2019 Global CFO Excellence Awards

12 Acquisition International - 2019 Global CFO Excellence Awards Based in the city of Athens, Fraport Greece is responsible for maintaining, operating, managing, upgrading and developing 14 airports in Greece. We invited CFO Vangelis Baltas to tell us more about the firm and his role in steering it to the success it enjoys currently. Fraport Greece stablished in 2015, Fraport Greece is an innovative transport management company working across a variety of industries. Leading the firm’s financial team is CFO Vangelis Baltas, who draws on vast industry experience to support the group, as he is keen to discuss in more detail. “Having previously been part of an investment banking division at a global banking corporation exposed me to the excitement of M&As and large infrastructure projects. From there on, the accumulated experience acquired in senior roles such as Chief Business Development Officer at Copelouzos Group with a lead role on the acquisition of the concession for Pulkovo St. Petersburg Airport and the Athens International Airport project, provided a tremendous insight and an important test ground for the successful delivery of our business priorities at Fraport Greece. Following an international tender, Fraport Greece won the bid for the 40-year long concession and payed to the Greek State €1.234 billion: the biggest concession price ever paid in the country’s history. The operational transfer of the airports to Fraport Greece took place on April 11th, 2017 and now its nationwide team of almost 700 is responsible for enhancing the airports’ international E competitiveness, the optimization of operational processes and the modernization and upgrade of their infrastructure. Having grown considerably, the firm is now in a position to view the entire Greek transport industry and work alongside it to enhance the country’s prosperity, as Vangelis highlights. “Over the past two years, traffic grew at Fraport Greece’s airports by almost 20%. This is a testimony to the importance of Greece as a global tourism destination. Although we welcome the first two successful seasons we are very much aware that the tourist industry is often affected by developments exceeding the control of those involved in the sector. Our outlook remains a positive one, and our business model is – as it should be – a moderate and pragmatic one.” Today Fraport Greece employs about 200 people in its Athens office alone. Such a vast workforce requires supportive management and business leaders who are committed to providing them with an environment they can thrive in. Vangelis explores how he and his colleagues in the firm’s senior management team work to ensure that they cultivate a collaborative internal culture that benefits both staff and their clients. “At Fraport Greece we had the opportunity to build a young forward- looking team sharing similar values and aspirations but with different backgrounds offering diversity in style and tactics. We have in place an open-door policy which helps us to always pursue meaningful interaction, the exchange of ideas and views in tackling complex issues as well as in drafting our strategy for the future. This collaborative approach is central to our success and is something about which I am deeply passionate.” As he looks to the future Vangelis is optimistic that his firm will continue to prosper as it turns its focus on driving tourism to Greece, as he is proud to conclude. “Moving forward, Fraport Greece has a bright future ahead as we look to capitalise on our current success in airport management. As we have begun operating the airports and already are halfway through the implementation of our capex program we are now focusing on attracting more travellers to Greece. We will achieve this by working hand in hand with the state, local governments and tourist association creating synergies that would allow for the further growth of the tourist product for the benefit of our entire country, and we are excited for this development and the opportunities it will bring us.” Company: Fraport Greece Contact: Vangelis Baltas Website: https://www.fraport-greece.com Best Transport CFO 2019 - Mediterranean