Georgios Taniskidis

Having 35 years of experience in the banking sector, Mr. Georgios Taniskidis has served as Chairman of Optima bank since July 2019.

He began his career as a lawyer at the law firm Rogers & Wells in New York. Upon returning to Greece, he joined Motor Oil Hellas. His banking career started in 1990 at Xiosbank, where he served as Head of the Consumer Business Group and Branch Network. Following the acquisition of Xiosbank by Piraeus Bank in late 1998, Mr. Taniskidis assumed the role of General Manager and participated in the Strategic Planning Committee. From 2002 until June 2010, as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Millennium Bank Greece, Mr. Taniskidis led the bank to achieve its targets much earlier than expected. During the same period, he spearheaded the acquisition of a banking institution in Turkey, which was subsequently renamed Millennium Bank Turkey, and served as a member of its Board of Directors. From late July to October 2011, Mr. Taniskidis served as Interim Chief Executive Officer of Proton Bank during its transitional period, where he successfully maintained the bank’s liquidity and market access amid a turbulent environment until its split. From 2003 to 2005, he was a member of the Board of Directors of Visa International Europe.

He has also served for many years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Bank Association. Today, he serves on the boards of various companies in the fields of trade, manufacturing, and shipping (including Loulis Food Ingredients – Athens Stock Exchange, EuroDry Ltd – NASDAQ, and Euroseas Ltd – NASDAQ). In addition, since June 2002, Mr. Taniskidis has been an active member of the international leadership organization YPO. He served on the European Regional Board for eight consecutive years and was Chairman of the Executive Committee of the European Regional Conference held in Athens in 2016, which was considered a tremendous success. He played a decisive role in the acquisition of Marfin Bank Romania (now Vista Bank).

He also envisioned the creation of a bank in Greece free from the burden of legacy issues. Pursuing this goal, he ultimately succeeded in acquiring the Investment Bank of Greece (now Optima bank). In just six years of operation, Optima bank has demonstrated remarkable growth and has become a benchmark institution in the Greek banking sector, with key milestones including its highly successful IPO in October 2023 and its inclusion in the Large Cap stock index in December 2024. For the fifth consecutive year, it has been recognized as the fastest-growing bank in Europe.

Mr. Taniskidis holds a Law degree from the Law School of the University of Athens, from which he graduated top of his class, as well as a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.