A Greek company organising and conducting games of chance and a large regional business, the OPAP Group is served by chief legal officer Anny Ketentzoglou – one of the premier in-house lawyers in Greece. Spoken of highly by a nominating source, Ketentzoglou’s leadership of the litigation aspects of OPAP’s business have drawn particular praise: ‘Anny leads the litigation sector of [one of] the most powerful and rapidly developing enterprises in Greece. The spectrum of issues that she handles is extremely wide and touches upon all aspects of law. [She] is extremely diligent and capable… and has a remarkable understanding of the corporate and the market mechanisms not only in Greece but also in Cyprus’. Upon Ketentzoglou’s arrival at the company, she describes the organisation of the legal affairs group as ‘a chaotic network of lawyers in Greece and Cyprus, operating under inadequate procedures that had to be quickly and properly redesigned’.

To her credit, she oversaw the transformation of this disparate group of lawyers to ‘an efficient boutique law team with a specialisation in gaming’, a process that forced her to make ‘responsible and tough’ decisions and involved the fast integration of new arrivals under a ‘very disciplined’ budget. Working on major litigations and absorbing the technical aspects of the legal and regulatory framework of the gaming industry, Ketentzoglou reformed the department ‘without any kind of disruption’, the seamless transition acting as evidence of her professionalism and managerial skill. Most recently, Ketentzoglou and her team participated in the reorganisation of the company’s 4,500 points of sale in Greece as well as in the technological transformation of the Group.

This included, amongst other things, ‘heavy contract negotiations and relevant regulatory actions’ in co-operation with public authorities. Her work has been noticed not only from internal clients but other sources too, a private practice nominator stated they were ‘deeply impressed by her devotion and sense of duty while she was carrying out her difficult mission, advising one of the biggest and most profitable private companies in Greece and leading its legal department’. Earning this glowing reputation from a career not only at OPAP but in previous roles too, Ketentzoglou previously worked as a lawyer at professional services firm EY.

Her subsequent move in-house saw her become general legal counsel of ATHEX-listed DELTA Holding, where she undertook a complex legal merger of DELTA Holding with three groups of food companies, restructured the entire legal department as well as being entrusted with the management of the legal affairs of the newly established VIVARTIA SA Group – the largest food company in Southern Europe. Joining OPAP in 2014, Ketentzoglou has earned well-deserved recognition in the Greek in-house legal sector as an experienced, talented and personable legal professional.