Ion G. Varouxakis Board of Directors, Chairman of the Board
President and CEO
Ion G. Varouxakis is one of our founders and is the Chairman of our board of directors. He also serves as our President and Chief Executive Officer. In 2003, Mr. Varouxakis founded Free Bulkers, the beginning of a single-vessel, self-financed entrepreneurial venture that led to FreeSeas’ founding and NASDAQ listing in 2005.
Under Mr. Varouxakis’ leadership, FreeSeas has grown to be a leader in the Handysize and Handymax segment in the U.S. capital market. Prior to founding Free Bulkers, Mr. Varouxakis held since 1997 management positions in private shipping companies operating in the drybulk sector. Mr. Varouxakis holds a candidature degree in law from the Catholic University of Saint Louis in Brussels and a bachelor of science degree in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Mr. Varouxakis is a member of the Hellenic Committee of the Korean Register of Shipping and is an officer of the reserves of the Hellenic Army. Mr. Varouxakis is the brother of Alexis Varouxakis.
Alexandros Mylonas Chief Financial Officer
Alexandros Mylonas is our Chief Financial Officer and joined us in October 2009. Prior to joining FreeSeas, Mr. Mylonas was the Banking Executive of Cardiff Marine Inc., a ship management company managing a fleet of tankers and drybulk carriers including the fleet of Dryships Inc. a company listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Mylonas was an Account Manager with the Global Shipping Group of Fortis Bank, an international shipping bank.
Previously, from 2002 to 2005, Mr. Mylonas was an Investment Associate with NBG Venture Capital, a private equity firm investing in the Southeast Europe. Mr. Mylonas holds an MBA in Finance and Supply Chain Management from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki.
Kostas Koutsoubelis Board of Directors, Member
Vice President and Treasurer
Kostas Koutsoubelis joined our board of directors in 2007 and serves as our Vice President and Treasurer. In addition, Mr. Koutsoubelis is the group financial director of the Restis Group of Companies and also the chairman of Golden Energy Marine Corp. Furthermore, he is a member of the board of directors of First Business Bank, South African Marine Corp. S.A., Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. and Swissmarine Corporation Ltd.
Before joining the Restis Group, he served as head of shipping of Credit Lyonnais Greece. After graduating from St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, he held various positions in Mobil Oil Hellas S.A. and after his departure he joined International Reefer Services, S.A., a major shipping company, as financial director. In the past he has also served as director of Egnatia Securities S.A., a stock exchange company, and Egnatia Mutual Fund S.A. He is a governor in the Propeller Club — Port of Piraeus and member of the Board of the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of Hellenic Shipping.
Alexis Varouxakis Secretary
Alexis Varouxakis is our Secretary. Mr. Varouxakis holds a bachelor in science degree in economics from City University, London, and a master in arts degree in art management from City University, London. From 2001 to 2004, he was involved in the entertainment industry and produced a number of feature films, award winning short movies, and television commercials. Between 2002 and 2004, Mr. Varouxakis was a member of the board of directors of the New Producers Alliance, UK’s national membership and training organization for producers and filmmakers. From 2005 to 2006, he was general manager of Aello MCPY, a company specializing in the luxury yacht charter business. In 2007, he joined Free Bulkers as assistant operations manager.
