John S. Koudounis

Last updated

John Spiro Koudounis
Born
Chicago, Illinois
Education Bachelor's degree
Alma mater Brown University
Occupation President & CEO
Employer Calamos Investments
Website John Koudounis on LinkedIn

John Spiro Koudounis is an American business executive who currently serves as president and chief executive officer for Calamos Investments. Previously he was the president and chief executive officer for Mizuho Securities USA Inc., a subsidiary of Japanese banking and holding company Mizuho Financial Group. [1] He is a regular commentator for television and financial news programs [2] including Fox Business, CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, and others. At 44 years of age, Koudounis was the youngest CEO of any Wall Street firm when he was appointed in 2010. [2]

Contents

Koudounis is the founder of the Chicago CEO COVID-19 Coalition and a member of the Leadership Council at Concordia, as well as the prestigious Bretton Woods Committee. He is a board member of the National Hellenic Museum, a patron of Prince’s Trust International, and an executive advisory board member for the SEAL Future Foundation. [3] [4] In addition, he is a founding board member and executive committee member of The Hellenic Initiative, a member of Leadership 100 and Chairman of the Metropolis of Chicago Foundation. In October 2016, he was inducted as an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Order of St. Andrew.

Early life and education

Koudounis was raised in Chicago. [2] He attended Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois where he was class president and played basketball and football. [2] He was awarded several scholarships for football and decided to attend an Ivy League. [2]

Koudounis chose to attend Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He double majored in International Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs and Economics. [5] He also interned for the late Senator John Chafee and at Kidder Peabody, working in the office on Black Monday in 1987. [5]

Career

After receiving his degree from Brown in 1988, Koudounis obtained a position with Merrill Lynch where he began his financial career. [2] Koudounis later worked for the ABN AMRO North America where he became the company's head of fixed income. He spent a total of 12 years with ABN AMRO. [6]

Koudounis began working for Mizuho Securities USA Inc. in 2008. [7] He served as the executive managing director and head of fixed income, responsible for the firm's activities in trading, sales, and investment banking. In his first year at the company, his division earned more than the entire firm had in its history. [2] In 2010, Koudounis was appointed president and CEO of the company. He also sat on the company's executive management committee, risk committee, and new product committee. When he became the company's CEO in 2010, he was the youngest CEO of a Wall Street firm, at the age of 44. [2] As well as having direct management responsibilities in the Americas, he served on the management team in Tokyo for the global organization.

In early 2016, Koudounis was the firm’s first designated CEO of Calamos Investments, a global investment management firm headquartered in Naperville, Illinois. He was appointed by Founder John Calamos, Sr [8] , as part of Calamos’ succession plan. [9] Koudounis's appointment was effective at the beginning of April 2016. He leads the firm's business activities, including executing the firm's growth strategy and expanding the firm's global footprint. [10]

Koudounis is the founder of the Chicago CEO COVID-19 Coalition an organization he created in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide COVID-19 relief and recovery for the city and bring Chicago’s business leaders together in a time of need. This initiative focused on four critical areas in COVID-19 recovery: food, shelter/homelessness, counseling services, and personal protective equipment. The Coalition distributed over $1.5 million in proceeds from its successful telethon. [11] [12]

Koudounis is a member of the Leadership Council at Concordia [13] and the prestigious Bretton Woods Committee [14] He is a member of the board of trustees of the National Hellenic Museum, [15] a patron of the Prince’s Trust International, [16]   and an executive advisory board member for the SEAL Future Foundation [17] . He is a founding board member and executive committee member of The Hellenic Initiative, [18] a non-profit, non-governmental organization aimed at supporting Greece and Cyprus in the aftermath of the financial crisis by helping to foster entrepreneurship in both countries. He is also a member of Leadership 100 [19] and Chairman of the Metropolis of Chicago Foundation. [20] In October 2016 he was inducted as an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Order of St. Andrew, the highest honor bestowed on a layman by the Orthodox Church [21] .

Personal life

Koudounis is married and has two children, twin daughters. [2]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Gara, Antoine (January 4, 2016). "Mizu-Who? The Japanese Bank That Wants To Be The New Face Of Wall Street". Forbes. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Michalakis, Dimitri C. (September 13, 2014). "Conquering Wall Street and possibly Pennsylvania Avenue: Mizuho Securities CEO John Koudounis". Neo Magazine. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Hellenic Initiative Board of Directors Executive Committee". The Hellenic Initiative. Archived from the original on June 4, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Board of Trustees". National Hellenic Museum. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Dodson, Meaghan (December 29, 2014). "Brown Grads Dominating Business in the United States". Go Local Providence. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Mizuho Securities USA Appoints Eleven Senior Officers to Its Fixed Income Team". Reuters. July 30, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2015.[ dead link ]
  7. ↑ Faux, Zeke (September 7, 2012). "Mizuho Plans to Expand in Derivatives, U.S. CEO Koudounis Says". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  8. ↑ "John P. Calamos". www.calamos.com. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  9. ↑ "LEADERS Interview with John Koudounis, Chief Executive Officer, Calamos Investments". www.leadersmag.com. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  10. ↑ "John P. Calamos, Sr. Announces the Appointment of John Koudounis as Calamos Investments' Chief Executive Officer". Reuters. March 14, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Chicago CEO COVID-19 Coalition". Chicago CEO COVID-19 Coalition. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  12. ↑ "In The News". Chicago CEO COVID-19 Coalition. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Concordia Welcomes John S. Koudounis to The Leadership Council". Concordia. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Personal Members | The Bretton Woods Committee". www.brettonwoods.org. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Board of Trustees". www.nationalhellenicmuseum.org. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Home". Prince's Trust International. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Leadership * SEAL Future Foundation". sealff.org. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Who We Are". The Hellenic Initiative - Global. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  19. ↑ "About Us". www.l100.org. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Metropolis of Chicago Foundation - Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago". www.chicago.goarch.org. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Patriarch Bartholomew Bestows Honor of Archon to John Koudounis of Calamos Investments". GreekReporter.com. October 25, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
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