Leadership 100 Appoints New Executive Director

Penny Panayiota Deligiannis

The Executive Committee of the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Fund, Inc. unanimously appointed a new Executive Director at its meeting on July 17, 2025, with the consensus of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, accepting the recommendation of the Search Committee, headed by Chairman Emeritus Argyris “RJ” Vassiliou.

“We are delighted and grateful to the Search Committee for their recommendation of the outstanding Penny Panayiota Deligiannis as Executive Director, effective February 2026. Her leadership abilities and track record won full support from the Executive Committee. We are confident that she will continue the legacy of Paulette Poulos in leading us into a promising future,” said Demetrios “Jim” G. Logothetis, Leadership 100 Chairman.

Vassiliou described the process followed by the committee which began its search on March 12, 2025, stating, “We considered twenty-seven candidates, including ten women and two Orthodox Priests. After a thorough examination of credentials, we agreed on seven semi-finalists, who were interviewed, leaving three finalists, who were again vetted. We came to an agreement that Penny Deligiannis was the most suitable choice.” 

In addition to Vassiliou, the committee included Maria Allwin, Leadership 100 Secretary, Constantine G. Caras, Chairman Emeritus, Emanuel J. Cotronakis, Member of the Executive Committee and Legal Counsel, and Patsy Kouvas and Dimitra Manis, members of the Board of Trustees.

Penny Deligiannis holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. Currently President of Hellenic Heartbeat International in Chicago and advisor to Mission Tanzania Water Projects of California, she has a professional career spanning over 38 years. She worked as a management consultant for corporate and nonprofit projects in the United States, before and after serving overseas, notably as Country Director of Diaconia Agapes in Albania, assisting His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Blessed Memory, and as Country Director for the ACT network for Albania and Kosovo. She headed some 43 development projects as advisor to then Metropolitan Nikitas of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, and organized programs for refugees and migrants on the Aegean island of Samos, Greece. 

Paulette Poulos, Leadership 100 Executive Director, who announced her impending retirement at the 34th Annual Leadership 100 Conference, effective February 2026, expressed enthusiastic support, stating: “Penny Deligiannis is an excellent choice. Her experience is the perfect fit for Leadership 100 but, more importantly, is her love for the Church. I look forward to guiding her prior to her assuming her new responsibilities.”