As the head of legal of one the largest online travel agencies in Europe that manages an extensive portfolio of travel-focused websites, Dr Theodore Koulourianos is responsible for some of the most complex transactions and disputes at Tripsta Group, gaining a great deal of experience working with senior executives in addition to this provision of legal support.

‘This was challenging from a personal perspective in terms of workload. At the same time, it gave me the experience that a close relationship to other departments of the company and honest efforts to understand their needs is an important factor for the quality of the legal advice’ says Koulourianos. He has had a huge effect on the development and improvement of the legal function as a whole, driving the focus on core legal work in the department, helping the company develop from a more rules-based mentality to a value-based one, having empowered other business units to take charge of matters ‘without always looking for sign off from the legal team’. At the same time, he has significantly moved the legal team forward, making an improvement to the overall style of the legal team.

He has achieved this by shifting the team to a proactive unit and by ensuring that the legal team is fully involved in early stages of all projects. His career highlights with Tripsta Group include his involvement in the acquisition of the company’s major competitor in the Greek market, the restructuring of the business that has grown to a group of companies located in three countries as well as the corporate financing of the company by the issuance of convertible bond loan. The aforementioned highlights gave him a first-hand experience that detailed preparation and the focus on the commercially relevant aspects are the key factors in deals that require from the legal advisor to perform under tight timelines.