EIB appoints Greece’s Ioannis Tsakiris as vice-president

• Tsakiris, a former Greek deputy minister, joins the Management Committee of the European Investment Bank
• New Vice-President was also an executive at the European Investment Fund

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ioannis Tsakiris to its Management Committee. Following a decision by the EIB’s shareholders – the Member States of the European Union – Ioannis Tsakiris from Greece succeeds Christian Kettel Thomsen, who left the bank last year to become Governor of the Danish Central Bank. The new Vice-President started his term on 01 May 2024.

An engineer by training, Ioannis Tsakiris has extensive experience at the EIB Group, having worked for 15 years at the European Investment Fund (EIF), before becoming Greece’s Deputy Minister for Development and Investments in 2019. He served in various roles at the EIF, including as head of South-Eastern Europe and EU Neighbouring Countries Division, and worked in areas ranging from private equity investment to strategic development. In his capacity as Greek deputy minister between 2019 and 2023, he was supervising the deployment of EU structural funds as well as the Public Investment Programme for Greece and he was also instrumental in the establishment of the Hellenic Development Bank, Greece’s national development institution. Furthermore, for that period he was Alternate Governor in the EBRD and the World Bank Group as well as member of the board of directors of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank.

“Having served the EIB Group for the best part of my career, it is a great honour to become a member of its leadership team,” Tsakiris said. “Our work is bringing tangible benefits to the people of the EU, supporting businesses every day, boosting the competitiveness of our economies and facilitating key investments.”

EIB President Nadia Calviño cited the internal and external know-how that Tsakiris will bring. “Ioannis Tsakiris knows how the EIB Group works and he has first-hand experience in developing and deploying our financing instruments,” Calviño said. “I am glad to welcome someone who brings such a wealth of expertise and experience to our Management Committee.”

The Management Committee is the EIB’s permanent collegiate executive body. It has nine members – the President and eight Vice-Presidents. Under the authority of the President and the supervision of the Board of Directors, it oversees the day-to-day running of the EIB, prepares decisions for Directors and ensures that these are implemented. Its members are appointed by the Board of Governors, consisting of EU finance ministers, on a proposal from the Board of Directors.

This article was first published on 2 May by European Investment Bank.