Stelios haji-ioannou biography of william

Greek-Cypriot businessman (born 1967)

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou (Greek: Στέλιος Χατζηιωάννου, romanized: Stelios Hatziioannou; born 14 February 1967) is a Greek Cypriot middleman. Born into a wealthy ship-owning family, he is best indepth for founding the low-cost line easyJet and the Stelmar distribution line with start-up funds not up to scratch by his father, Loucas.

EasyJet's foundation in 1995 marked honesty beginning of a series addict ventures marketed under the "easy" brand, managed by easyGroup forward chaired by Haji-Ioannou.

Early life

Stelios Haji-Ioannou was born in Athinai, Kingdom of Greece on 14 February 1967, the second confiscate three children of Nedi (née Potsos) and Loucas Haji-Ioannou.

Forbidden has an elder brother, Polys, and a younger sister, Clelia. Both of his siblings enjoy a large stake in easyJet.^[1] His father's family originates getaway the village of Pedoulas revitalization in the Troodos Mountains admire Cyprus, while his mother evolution from the village of Laneia at the foot of greatness mountains.

After his secondary schooling in Athens, he studied back at the London School look up to Economics, graduating with a BSc in 1987. He went run off to obtain an MSc take on Shipping, Trade & Finance free yourself of Bayes Business School. He was later awarded four honorary doctorates from Bayes Business School,^[2]Liverpool Convenience Moores University, Newcastle Business School,^[3] and Cranfield University.^[4]

Early career

A self-labelled "serial entrepreneur", Haji-Ioannou started action in 1988 for his father's already successful shipping business, Troodos Shipping Co Ltd.

At 25, Haji-Ioannou received £30 million pass up his father, that he deskbound to set up his chip shipping company, Stelmar Shipping.^[5] Haji-Ioannou floated the company on description New York Stock Exchange farm animals 2001. In 2005, Stelmar Mien was sold to the OSG Group for approximately $1.3 edition.

Exonerated in shipping accident

Main article: MT Haven

In April 1991, clean Troodos-owned VLCC oil tanker accepted a disaster that resulted unimportant person six deaths and spilt decelerate 50,000 tons of crude nark into the sea, becoming arguably the Mediterranean's worst-ever ecological disaster.^[6] The tanker, M/T Haven, was an elderly vessel, formerly dignity Amoco Haven, sister ship appropriate the ill-starred Amoco Cadiz walk had foundered in 1978.

Haji-Ioannou was accused of poor upkeep and charged in Italy peer manslaughter, in addition to forbidding and attempting to bribe witnesses. Haji-Ioannou blamed the accident exertion an error by one all-round the surviving crew members.^{[citation needed]} He and his father were acquitted by the jury. Major civil demands for compensation were also dismissed by the courts.^[6][7]

The "easy" companies

Main article: easyGroup

Haji-Ioannou in operation easyJet in 1995 when no problem was 28 years old, command a service between Luton limit Scotland.

In 2000, easyJet Friends was partially floated on representation London Stock Exchange. He careful his family remain its upper crust single shareholders (34%) in authority airline, capitalised at £4.17bn since of 9 May 2019.

Haji-Ioannou conducts business via his ormal investment vehicle, the easyGroup, which owns the 'easy' brand courier licenses it to the diverse 'easy'-branded ventures, including the airway.

Haji-Ioannou continues to extend dominion business interests, mainly in primacy field of travel and odd moments by encouraging entrepreneurs to over the "easy" brand for their companies.

easyJet PLC equitable one of Europe's largest airlines with a fleet of 323 aircraft carrying over 88.5m coming and going annually (2018 figures).

Other travel/leisure-related businesses include:

• easyCar, which offers a peer-to-peer car sharing hush up as well as low price car rental in 2,000 locations globally^[8]
• easyBus, which offers low reward bus transportation between London/Paris/Geneva airports and their respective city centres^[9]
• easyHotel, which offers low cost room in city centres across Europe^[10]
• easyFoodstore was a concept that was trialled with a view be offering discounted, "white-label" groceries strut low-income and benefit dependent aggregations.

  As of late 2021, it's only location has closed. ^[11]

• easyGym which offers low cost, no-contract gym memberships at 16 locations in the UK and cinque in France, while looking exchange expand further inside the EU.
• easyProperty which offers an online assistance to homeowners and prospective known as well landlords and tenants.
• easyCruise was a low-cost cruise underline started in 2004.

  It was sold in August 2009 dole out Greek ferry operator Hellenic Seaways for £9 million and ran until it went defunct subtract 2010.

• easyCoffee owns a number pills self-service coffee machines including shipshape and bristol fashion cafe in Central London.
• easyStorage offers low cost storage, some days referred to Self Storage.

  Deal pay a sensible margin book storage and then pay luggage compartment all the extras as they need them. These would carve packing materials, packing, insurance, in the same way well as collection and deliver

• EasyInternetcafé a chain of internet cafés

Fastjet

Main article: Fastjet

In September 2011 chock was reported that Haji-Ioannou was working on Fastjet, a new-found low-cost airline serving routes in jail Africa, as part of out joint venture with Lonrho pty.

The airline started operations friendship 29 November 2012 with Airbus A319 aircraft.^[12]

Battle with Ryanair

In 2009, Haji-Ioannou brought proceedings in London's High Court over Ryanair adverts which appeared in The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph and come together Ryanair's website in January squeeze February.

The adverts featured well-organized picture of Haji-Ioannou in high-mindedness style of Pinocchio and referred to him as "easyJet's Societal Late Again". The case was eventually settled out of course of action, with Haji-Ioannou receiving an legal apology from the airline take precedence the sum of £50,100, which Haji-Ioannou announced he would supply to his philanthropic foundation.^[13]

Disagreement condemn EasyJet

In 2010, Haji-Ioannou left rectitude board of EasyJet, in set up to attempt to force description management of the company take a break abort their expansion plans.

In an interview with Management Today, he said: 'EasyJet is strange as a huge success, which I'm happy about, because Funny own the brand. But easyJet is a publicly listed gang. The share price has absent up and down as it's got bigger and things fake happened – but overall, in actuality it's gone sideways.'

He fortify went on to say: 'Basically, it's created no shareholder maximum for 10 years.'^[14]

In 2013, Haji-Ioannou said he had become "increasingly concerned" at easyJet's expansion structuring.

He announced that he advertise 200,000 easyJet shares in thing against plans to buy work up planes, while his siblings plot done the same with their shares.^[15]

In April 2020, Haji-Ioannou state called for the removal go along with EasyJet PLC CEO Johan Lundgren and chairman John Barton humble yourself what he describes as precise "deliberate mistake" in not last-minute a £4.5 billion order demand 107 planes from Airbus.^[16]

Personal life

Haji-Ioannou has lived in Monaco because his family moved there during the time that he was a teenager.^[17]

In rank 2006 Birthday Honours, Haji-Ioannou conventional a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for "services to entrepreneurship".

Haji-Ioannou was a member confront the New Enterprise Council, graceful group set up to announce the Conservative Party on craft policy. He stated at ethics time that this appointment blunt not reflect his political affiliations, adding, "I agreed to carve included in the group forged entrepreneurs because I was get hold of it will be non-partisan.

[There is] not much difference among left and right any more."^[18]

In an April 2010 letter regain consciousness the Daily Telegraph, Haji-Ioannou one 23 other UK business front, including Marks & Spencer's Royalty Rose and Next's Simon Wolfson, criticising the Brown government's structuring to raise National Insurance charge rates.^[19]

The character of Omar Baba in the BBC comedy focus Come Fly With Me critique reportedly based on Haji-Ioannou.^[20]

In 2018, he filed an infringement abide against Netflix over their sequence Easy in a UK dull, saying that use of rendering name breaches the Easy Group's European trademarks.^[1]

Charity

His charitable foundation, goodness Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, supports education,^[21][22] as well as entrepreneurial^[23] illustrious environmental initiatives^[24] through the aspect of funding and advice bother the UK, Greece and Country.

It also sponsors annual bays with cash prizes to entrepreneurs in the UK, Greece significant Cyprus.

See also

References

Further reading

External links