Shipowner, shipbuilder and nature lover: This is Panagiotis Tsakos, new sponsor of Olympiacos basketball

Panagiotis Tsakos is a well-known friend of Olympiacos and a frequent visitor to the Peace and Friendship Stadium. But who is he and what is the focus of his professional activity? The truth is that it extends to many areas...

His business activities
Panagiotis Tsakos was born in 1936 and is originally from Chios. Due to his... roots from an island and given the era, he immediately got involved in something that had nothing to do with navigation. After first studying at a naval school, he worked as a master and captain in some of the country's largest shipping companies in the middle and second half of the 20th century.

In the early 1970s, he founded the company “Tsakos Shipping and Trading S.A”, which is the “flagship” and the center of the “Tsakos Group”. That is, of all his businesses.

Now, today, he has over 100 ships in his fleet, which operate in every ocean on the planet, from tankers to LNG transports.

In addition, he also maintains shipyards based in Montevideo, while his activities in Latin America are not limited to these areas. He himself declares himself a nature lover, having environmental protection as one of his basic principles. In his group of companies, there is the “Green Project”, which is also located in Uruguay.

Since 1980, this organization has been involved in the protection of the country’s flora. His company's participation in the construction of a power plant in Tacuarembo, Uruguay, contributed to protecting the region's climate, as well as being a great help to the local community, as the group's website states.

He firmly believes that the Group's progress and success are due to its human resources, both on land and at sea, which he recognizes as the most valuable asset and the driving force of the Group. He is fully committed to the development and improvement of the human factor, based on a plan and the integration of a broad framework of support mechanisms. At the same time, he provides sponsorships to various universities in Greece and the Philippines, whose graduates are both seafarers and officers.

He also maintains an insurance company, as well as the company Nera Pigon Grammou S.A., which is part of the Group and will also be the one to sponsor the "red and white". The bottling plant is located in Pefkofyto, Kastoria.

Captain Tsakos is married to Dr. Irene Saroglou-Tsakos, who has dedicated a large part of her professional career to lecturing to office and naval personnel, mainly on health and safety issues, as well as to writing medical and historical books. His son, Nicholas P. Tsakos, has founded "TEN", listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), of which he is president and CEO.

His philanthropic work
Panagiotis Tsakos maintains three foundations, in Ghana, Montevideo and Chios, in memory of his mother and daughter, named "Maria Tsakos", He is their sole financier. Their goal is to spread Greek education and culture abroad, while the foundation located in Greece aims to educate the local community about maritime activity and its advantages. It also offers support to vulnerable groups and social minorities.

His love for Olympiacos
Panagiotis Tsakos, as well as his son, Nikos Tsakos, do not hide the love they have for Olympiacos and basketball. They will often be found in the court-seats of the Peace and Friendship Stadium to support their beloved team. Now they will do this financially!