A legal professional with 25 years of experience in the banking sector, George Lekkas considers his move to Eurobank, a major Greek bank listed on the Athens Exchange, as one his top career highlights: ‘I had the opportunity to work in a competitive organisation within the Greek banking sector and to cooperate with well-respected legal professionals, who initiated me into a challenging legal career’.

Since joining the company in 2000 he has developed his career at the bank, becoming divisional head in 2013 and being assigned to the role of legal advisor to the board of directors in 2017, acquiring extensive leadership skills and expanding his field of professional expertise in the process. Within the legal team he manages, Lekkas is commended for instilling team spirit into his colleagues and directing them to achieve high standards of quality in providing legal services to the organisation. ‘I always welcome innovative ideas and reward thorough legal research, analytical ways of thinking and dedication to the goals of our organisation. This professional ethic has an actual positive effect to my organisation as a whole as it creates a safe legal environment favourable to business growth’, he says.

His expertise and leadership skills have been crucial on a whole host of recent company transactions such as the set-up of Eurobank’s brokerage e-platform (Eurobank trader), share-capital increases, Eurobank’s debt to equity exchange, the restructuring of the Group’s insurance business through the disposal of 80% of Eurolife Insurance as well as its real estate business through the disposal of Grivalia REIC. Further demonstrating his role on strategic projects, Lekkas was legal adviser for Eurobank’s two €5bn global covered bond programmes, a separate €5bn programme for the issuance of debt instruments and the restructuring of the international activities of Eurobank in Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Luxembourg.

Prior to Eurobank, Lekkas had a successful five-year spell in Paris as legal counsel at Banque Nationale de Grèce. Lekkas has been an associate professor at the University of Athens since 2003 and has authored several books and articles on various legal topics. With vast experience in the banking sector and the ability to speak fluently in four languages, Lekkas is a credit to the in-house legal profession in Greece.