Listed on both the Athens Exchange and London Stock Exchange, Hellenic Petroleum has developed into one of the leading energy groups in Southeast Europe with a presence in six countries since its founding in 1998. Group general counsel John A. Apsouris joined the company in 2010 after 16 years at one of the leading Athenian law firms, Dryllerakis & Associates, where he was primed for a career in-house having worked on major – mainly international – projects, including M&A deals, mining law matters, arbitrations and litigations in commercial cases.

Describing his move to Hellenic Petroleum and the current role he plays there, Apsouris had the following to say: ‘I lead a team of 15 to 20 lawyers, centralising the legal consultancy for all 54 companies of the Group, operating in six countries. The shift in my career was a great challenge and a good opportunity to develop – besides the ability to offer sound legal advice or the deft handling of a case – leadership skills’. Among his achievements over the past eight years, Apsouris unified three distinct legal teams that supported the main companies that form the Hellenic Petroleum Group, moulding it into a single, group legal service with a uniform remuneration policy of its members, methodology for archiving, file creation and handling of cases.

He is also commended for creating Hellenic Petroleum’s comprehensive compliance and ethics program, having a code of business ethics and a regulatory compliance service at its core and entailing the training of hundreds of employees in six countries. After closely monitoring the international sanctions against Iran, a traditional supplier of crude oil to Hellenic Petroleum, he worked on the negotiation and execution of an agreement for the resumption of cooperation with the National Iranian Oil Company immediately after the lifting of the aforementioned sanctions in January 2016. Apsouris is a member of the Athens Bar Association, qualified to plead before the Greek Civil and Administrative Supreme Courts and the Court of Audit.

He currently sits in the supervisory board of the Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator (DESFA), is the chairman of the board of ELPET VALKANIKI and VARDAX, a member of the LIG of Fuels Europe (Division of the European Petroleum Refiners Association) and a director in three other companies of the Hellenic Petroleum Group. Apsouris holds a law degree from the University of Athens, a Master’s degree from the University of Aix-en-Provence and can speak five languages.