Stelio Stefanou
| Stelio Stefanou | |
|---|---|
| Born |
6 November 1953 Egypt |
| Nationality | British |
| Known for | Founder of Accord company and of The Stefanou Foundation |
| Net worth | GBP £140 million (April 2015) |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Relatives | Stef Stefanou (brother) |
Stelio Haralambos Stefanou OBE DL (born 6 November 1953) is a British businessman and philanthropist, who was born in Egypt to Cypriot parents.
He founded a public services and building maintenance company, Accord, which grew to employ 4000 people. He sold Accord for £147 million in 2007.
He then founded two charities: the Stefanou Foundation in England, and the Stefanou Foundation Cyprus.
He is a Deputy Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, and he is the current High Sheriff having been inaugurated on 2 April 2016 at County Hall, Hertford
According to the Sunday Times, his net worth in 2015 was £140 million.
Stefanou was born in Egypt, the son of a shopkeeper who had emigrated from Cyprus at age 14. The whole family left Egypt for the UK as refugees in 1959, following the political turmoil after the Suez Crisis, which left his father unemployed.
He studied chemistry at Imperial College London, graduating with a BSc. He started his industrial career working for Johnson Matthey (1974-1977) and Esso (1977-1980), before moving to John Doyle Construction in 1980.
Stefanou's brother Stef Stefanou also worked at John Doyle Group, and by 1999 Stef was the Chairman and Stelio was the Chief Executive. In 1999 they instigated a de-merger which split the company into two. Stef Stefanou retained John Doyle as the construction company, while Stelio Stefanou founded Accord as a separate company to run the longer-term public services and infrastructure maintenance contracts. Stefanou sold Accord to Enterprise plc in 2007.
After selling Accord, Stefanou changed from running businesses to running charities. In 2008 he established the Stefanou Foundation to protect the interests of vulnerable people, especially the very young and the very old, and to support the commercial development of scientific ideas into viable businesses. He serves as its chairman. In 2013, he established the Stefanou Foundation Cyprus which aims to break new ground in addressing that country's social and economic challenges following the financial crisis, and he serves as its chairman.
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