Active in many ways for queer issues

Georgios Kazilas actively advocates diversity and social change.

Angela Hütter

Commerzbank

06/22/2026

Colleagues at the IDAHOBITA event with a banner in the street

Georgios Kazilas (second from left) with fellow campaigners at the IDIAHOBITA event (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia) on 17 May 2026.© Marion Eckstein

Summary:

This year’s Day of Appreciation aims to make voluntary work in Germany visible and to recognise it.
As part of a volunteering series, several committed colleagues from Team Yellow introduce themselves and explain what drives them and which experiences they bring into their work at the Bank.
Georgios Kazilas, Senior Specialist in Risk and Quality Management at Commerzbank, has been volunteering on queer issues for many years.
He takes responsibility for society, for example by actively advocating diversity and the rights of queer people.
He sees his voluntary work as an investment in his own development. His motivation is to drive social change and to encourage others to get involved.

Georgios Kazilas has worked at Team Yellow for over thirty years, currently as Senior Specialist in Risk and Quality Management in the Private and Small-Business Customers segment. He has been active as a volunteer for more than 20 years – primarily on queer issues in the employee network ARCO. He is also involved in these issues outside the bank, including in the association Queere Vielfalt, the state association Hessen (LSVD+ Hessen), Rainbow Refugees Frankfurt, and the LGBTIQA* coordination group of the City of Frankfurt and the State of Hessen.

Georgios, how did you get involved in your voluntary work?

My inner wish is not just to be a passive part of society, but to take on responsibility actively. That way I can help shape the society in which I live and work, and use my privileges in a meaningful way – in other words, give something back. That's why I started getting involved back in 2005, initially with ERMIS-Frankfurt, a queer Greek community – in keeping with my Greek roots. I have been part of our Pride employee network ARCO since 2006. Over the years, a number of additional voluntary roles have been added, such as with Rainbow Refugees or in the spokesperson team of the association Queere Vielfalt (LSVD+) in the state association Hessen.

What exactly is your role in your voluntary work at ARCO or in the associations?

The tasks are very varied – depending on my role in my voluntary work. Sometimes it is about negotiating with different stakeholder groups and developing long-term strategies, sometimes more about contributing ideas and then considering together how we can put them into practice. I also bring our way of working from the bank into the organisations: sticking to deadlines, reliability and discipline. All of this helps us move forward well together and achieve a great deal.

Five people in a picture smiling at the camera: Georgios Kazilas (center), Dr. Harpreet Cholia, Dr. Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg, Shana Vierheilig and Carsten Gehring.

Georgios Kazilas (center) in his role as a board member of LSVD+ Hessen at the City of Frankfurt’s press conference on the "LGBTIQ Action Plan" on 11 March 2026 (f.l.t.r.: Dr. Harpreet Cholia, Head of the Anti-Discrimination Unit; Dr. Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg, Deputy Mayor of the City of Frankfurt; Shana Vierheilig, "Queers and Friends" initiative; Carsten Gehring, Managing Director of Aids-Hilfe Frankfurt e.V.)© City Frankfurt am Main, Foto: Maik Reuß

How do you juggle your numerous voluntary commitments?

To be honest, it is indeed challenging – also in terms of time. Even though the intensity naturally varies, on average I spend between 20 and 30 hours a month on my voluntary commitments. It helps me to look at voluntary work from a different perspective: volunteering is much more than just a burden, it is an investment in my own development. The skills and perspectives I gain from it enrich me both personally and professionally.
Well-organised voluntary work can have a positive impact on the lives of individuals and on society as a whole. I am convinced of this – just as I am convinced that it strengthens social cohesion. The change of perspective when dealing with different people and groups also broadens my own outlook.

What do you bring from this into the bank?

Ultimately, exactly that: my commitment gives me new perspectives and strengthens my resilience and capacity to cope with pressure. It is constant training of my soft skills – abilities that are essential for my work in the compliance field: integrity, sensitivity, and the art not only of applying complex rules, but of embedding them in a lived corporate culture.
In addition, my exchanges with people from different contexts help me in project management or other activities to take different viewpoints on a topic, to keep a cool head in difficult situations, and to convince everyone involved with empathy and arguments to work towards a common goal.

What drives you?

Successes such as the introduction of the Civil Partnership Act in 2001 or the “marriage for all” in 2017, in which LSVD+ played a key role, show me that continuous engagement really can change things.
But I have further goals: it is particularly important to me that Article 3, paragraph 3 of the Basic Law is expanded to include the recognition and protection of sexual identity. That would be a long overdue step towards a fairer and more inclusive society. I am also working on this in my voluntary commitments. In addition, I want to encourage more people to get actively involved in associations, networks or communities. Only if we help shape things and work for shared goals can we preserve and strengthen our democracy, our rights and our diversity.