Thanos Iliopoulos

ELTON Group is operating since 1981 and has become a leading company in international distribution of industrial ingredients. In my role as Group General Manager I work closely with the founder and President of the board and manage the group entities in Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkiye and Ukraine. We represent premium global suppliers to provide our clients in all counties with solutions and key elements that lead to the development of successful products.

Managing Director Visionexpress Poland operating in Poland under Visionexpress Retail banner Managing Director GrandVision Hellas operating in Greece and Cyprus under GrandOptical Retail banner Managing Director Visionexpress Bulgaria operating in Bulgaria under Visionexpress Retail banner All entities are part of Grandvision Group, the largest Optical Retailer in the world with Operations in 44 countries in Europe, North America, Asia and Latin America; since July 2021 GrandVision is owned by EssilorLuxotttica. Started in 2009 as Managing Director GrandVision Hellas based in Athens Greece. In 2011 took over Management of Visionexpress Bulgaria. Successfully turned around businesses in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria within two years from taking over. In 2013 took over Visionexpress Retail chain and relocated to Poland creating a small cluster of four (4) countries. Built strong Management Teams, worked on Strategy, Competitive advantage, Excellence in Execution and implemented innovative platforms and services to support the growth ambitions. Being constantly close to people and customers in order to understand their evolving needs. Transformed the Polish business into a high growth and high profit organization. During a period of 6 years (2013-2019), delivered impressive growth in Topline (+77%), Profit (+204%) and grew store network by +40%. Polish entity is a high Turnover highly profitable business. Visionexpress was the first Optical Retailer in Poland and in GrandVision to launch a real Omnichannel platform in 2019.

AMC - Albanian Mobile Communications was the leading Operator in Albania part of Cosmote Group which was acquired by Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile). Main Responsibilities of the position were: - Distribution of prepaid products in the local market - Improvement and development of the Retail Network of own and franchised shops in the country - Implementation of innovative postpaid and prepaid tariffs according to the competitive environment and the needs of the local consumers. - Maintaining the leading position of AMC and the contribution of Consumer BU in the company's profitability.

- Led the Retail business in the Mobile Telephony area - Direct reporting of six (6) first line Managers (Commercial, Marketing, Sales, Development, Construction, Service) - Total number of employees exceeded 300 - Company target was to develop the chain of stores through organic development or acquisitions and ensure the profitability of the company according to budget. - GERMANOS chain of stores offer Mobile Telephony products and services: 1. Mobile phones from all international vendors (Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson), accessories and service for Mobile phones 2. Postpaid and Prepaid connections of all Operators (SIMs) 3. other technology products such as Digital Cameras, DECT phones, Memory cards, etc. 4. High level of service in the stores is guaranteed through intensive Trainings for all employees

CEMIBAL was a Kodak cluster including distributors from 11 countries. CEMIBAL stands for Central Europe, Mediterranean Islands and the Balkans and includes the following countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Serbia & Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Albania, FYROM, Cyprus, Malta and Gibraltar. Responsible for handling the area's Marketing budget (1.000.000 Euro) and approving activities in each county according to the distributor's revenue and Kodak's strategy in the specific area. Responsible for achieving the cluster's (CEMIBAL) annual target in the IT/Mobile and CES channel in digital cameras and photo kiosks working closely with the appointed Business Development Managers and the distributors.

Kodak's Consumer Digital Services (CDS) included existing and novice products and services developed mainly for the Mobile Imaging channel and online Digital Services that could be adapted to the needs of any Retailer. Responsible for launching in the CEMAF region (Central Europe, Middle East & Africa) the new CDS business in coordination with the regional office. Defined the market needs and set business plan and deriving actions for the successful launch of the new business. Grew business relationship as the Category Expert for existing accounts. Acquired new accounts outside the existing channels, as an integrated part of the respective country organization. Coordinated the required HW and SW infrastructure setup.

Provided diverse and innovative IT solutions to Greek and Cypriot hotel and restaurant industry, representing world wide leading companies from the US, Germany and Norway and also developing own Software products. Involved in the company's strategic planning by participation in the management committee. Implemented Group's business principals into the Sales department consisting of six (6) Account Managers. Achieved the leading position in the Greek market. Responsible for the training and professional development of the Sales force towards the achievement of company's goals. Reported to the General Manager.

Promoted the company's IT solutions to the Greek hotel industry by representing the world wide leading companies. Managed and developed company's clientele consisting of the 100 leading companies present in the Greek hotel market. Reported to the General Manager/Owner.

Software development with the use of Clipper programming language on Novell networks.

One week (1-5 February 2016) on Corporate Finance (Accounting and Financial) for Executives

Dissertation: "Alternative Strategic Scenarios Development in Handover procedure Implementation in the Mobile Telecommunications Network Environment (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System)". Part of the EU research program RACE 2006 MObile NETwork (MONET).