Greek Aegean Airlines has recently appointed Michalis Kouveliotis as its new CEO, following 20 years under founder Dimitris Gerogiannis’s leadership. After a successful couple of decades for Greece’s largest airline, Dimitris Gerogiannis will continue as an advisor to the air carrier.
The airline’s former founder
Former CEO Dimitris Gerogiannis has a long history with Aegean Airlines. He started out as a founding executive who joined its operations in 1999, early in the flag carrier’s beginnings.
The airline first began in 1995 with private VIP flights before moving to commercial flights in May 1999; its commercial flights covered regional routes from the city of Athens to Heraklion and the island of Crete to Thessaloniki. The first acquisition made by Aegean Airlines was Air Greece in December of 1999, with the next partnership taking place six years later in 2005 with German airline Lufthansa.
Other agreements between Aegean Airlines and carriers from 2006 include: a co-operation agreement with TAP Air Portugal, co-operation with Brussels Airlines and codeshare agreements with TAP Air Portugal, British Midland International, Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines.
Gerogiannis has been part of the company through many acquisitions and mergers that have changed the carrier, such as the merger of Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air, which took place in October 2013 after a long 3-year pending approval process.
His new role will now be responsible for overseeing the technical base and training center which will make way for advances in the company’s development.
The Chairman of AEGEAN, Eftichios Vassilakis, commented,
“Dimitris Gerogiannis, together with Theodoros Vassilakis, shaped the quality and customer service culture, as well as the principles of fairness and collaboration within our company. Dimitris has the rare ability to combine technical expertise with human approach. For all of us, he is a co-founder of the company, and this will not change with the handover of the CEO position. After all, he will continue to support AEGEAN as it moves forward from its founding leadership team to the next generation of executives.”
Aegean Airline’s new CEO
Michalis Kouveliotis is set to become the airline’s new CEO, having previously supported the company through his work as CFO.
Achievements of his include assisting the company through its transition onto the Athens Stock Exchange listing.
AEGEAN’s Chairman Eftichios Vassilakis stated,
“Michalis Kouveliotis, who is taking over as CEO, has already demonstrated his ability to support the company through both periods of growth and crisis. Over the past two years, as Deputy CEO, he has led the transition process, while his positive energy and drive have already left a strong mark on the organization. I am confident that he will excel in his new role.”
Kouveliotis will be responsible for the coordination of divisions within the company, overseeing and ensuring each department is working effectively.
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