Onassis Business History, 1975-2005

Project Leader: Gelina Harlaftis
Collaborator and co-author: Ioannis Theotokas
Research Assistants: Petros Kastrinakis and Alkis Kapokakis

The aim of the research project is to author a volume on Onassis Business History after the death of Aristotle Onassis, during  the period from 1975 to 2005. The research and writing of the volume will be conducted by Professor Gelina Harlaftis and Professor Ioannis Theotokas.

The purpose of the study is twofold. Firstly, the study will examine the difficult and adventurous transition of a personal business group to a second generation, a "hybrid" entrepreneurial generation. This second generation consisted, on one hand, of the biological Onassis family—his daughter Christina—and, on the other hand, of the business Onassis family—the executives Aristotle Onassis had personally chosen as his close associates, led by Stelios Papadimitriou. At Onassis’s request, Papadimitriou established a foundation in the name of his deceased son, Alexander. Remarkably, the Onassis business group, following both Aristotle’s and later his daughter Christina’s deaths, managed to maintain its leadership in Greek-owned shipping through an organization— a foundation with both entrepreneurial and philanthropic objectives—ensuring its continuity across generations.

The study will conclude at the turn of the 21st century, with the third entrepreneurial generation  which continues to lead the organization today. Secondkt, the study will examine the group's adaptation to new realities and the resilience of its organization, structure, and management as a global business group involved in shipping and other sectors. Despite international crises and upheavals, the group maintained its developmental trajectory, continuing its core operations: ownership and management of primarily tankers, but also bulk carriers. The analysis will focus on highlighting the resources and capabilities the group employed throughout its history, and the strategies it implemented, which led to its steady growth and maintained its leadership position in a highly dynamic and volatile business environment.

At the same time, it will emphasize the elements that continue to define the "Onassis identity" of the enterprise, five decades after the founder's death. The volume will be a highly original publication, without parallel in Greek literature, and with very limited counterparts internationally. The combination of extensive archival sources from the business and philanthropic foundation with interviews from individuals actively involved either in the Foundation or in the company itself makes this project an innovative endeavor in its own right.