In 1907, the founding act of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises consolidated traditional and modern business, with the participation of the ‘Zurich circle’. First achievements: assisted in the creation, in 1910, of the Ministry of National Economy and, in 1922, of the first institutional framework, in law 2946, “on promotion of industry and small industry”. In 1946, it further defined its identity and role: it renamed itself the Federation of Greek Industrialists and participated actively in post-war reconstruction and the restructuring of the Greek economy.

In the 1960s, the prospect of Greece’s accession to the EEC worked as a catalyst for Greek industry. SEV attuned itself to the demands of the times, inaugurating collaboration with corresponding European organizations. In 1962, SEV joined UNICE (BusinessEurope today) and opened an office in Brussels.

As early as the 1970s, as an institutionalized social partner, SEV participated in the social dialogue and represented its member-enterprises in collective bargaining.

In 1975, SEV established the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) as a manifestation of its firm belief in independent scientific study of and research into industrial issues and economic developments.

In 1979, with the agreement on Greece’s accession to the EEC, SEV – now aligned with international developments in capital formation and the administrative structure of enterprises – was renamed Greek Federation of Industries, establishing direct contact with Greek society through the institution of open sessions.

In 1980, SEV pioneered in the education sector, founding SEV-IVEPE with the aim of providing ongoing professional training and education for workers and the unemployed. In 1992, SEV became the founding organization of the Athens Laboratory of Business Administration (ALBA), the mission of which is to educate visionary leaders of tomorrow who will act as agents of change in Greek corporates and help shape the future business world.

In 1992 ELINYAE the bipartite “Hellenic Institute for Occupational health and Safety” was founded by Greek social partners, following a clause in the National General Collective Agreement of 1988, and another one in the National General Collective Agreement of 1991-1992, with an aim to support the implementation of the “acquis communautaire” in the area of Health and Safety at Work , including the implementation of the framework directive 89/391 in Greece.

In 2007, representing in practice the entire business spectrum, SEV was renamed Hellenic Federation of Enterprises.

Seeing early on the importance of promoting Sustainable Development in the business world and in society in general, SEV founded in 2008 the Business Council for Sustainable Development, participating in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

In 2012, the importance of sustained competitiveness of Greek corporations and enhanced credibility of the Greek market led SEV to recognize the significance of corporate governance. Together with HELEX (Athens Exchange Groups), SEV founded the Hellenic Corporate Governance Council (HCGC). HCGC is a member of the European Corporate Governance Codes Network.

A new page for Dispute Resolution. SEV is one of the founding and most active members of OPEMED, the Organization for the Promotion of Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods (O.P.E.M.E.D). The creation of OPEMED in 2015 was a major shift in the Greek resolution mentality as it paved the way for new, alternative resolution methods. Core feature and strategic advantage of the new Organization is the fact that Social Partners as well as some of the most important institutional representatives of the scientific and economic communities of Greece, all make part of OPEMED.

In 2017, SEV celebrated its 110 years of creative action and contribution to Greek entrepreneurship and the national economy. In the same year, SEV proceeded to the digitization, documentation and promotion of its Historical Archive, in order to save and preserve the historical evidence included in its collection. The digitization of the Historical Archive facilitates the study of SEV’s history as well as the modern industrial and economic history of Greece and Europe.