Leonidas Tolis first joined Papastratos Cigarette Manufacturing Company as a legal counsel in 1999, and in 2003 when Philip Morris International (PMI) acquired Papastratos, he was assigned the role of senior counsel thanks to his experience and talent. In 2016 he assumed his the current position and is now responsible for all seven markets in the EU South East Cluster, which covers Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta. Prior to this role he served six years as an independent attorney at law.

‘Due to the fact that Papastratos was the biggest Greek manufacturing company trying to expand to other continents, I was given various opportunities which enhanced my strategic thinking and commercial experience’ says Tolis. Since the PMI acquisition and his new position as senior counsel, Tolis has been involved in comprehensive changes at the company, and his assessment of how this has progressed is extremely positive: ‘These continuous changes helped me to establish my presence in the company which is currently characterised as the “glue” for the organisation’. In 2016 and 2017 he was honoured by PMI’s law department and offered to lead the company EU South East Cluster adding Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia, amounting to a team currently consisting of ten lawyers.

‘The trust I received from PMI gave me the unique chance to broaden my international perspective, business acumen and my skills as a people manager’, adds Tolis. He has had significant contribution to the sale of Papastratos real estate in Piraeus, as he was assigned the lead project management of the sale of Papastratos buildings and plots at the port of Piraeus.