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'''André Calantzopoulos''' (born 1957) is a Greek businessman. He is executive chairman of tobacco giant [[Philip Morris International]] (PMI), having previously served as CEO. He worked as a design engineer in the automotive industry before joining PMI at 28 years old.

==Early life==
He was born and raised in [[Pyrgos, Greece|Pyrgos]], Greece. At 18, he moved to [[Lausanne]], Switzerland, to further his education at [[EPFL]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fisher|first1=Daniel|title=Philip Morris International Bets Big On The Future Of Smoking|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2014/05/28/philip-morris-international-bets-big-on-the-future-of-smoking/|work=Forbes|accessdate=12 October 2014}}</ref>

==Education==
Calantzopoulos studied [[Electrical Engineering]] at the [[Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne]] (the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), [[Lausanne]].<ref  name="MW">{{cite web |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/pm/insiders?pid=31138|website=www.marketwatch.com |title=Philip Morris International Inc. André Calantzopoulos |publisher=MarketWatch Inc. |accessdate=13 June 2015 }}</ref> He then went to work in [[robotics]], in the electronics field. Some years later Calantzopoulos returned to education, getting an [[MBA]] from the Institut Europeen d’Administration des Affaires (the [[European Institute of Business Administration]], INSEAD, in Paris, France.<ref name="MW"/>

==Philip Morris International==
Calantzopoulos started working at Philip Morris International (PMI) in 1985 as a business development analyst in the Business Development Department. Two years later, he moved over to the Area Operations Department. Since then he has worked in a variety of high executive positions at the firm – throughout central Europe – including: Managing Director of PM Poland, General Manager of Philip Morris Finland, Area Director of Central Europe, Area Director of Hungary & Central Europe South and President of the Eastern European Region. As [[General Manager]] for the firm in [[Czechoslovakia]], in 1992, Calantzopoulos played a principal role in PMI’s acquisition of Tabak a. s., and as Area Director of Poland & Hungary, in the firm’s procurement of ZPT, a [[Kraków]] local tobacco company.

In 1999 Calantzopoulos became President of the firm’s Eastern European region. Three years later he was promoted to President of the whole company. On March 28, 2008, he was appointed to the role of [[Chief Operating Officer]] when PMI was established as a separate entity. On May 8, 2013, Calantzopoulos became [[Chief Executive Officer]]. He also currently sits on the company’s Board of Directors.

He has been described by [[Louis C. Camilleri]] as having "an intellect, many, many cannot reach…He has a capacity for work, which is unbelievable. He has an incredible knowledge of the industry. He’s ambitious and he has got a heart".<ref>{{cite web|title=finance.yahoo.com/news/philip-morris-internationals-ceo-presents-014202484.html|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/philip-morris-internationals-ceo-presents-014202484.html|publisher=Yahoo Finance|accessdate=12 October 2014}}</ref> According to statistics from Soulati Media, "PMI has doubled earnings every 10 years since André Calantzopoulos, CEO, joined the firm in 1985, and investors have earned 122% since the spinoff in 2008, compared with 67% for the S&P 500 index."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Soulati|first1=Jayme|title=Mobile Marketing and the Ubiquitous PR Code|url=http://soulati.com/blog/|publisher=Soulati|accessdate=12 October 2014}}</ref>

In December 2020, Philip Morris International announced that its chairman Louis Camilleri would be stepping down, to be replaced by Calantzopoulos.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-11|title=PMI Announces Leadership Succession|url=https://tobaccoreporter.com/2020/12/11/pmi-announces-leadership-succession/|access-date=2021-02-05|website=Tobacco Reporter|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Company shares==
The first share sales transaction Calantzopoulos had in 2014 was on May 12 when he sold 40,000 PMI shares for $3,443,088, an average of $86.08 each. Prior to this sale, the CEO of PMI sold 30,000 shares for $2.8 million, an average of $93.15 each on Feb 12, 2013. His current status for PMI shares is 695,370, representing a less than 1 percent stake in the company.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Williams|first1=Grace L.|title=Philip Morris CEO's $3.5 Million Sale|url=http://online.barrons.com/news/articles/SB50001424053111903301904579565840608166698|publisher=Barrons|accessdate=12 October 2014}}</ref>

==Board positions==
Calantzopoulos was on the SMPM AB International board of directors – a joint venture between [[Swedish Match]] and PMI before its dissolution. In addition, he is on the American European Community Association (AECA) advisory board.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tobaccotactics.org/index.php/Andr%C3%A9_Calantzopoulos|website=www.tobaccotactics.org |title=André Calantzopoulos |publisher=Tobacco Tactics |accessdate=13 June 2015 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Philip Morris International}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calantzopoulos, Andre}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Pyrgos, Elis]]
[[Category:Greek chief executives]]
[[Category:Philip Morris International]]
[[Category:Date of birth missing (living people)]]