Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou joins Hellenic Initiative board

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has joined the board of The Hellenic Initiative (THI), an organisation investing in Greece through philanthropic actions and programmes focused on economic recovery, according to an announcement released on Friday.

As part of its mission, The Hellenic Initiative seeks to “mobilise people to address the consequences of the crisis, empower entrepreneurship, and create jobs”.

“The founder and owner of the “easy” family of companies, which began with easyJet in 1994 when he was just 27 years old, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has now joined the board of directors of The Hellenic Initiative (THI),” the announcement said.

“Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to entrepreneurship in 2006, he is also the Founder and President of the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, which supports a wide range of philanthropic activities in his homeland, as well as in the countries where he has lived and worked, including Greece and Cyprus,” it added.

Moreover, the announcement noted that in 2017, Haji-Ioannou signed The Giving Pledge (led by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet), committing to give half of his wealth to his philanthropic foundation to continue his philanthropic work indefinitely.

THI, established in 2012, is a global non-profit organisation that brings together Greeks of the diaspora and Philhellenes to invest in Greece through programmes focused on economic development and crisis relief.

Since its inception, THI has invested over $21 million in Greece and has evolved into the largest organisation of the Greek diaspora in the world.

What is more, the announcement noted that Haji-Ioannou donates most of the profits from the revenues of the “easy” family of companies to the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, registered in the United Kingdom, which offers significant philanthropic action.

His flagship philanthropic programme in Greece is the Food from the Heart initiative, through which free snacks are distributed daily to those in need, serving approximately 100,000 beneficiaries per month.

In 2023, the Foundation acquired and restored a historic building in the heart of Athens, located at 22 Kydathinaion Street in Plaka, which serves as a conference hall and is available free of charge to Greek philanthropic organisations for their charitable events.

Additionally, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has agreed to lead the Monaco chapter of The Hellenic Initiative and has agreed to host a charity event there on June 25, 2024, to raise funds for THI Summer Youth Academy in Athens.

George P. Stamas, Chairman of the Board of Directors of THI, stated that “THI always seeks the most dynamic entrepreneurs, and that’s why we are excited to welcome Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou to our board”.

Meanwhile, Andrew N. Liveris, Head of the Board of Directors of THI, said that “THI’s efforts, which combine economic development – with an emphasis on supporting startups and creating jobs – with philanthropic support, including material and moral support for young people to succeed, will greatly benefit from the addition of Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou to our Board”.