Stelios Haji-Ioannou

Stelios Haji-Ioannou
Stelios Haji-Ioannou
Born	February 14, 1967 (age 59); Athens, Kingdom of Greece
Occupation(s)	Businessman, entrepreneur
Years active	1988–present
Known for	Founder of easyJet, Stelmar Shipping, and easyGroup chairman
Notable work	Founder of easyJet

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou (; born 14 February 1967) is a Greek Cypriot businessman renowned for establishing the budget airline easyJet and the Stelmar shipping company, both initially funded by his father, Loucas. The inception of easyJet in 1995 marked the beginning of numerous enterprises under the "easy" brand, all overseen by easyGroup with Haji-Ioannou serving as chairman.

Early life

Stelios was born in Athens, Kingdom of Greece, as the middle child among three siblings to Nedi (née Potsos) and prominent shipping entrepreneur Loucas Haji-Ioannou. His brothers and sisters, Polys and Clelia, also possess substantial shares in easyJet. The family’s heritage is rooted in Cyprus, with paternal origins in Pedoulas located in the Troodos Mountains and maternal connections to Laneia. After completing secondary schooling in Athens, he obtained a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics in 1987 and subsequently earned an MSc in Shipping, Trade & Finance from Bayes Business School. He has been honored with honorary doctorates from Bayes Business School, Liverpool John Moores University, Newcastle Business School, and Cranfield University.

Early career

Describing himself as a "serial entrepreneur," Haji-Ioannou started his professional journey in 1988 with his father’s prosperous shipping firm, Troodos Shipping Co Ltd. At 25 years old, he was granted £30 million by his father to launch his own shipping enterprise, Stelmar Shipping. Stelmar was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2001 and later acquired by the OSG Group in 2005 for roughly $1.3 billion.

MT Haven shipping accident

In April 1991, a VLCC oil tanker owned by Troodos, the M/T Haven, experienced a catastrophic event causing six fatalities and releasing around 50,000 tons of crude oil—the largest ecological disaster ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea. The vessel was an aging ship previously named Amoco Haven. Haji-Ioannou faced manslaughter allegations along with claims of witness intimidation but attributed the incident to crew mistakes. Both he and his father were ultimately acquitted, and ensuing civil claims for damages were rejected.

"easy" companies

At age 28, Haji-Ioannou founded easyJet in 1995, initially offering flights between Luton and destinations in Scotland. In 2000, easyJet PLC conducted a partial public offering on the London Stock Exchange. He and his family continue to hold the largest stake (34%) in the airline, which had a market valuation of £4.17 billion as of May 2019.

His private holding company, easyGroup, owns the 'easy' trademark and licenses it to various enterprises mainly operating within travel and leisure sectors. easyJet PLC ranks among Europe's leading airlines, operating a fleet of 323 aircraft and transporting over 88.5 million passengers annually (2018).

Additional travel and leisure ventures include:

easyCar, providing peer-to-peer car sharing alongside affordable rentals at approximately 2,000 locations worldwide
easyBus, offering budget bus services connecting airports in London, Paris, and Geneva with their respective city centers
easyHotel, delivering economical lodging options situated within key European urban areas
easyFoodstore, a discount grocery store concept aimed at low-income customers; its sole outlet closed by late 2021
easyGym, featuring contract-free gym memberships available at 16 sites across the UK and five in France, with plans to expand further into Europe
easyProperty, an online marketplace catering to homeowners, buyers, landlords, and tenants
easyCruise, a budget cruise line launched in 2004, sold for £9 million in 2009; operations ceased in 2010 before relaunching as a cruise booking website in December 2024
easyCoffee, operating self-service coffee vending machines including a café located centrally in London
easyStorage, offering affordable storage solutions with optional services such as packing supplies and delivery assistance
easyInternetcafé, once Europe’s largest Internet café chain; discontinued since 2009

Fastjet

In September 2011, Haji-Ioannou established Fastjet, a budget airline focused on African destinations, through a partnership with Lonrho plc. The airline commenced flights on 29 November 2012, utilizing Airbus A319 aircraft.

Legal dispute with Ryanair

In 2009, Haji-Ioannou initiated legal action against Ryanair regarding advertisements published in The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, and on Ryanair’s website. These ads portrayed him as "easyJet's Mr Late Again" in a Pinocchio-like caricature. The dispute was resolved out of court, with Ryanair issuing an apology and paying £50,100, which Haji-Ioannou donated to his charitable foundation.

Conflict with EasyJet

Haji-Ioannou resigned from EasyJet’s board in 2010 to oppose the airline’s plans for growth. He criticized the company for failing to generate significant shareholder value despite expanding over ten years.

By 2013, his concerns about EasyJet’s increasing fleet size intensified, leading him and family members to sell 200,000 shares as a form of protest.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, Haji-Ioannou publicly urged the removal of EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren and Chairman John Barton. He condemned their decision not to cancel a £4.5 billion order for 107 Airbus planes while simultaneously requesting a £600 million government bailout amid financial difficulties.

Personal life

Haji-Ioannou has resided in Monaco since his family moved there during his adolescence.

He received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in the 2006 Birthday Honours for his contributions to entrepreneurship.

As a member of the New Enterprise Council, he advised the Conservative Party on business policies. Despite his involvement, the council maintained a non-partisan stance and his appointment did not imply political allegiance.

In April 2010, Haji-Ioannou joined 23 UK business figures, including Marks & Spencer's Stuart Rose and Next's Simon Wolfson, in signing an open letter published in the Daily Telegraph opposing the Brown government's proposal to increase National Insurance contributions.

The BBC comedy character Omar Baba from Come Fly With Me is reportedly inspired by him.

In 2018, he filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Netflix concerning their series Easy, alleging violation of Easy Group's European trademarks.

Philanthropy

The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation promotes education, entrepreneurship, and environmental projects by providing funding and advisory support across the UK, Greece, and Cyprus. It also organizes annual awards offering monetary prizes to entrepreneurs within these regions.

External links