An executive’s biography
Born in the village of Tegea Arcadia in the southwestern Peloponnese, Panayiotis Athanasopoulos completed his studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He received his bachelor of science in industrial production there, as well as his master’s and doctorate in business administration. Between 1975 and 1981, he taught at Loyola University in Chicago and at Wright State University in Ohio, where he was also an associate dean in the business administration school. In 1981, he returned to Greece as a professor specializing in the economics of business in a post at the University of Piraeus. He also led the institution’s department of financial and banking administration before becoming the university’s rector from 1987 to 1990. Today, he is a professor emeritus at the University of Piraeus. In 1986, he became a founding member of Toyota Hellas as well as executive vice president. Between 1989 and 2000, he served as president and chief executive officer of the company. Under his direction, Toyota Hellas received top marks for sales and customer service in Greece. In 2001, he became executive vice president and chief operating officer of Toyota Marketing Europe. In 2004, he became managing officer of Toyota Motor Corporation and executive vice president of Toyota Motor Europe. Athanasopoulos is married and has three daughters.
