeeded in building. Today, when someone receives an invitation from Davos Lodge, they know it represents a guarantee of quality, discretion and excellence. The success of Greek House naturally led to the creation of Monaco House Davos, as it became clear that this model could be successfully applied in other national contexts as well. We are currently preparing the launch of Czech & Slovak House Davos for the 2027 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum. Its aim is to give a much stronger voice to the Central European region, which remains underrepresented at forums of this kind. Alongside our Davos activities, I am also developing a year-round programme of high-level closed-door meetings. These include, for example, a series of round tables in Zurich and a planned autumn forum in Greece, which is expected to bring together representatives of governments and leading global investors. My ambition is to create a functioning ecosystem of serious international dialogue throughout the year, rather than being visible only once a year in the Swiss Alps.
With Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.
What do you consider the greatest contribution of your work? What are you most proud of?
To be honest, my greatest satisfaction comes from having created something that did not exist before. It is not just a single event or platform, but essentially an entirely new operating model. When I founded Greek House Davos, there was no established blueprint for what a privately organised national platform associated with a specific country could look like during the Davos meetings. We created that model ourselves, and today others draw inspiration from it. Beyond its institutional success, however, what I value most are the human connections that have been created through our platforms. Business partnerships that would otherwise never have come about. Political discussions that took place precisely because we created the space for them. Or young professionals who found their place in the international environment through our network. Those are the results that never appear in press releases, and they are the ones I value most.
Would it be fair to say that you specialise in the impossible?
I would rather say that I specialise in what seems improbable. There is an important difference. The impossible is, by definition, something that cannot be achieved. The improbable is simply something that no one has yet been able to accomplish. Most of the projects I have built belonged precisely to that second category. At the beginning, they appeared too ambitious, too complex or simply ahead of their time. Then they proved to be entirely possible. Working in that space has a unique energy. One must be able to combine two seemingly contradictory qualities. On the one hand, seeing every obstacle with complete realism, on the other, maintaining an almost irrational belief that the goal can ultimately be achieved. Over time, I realised that these two things do not contradict each other at all. People who achieve what seems improbable are rarely naïve. They simply tolerate uncertainty much better than most others. That is precisely why I am drawn to challenges that seem improbable. They are far more interesting than those whose outcome is obvious from the very beginning.
Donald Trump jr., Irene Vantaraki, Peter Závodský (The Business Soirée)
If you could return to the beginning of your career, would you do anything differently?
I would have started trusting my own intuition much earlier. At the beginning, there were several moments when I instinctively felt that a particular opportunity, partnership or direction was the right one. Likewise, there were times when I knew something was not right, even though I did not yet have enough evidence to prove it. I often waited for external confirmation that I never actually needed. Today, I know that intuition is a form of information in itself. And very often the most reliable kind. At the same time, I would have worried less about whether I fitted into existing structures. I once devoted a great deal of energy to understanding how established career paths worked and where I belonged within them. Looking back, however, I can see that the defining moments of my professional journey always came when I stepped completely off those well-trodden paths and created something new. It required greater confidence than I had at the time. The alternative, however, would have been to use only a fraction of my own potential. Apart from that, I would change almost nothing. Not the difficult periods, not the unexpected setbacks, nor the moments of great uncertainty. They were precisely what gave my work its true substance. And it is thanks to them that I became the person who I am today.
CV BOX
Irene Vantaraki (born in Melbourne, Australia) is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Davos Lodge – a private international platform bringing together representatives of multiple countries and institutions, operating each year alongside the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The platform has now completed five consecutive editions.
Under its umbrella operate the projects Greek House Davos, Monaco House Davos and the newly announced Czech & Slovak House Davos, which is scheduled to make its debut during the 2027 WEF Annual Meeting.
Irene Vantaraki also led the Greek House Davos project, dedicated to promoting Greece, its business environment and its culture at the highest levels of global dialogue.
She also served as Executive Investment Director of MWR Holding AG | Living Group and, since 2023, has been the Honorary Ambassador of the Ukrainian city of Odesa in Greece.
She divides her time between Zurich and Athens. She has one son.
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