Stelios Haji-Ioannou

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Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou
Stelios launches easyOffice.jpg
Born (1967-02-14) 14 February 1967 (age 46)
Athens, Greece
Residence Monaco
Alma mater Cass Business School, London School of Economics
Occupation Entrepreneur
Net worth GBP £1.29 billion[1]
Religion Greek Orthodox
Website
www.stelios.com

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou (Greek: Στέλιος Χατζηιωάννου), born 14 February 1967) is a British entrepreneur of Cypriot origin, currently a resident of Monaco. He is the scion of a wealthy, shipowning family, but is best known for setting up easyJet, a low-cost airline, with start-up funds provided by his father, the beginning of a series of ventures under the Easy brand.[2]

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Family and education [edit]

Haji-Ioannou is the second of the three children of Loucas and Nedi Haji-Ioannou. He was born in Athens, Greece. His father's side originates from the Pedoulas village in the mountains of Cyprus, while his mother is from the Potsos family of Laneia village, outside the city of Limassol. After his secondary education in Athens, he studied Economics at the London School of Economics, graduating with a BSc in 1987. He went on to obtain an MSc in Shipping, Trade & Finance from Cass Business School.

Haji-Ioannou has subsequently been awarded four honorary doctorates from Liverpool John Moores University, Cass Business School,[3] Newcastle Business School[4] and Cranfield University.[5]

Early career [edit]

A self-labelled "serial entrepreneur", Haji-Ioannou started working in 1988 for his father's already successful shipping business, Troodos Shipping Co Ltd. When Stelios was 25, his father gave him 30 million pounds that he used to set up his own shipping company, Stelmar Shipping.[6] Haji-Ioannou floated the company on the NYSE in 2001. In 2005, Stelmar Shipping was sold to the OSG Group for approximately $1.3 billion.

Shipping disaster [edit]

Main article: MT Haven

In April 1991, a Troodos-owned oil tanker suffered a disaster that resulted in the death of five Europeans and the disgorging up to 50,000 tonnes of crude oil into the sea - arguably the Mediterranean's worst-ever ecological disaster.[7] The tanker, M/T Haven, was an elderly vessel, formerly named Amoco Haven, sister ship of the ill-starred Amoco Cadiz that had foundered in 1978. Stelios was accused of poor maintenance and charged, in Italy, with manslaughter and also intimidating and attempting to bribe witnesses. Stelios blamed the accident on an error by one of the surviving crew members.

Stelios and his father faced manslaughter charges for the deaths of their employees.[8] The jury acquitted Stelios and the case was appealed. Subsequent demands against Stelios for compensation were dismissed by the courts.[7]

The Easy companies [edit]

Main article: EasyGroup

Haji-Ioannou started EasyJet in 1995 when he was 28. In 2000, EasyJet PLC was partially floated on the London Stock Exchange. He remains its largest single shareholder.

Nowadays, acting through his private investment vehicle, the EasyGroup, which owns the 'Easy' brand and licenses it to the various 'Easy'-branded ventures, including the airline, Haji-Ioannou continues to extend the brand in the areas of travel and leisure.

EasyJet PLC, which is one of Europe's largest low cost airlines by revenues with a fleet of 204(+64 orders) Jets and growing, carried 55 million passengers in 2011. The travel-related businesses also include:

"It's the least desirable aspect, but I don't think people are too worried about windows."

Stelios Haji-Ioannou, EasyGroup head, defending the windowless chambers in his London easyHotel, where rooms rent for £20 a night[9]
  • EasyCar, which offers low cost car rental in 2,000 locations globally[10]
  • EasyBus, which offers low cost bus transportation between airports and city centres[11]
  • EasyHotel, which offers low cost accommodation in city centres[12]

In June 2006, Haji-Ioannou received a Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for "services to entrepreneurship".

Fastjet [edit]

Main article: Fastjet

In September 2011 it was reported that Haji-Ioannou is planning to set up a new airline called Fastjet as part of a joint venture with Lonrho plc. The airline started operations on 29 November 2012 with Airbus A319 aircraft.[13]

Libel case [edit]

In 2009, Stelios brought proceedings in London's High Court over Ryanair adverts which appeared in The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph and on Ryanair's website in January and February. The adverts featured a picture of Stelios in the style of Pinocchio and referred to him as "EasyJet's Mr Late Again". The case was eventually settled out of court, with Stelios receiving an official apology from the airline and the sum of £50,100, which Stelios announced he'd donate to his philanthropic foundation.[14]

Tax status [edit]

Stelios resides in Monaco for tax reasons.[15]

Politics and public life [edit]

Haji-Ioannou is a member of the New Enterprise Council, a group set up to advise the Conservative Party on business policy. He stated at the time that this appointment did not reflect his political affiliations, adding "I agreed to be included in the group of entrepreneurs because I was assured it will be non-partisan. [There is] not much difference between Left and Right any more."[16]

On 1 April 2010, in a letter to the Daily Telegraph, Haji-Ioannou joined 23 other UK business leaders, including Marks & Spencer's Stuart Rose and Next's Simon Wolfson, criticising the Labour government's plans to raise National Insurance contribution rates.[17]

The character of Omar Baba in the BBC TV comedy Come Fly With Me was based on Stelios.[18]

Charity [edit]

Haji-Ioannou's foundation, The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, supports education,[19][20] entrepreneurial initiatives[21] and environmental initiatives[22] through providing funding and advice in the UK, Monaco, Greece and Cyprus.

The foundation donates each year scholarships for ten undergraduate students to study for a period of up to of three years at his alma mater, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and for ten postgraduate students at his other alma mater, the City University, London.

In conjunction with Riviera Radio, part of the Morris Communications Group, the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation presents an annual award for entrepreneurship. Initiated in 2012, this award is designed to "attract local small companies, looking for a boost to grow and create new jobs in the region".[23] In 2012, 15 application were received from companies on the French Riviera. Three finalists were selected from these entries: Bricomac, Marine Medical Antibes and Nice Pebbles. The prize of 10,000EU Award along with 20,000EU of ad-spend on Riviera Radio[24] was awarded to Matt and Gayle Roberts of Nice Pebbles.[25]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Sunday Times Rich List 2007". Sunday Times Rich List (London: The Times Newspaper). 29 Spril 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007. 
  2. ^ "Hajiioannou, Stelios". Hellenism. Retrieved 28 June 2007. 
  3. ^ "FT Innovate Speakers and bios". Financial Times. 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2007. 
  4. ^ "Top Honour for Stelios". Newcastle Business School. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2007. 
  5. ^ "Cranfield University 2006 - Honorary Graduates". University of Cranfield. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2007. 
  6. ^ Morais, Richard (19 June 2001). "Proving Papa Wrong". Forbes. Retrieved 23 May 2007. 
  7. ^ a b "Making it all look easy". Guardian Unlimited (London). 21 April 2002. Retrieved 2007-06-28. 
  8. ^ "BBC Radio 4's On The Ropes". BBC. 7 July 2002. Retrieved 2007-06-25. 
  9. ^ "Bizwatch". Time Magazine. 7 August 2005. Retrieved 23 May 2007. 
  10. ^ McAllister, J.F.O. (23 July 2001). "Easy All Over Europe". Time Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2007. 
  11. ^ Smith, Adam (8 May 2005). "Livin' On Easy Street". Time Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2007. 
  12. ^ Grose, Thomas (11 April 2007). "A Room with No View". Time Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2007. 
  13. ^ http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pan-african-low-cost-carrier-fastjet-launches-scheduled-flights-379587/
  14. ^ "EasyJet founder Stelios wins libel payout from Ryanair" Daily Mirror, 15 July 2010
  15. ^ "Hajiioannou, Stelios". Hellenism. Retrieved 2007-06-28. 
  16. ^ Parties clash in corporate credentials battle MarketWatch, 15 November 2007
  17. ^ "Business supports George Osborne's national insurance cut". London: Daily Telegraph. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-01. 
  18. ^ "Come Fly With Me: fasten your seatbelts" The Daily Telegraph, 20 December 2010
  19. ^ Stelios Scholarships City University, London, 17 June 2011
  20. ^ Stelios Scholarships London School of Economics, 17 June 2011
  21. ^ CleanEquity Monaco 2010 Cleantech Investor, March 2010
  22. ^ Stelios gives €200,000 for environmental research centre Cyprus Mail, 22 October 2010
  23. ^ http://www.cityoutmonaco.com/monaco-property/articles/nice-pebbles-property-rentals-stelios-award
  24. ^ http://www.stelios.com/entrepreneurship/awards-summary.html
  25. ^ http://www.stelios.com/entrepreneurship/award-for-entrepreneur-of-the-year-on-the-riviera.html

Further reading [edit]

External links [edit]

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