Dimitris Kontominas ( el, Δημήτρης Κοντομηνάς; 3 June 1939 – 10 March 2022) was a Greek businessman who was active in insurance, television, cinema, and retail trade.

Life and career

Kontominas was born on 3 June 1939 in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. He studied at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

. Initially he worked as an insurer in '' American Life (ALICO)''. In 1969, he cofounded with Alexander Tampoura the insurance company '' Interamerican''. Interamerican now belongs to Eureko BV. Kontominas remained chairman until 2005. Kontominas owned Prime Insurance and MyDirect insurers. He founded or acquired other companies, including: * ''Interbank'' (later acquired and absorbed by Eurobank in 1997) * ''Intertech'' (exclusive representative products ''Panasonic'') * Euroclinic Athens * ''Novabank'' Greece SA (Because NovaBank's then parent company was ''Millennium BCP'' (

Banco Comercial Português Portuguese Commercial Bank ( pt, Banco Comercial Português, BCP) is a Portuguese bank that was founded in 1985 and is the largest private bank in the country. BCP is a member of the Euronext 100 stock index and its current chief executive offic ...

), on 6 November 2006, NovaBank was renamed '' Millennium Bank'' which was acquired by

Piraeus Bank Piraeus Bank ( el, Τράπεζα Πειραιώς) is a Greek multinational financial services company with its headquarters in Athens, Greece. Piraeus Bank's shares have been listed on the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) since January 1918. In G ...

in 2013) * ''InterJet'' – aircraft and helicopter fleet * ''GreenFarm'' * '' Aris F.C.'' *

Alpha TV Alpha TV is a Greek free-to-air channel, being one of the biggest stations in Greece. The station features a mix of Greek and foreign shows with an emphasis on information. The studios are located in Kifissia and Pallini. Alpha TV is owned by Alp ...

and radio station '' Alpha 98.9'' (66% held by January 2012, the German

RTL Group RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France and ...

) * ''Village Roadshow Greece'' theaters * Athens/Thessaloniki Channel 9 and radio station '' Alpha 96.5 Radio'' in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

In 2012, Kontominas took back the shares of

when RTL Group decided to exit. In 2015, Alpha TV was the number one Greek TV station. Kontominas was the president of DEMCO GROUP, one of Greece's largest investment holding companies. It has a diversified portfolio, with holdings in media, financial services, entertainment, IT & telecoms, leisure & entertainment, and food & beverages. Within its companies' portfolio one can find Village Group (cinema and films),

and

Alpha Radio Alpha Radio (formerly 103.2 Alpha Radio), Alpha 103.2, 103.2 Alpha FM, Alpha Radio) was an Independent Local Radio station based in Darlington, County Durham, England. History When launched in 1995, Alpha was owned by Radio Investments Ltd ...

, Intertech (

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...

's exclusive representative in Greece), Prime Insurance, myDirect online insurance, '' Sportday'' newspaper and many more. For a little time in the early 2000s he was the owner of Aris F.C. He was declared "Great Protekdikos Archon of the Ecumenical Throne" by the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

and "Great Benefactor" by the

Metropolis of Chalcedon The Metropolis of Chalcedon ( el, Μητρόπολη Χαλκηδόνος) is an ecclesiastical territory (diocese) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Christianity spread in Chalcedon during the 2nd century AD. The city was initially ...

. He was arrested in 2014. According to the authorities approximately 200 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s worth of loans were issued by the bank, during the period in question to companies controlled by certain well-connected businessmen without guarantees, none of which have been repaid. The case is also linked to another financial scandal involving another 300 million euros worth of losses due to bad loans made to a property developer. The accused faced charges including fraud, money laundering and complicity in malpractice. The story made headlines in 2014 by a rival channel

Alter Alter may refer to: * Alter (name), people named Alter * Alter (automobile) * Alter (crater), a lunar crater * Alter Channel, a Greek TV channel * Archbishop Alter High School, a Roman Catholic high school in Kettering, Ohio * ALTER, a comman ...

owned by

Nikos Kouris Nikos ( el, Νίκος, ''Níkos'') is a Greek given name. It originates from Greek ''Nikolaos'', which means "victory of the people".Liddell & Scott, Abridged Greek Lexicon Although used as a proper first name, Nikos is also a popular nickname of t ...

. Kontominas died on 10 March 2022, at the age of 82. He had one daughter and two grandchildren.

References

Sources

Biography of Dimitris Kontominas at asfalistis.grDimitris Kontominas profile on bloomberg.comDemco Group of Companies of Dimitris Kontominas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kontominas, Dimitris 1939 births 2022 deaths American University of Beirut alumni Aris Thessaloniki F.C. Businesspeople from Athens Greek football chairmen and investors Greek art collectors