George Bakos
Partner & CCO
Experience
Partner & CCO
Verallis
- Led commercial strategy and international expansion in Greece and Romania.
- Designed and implemented cost optimization and ESG transformation programs for listed and multinational clients.
- Built pipeline of >€2M in 12 months through consultative B2B sales.
Managing Partner
Strategize
- Advisory boutique focusing on strategic transformation, governance, and succession in family businesses.
- Advised CEOs and boards on operating models, KPI frameworks, and turnaround strategies.
- Built Legacy360° platform – a family governance tool adopted by leading chambers and clients.
COO & Head of Asset Management
Premia Properties REIC
- Managed operations, property management, HR, ESG, and digital transformation for a €500M real estate portfolio.
- Structured €100M bond issuance and led strategic repositioning of core assets.
President & Group’s General Manager
Zeritis Group
- Managed three paper manufacturing and one paper recycling operations in Egypt, Bulgaria, and Hungary.
- Executed turnaround across three countries, including debt restructuring of €80M and M&A exit strategy.
- Streamlined operations, optimized logistics, and delivered an EBITDA improvement of €40M.
Director, Management Consulting
KPMG
- Reported to the Deputy Senior Partner.
- Headed Training and People Development Services.
- Led Family Business Services in management consulting to family businesses.
- Headed business events.
- Member of the M&A and transformation team.
- Designed, implemented, and delivered over 200 projects.
General Manager – Multiple Business Units
Sfakianakis Group
- Built and operated a 45-site retail and service network across Greece, Bulgaria, and Cyprus, including flagship facilities in Sofia and Nicosia, achieving €280M annual turnover.
- Launched Chevrolet, Hummer, Corvette, and Cadillac brands in Greece, achieving a market share from 0 to 4% within three years.
- Launched Executive Lease and Enterprise Rent a Car operations and network, obtaining a leading market position within three years.
General Manager – Fleet & Rental
Toyota Hellas – Inchcape PLC
- Grew corporate fleet and rental sales to the number one market position.
- Introduced the Toyota Certified Used programme.
General Manager Commercial Activities & Network Expansion
Enterprise Rent a Car
Industries Experience
See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time. Longer bars indicate deeper hands-on experience, while shorter ones reflect targeted or project-based work.
Experienced in Automotive (20 years), Professional Services (14 years), Retail (10 years), Real Estate (4 years), and Manufacturing (4 years).
Business Areas Experience
The graph below provides a cumulative view of the freelancer's experience across multiple business areas, calculated from completed and active engagements. It highlights the areas where the freelancer has most frequently contributed to planning, execution, and delivery of business outcomes.
Experienced in Sales (22 years), Strategy (19 years), Operations (17 years), Marketing (16 years), Human Resources (14 years), and Project Management (9 years).
Summary
Senior advisor and interim executive with over 30 years of leadership in strategy, operational turnaround, and business transformation.
Proven track record in Big4 advisory, listed companies, and family business ecosystems.
Expertise in P&L leadership, market expansion, M&A integrations, ESG, and executing strategic turnarounds.
Adept at scaling businesses in new markets, leading cross-functional teams, executing complex transformations and forging high-level stakeholder partnerships while maintaining high-level client relationships.
Skills
Interim Executive Leadership (Ceo, Coo, Gm)
Strategic Transformation & Turnaround
Esg & Sustainability Strategy
M&a, Carve-outs & Post-merger Integration
Cost Optimization & Procurement Efficiency
Family Business Governance & Succession
Board & Advisory Roles (Reics, Industrials, Automotive)
Consultative Advisory Sales & Business Development
Cross-border Market Expansion & Scaling
Turnaround & Cost Optimization
Team Coaching & Cultural Alignment
Advanced User Ms Office
Crm
Wordpress
Social Media
Chatgpt
Vibe Coding Using Python
Github
Streamlit
Languages
Education
Canterbury University
MBA · Marketing Management · United Kingdom
Deree College – The American College of Greece
BA · Business Administration · Athens, Greece
Hult Ashridge Business School
International Management Diploma · United Kingdom
Certifications & licenses
Certified Family Business Advisor
ESG Practitioner – CSE
Extended DISC Facilitator
Sandler Sales Coach
Profile
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