Michael Herodotou Zampelas (19 March 1937 – 15 May 2019) was a Cypriot

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Career

Michael Zampelas, a Cypriot by birth, was educated in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and became a Chartered Accountant in 1965. In 1970, together with his associates, he established Coopers & Lybrand, an

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

and

consulting firm A consulting firm or simply consultancy is a professional service firm that provides expertise and specialised labour for a fee, through the use of consultants. Consulting firms may have one employee or thousands; they may consult in a broad ra ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, thus opening new horizons for the development of the accounting profession in Cyprus and

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. As a result of a merger in 1998, the firm was renamed

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...

. He served as an elected member of the board of the European Organisation of Coopers & Lybrand Europe (1991-1999). Michael Zampelas served the firm as its

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

and

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

from its establishment in 1970 until 2001 and as a non- Executive Chairman from 2002 until 2005. Today, PricewaterhouseCoopers in Cyprus employs around 1000 partners and staff. It is the leading professional services firm on the island, providing industry-focused assurance,

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

, advisory services, global compliance for public and private clients. He was the Honorary Consul General of

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

in Cyprus, beginning in 1997. He contributed substantially to the development of the commercial and cultural relations between the two countries. The

President of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia () is the head of state of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia is one of the few parliam ...

awarded him the title of the

Order of the National Coat of Arms The Order of the National Coat of Arms (, ) was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared. The Order of the National Coat of Arms is bestowed only on Est ...

. As an independent candidate, Zampelas won the municipal elections and took office as the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

, the capital of Cyprus, on 1 January 2002. He served as Mayor until 31 December 2006. In 2007 he was honored by the next Mayor and the Municipal Council for his services as Mayor and he was awarded the honorary medal of the city of Nicosia. Parallel with his professional activities, Zampelas developed a very intense activity for the promotion of Cyprus internationally focusing on the financial rebuild and development of the country. Zampelas was actively promoting Cyprus through the extensive network of PricewaterhouseCoopers worldwide and through his connections with large

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

ing and

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organisations,

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s and other offices abroad by delivering presentations at

seminar A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some part ...

s and meetings in various countries and by giving interviews in the international media. A count of around 160 such presentations all over the world was recorded in a period of 20 years. Zampleas was one of the initiators who contributed greatly to the enhancement of the image of the accounting profession in Cyprus which is now considered by international experts as equal to that of the

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and other

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. In 2007 he was honored by the board of The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus for his visionary services to the accounting and

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

ing profession in Cyprus and in 2010 he was awarded by the same institute the first prize for his contribution in the development of the accounting and auditing profession and the economy of Cyprus. His social contribution to the educational, cultural, community and business levels has been continuous. He was honoured and decorated by a number of social and business institutions. He served as president or member of the board of many social institutions and business organisations.

Served positions throughout his career

A number of positions in institutions and organisations are shown below.

Social institutions

*Current president of the Association of the Friends Christou Steliou Ioannou Foundation - for children with special needs *President of the Cyprus Foundation for Muscular Dystrophy Research – People with muscular dystrophy *President of the Institute of Neurology and Genetics – Bi-communal research and medical centre *Member of the board of the Lions Care for Youth Foundation-helping youth in need *Member of the board of Old Peoples Home – Archangelos Michael *Member of the board of Boy Scouts Organisation in Cyprus *President of Achilleas Kaimakliou Athletic Organisation

Business organisations

*President of the Cyprus Russian Business Association *Member of the board of the Nicosia Chamber of Commerce and Industry *Member of board of The Cyprus Employers Organisation *President of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus *President of the Cyprus Port Authority *President of the Cyprus Forest Industries *President of the Union of Municipalities in Cyprus *President of the Nicosia Sewerage Board *President of the Kofinou Slaughter House *Current vice chairman of the Eurobank Cyprus Ltd and former chairman of its Audit Committee. *Current member of the board of directors of Globaltans Investment Plc, a company quoted in the London Stock Exchange and former chairman of its Audit Committee. *Member of the board of Arricano Real EstatePlc, a company quoted in the London Stock Exchange and chairman of its Audit Committee

Other

* Loan Commissioner of the Government of Cyprus * Member of a number of Commissions of Enquiry

Personal life

He was married to Loukia, and had three daughters. Loukia Zampelas is also very actively involved in the community and with public issues. They were collectors of art and played a very important role in promoting

Cypriot Art Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. In 1999, Michael Zampelas founded the company Zampelas Art with the purpose of establishing a complete Art Centre for the promotion of art and culture in Cyprus and abroad. The company has created the Loukia and Michael Zampelas Art Museum, a non-profit private organisation, which houses the permanent collection of the Zampelas family and also organises temporary exhibitions of artists from Cyprus and abroad. Furthermore, other art-related ventures were created, under the brand name Zmart. These are: Zmart Education, Zmart Gallery, Zmart Shop, Zmart Café and Zmart Framing.

References

External links

Loukia & Michael Art Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zampelas, Michalis 1937 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Cypriot businesspeople Mayors of places in Cyprus People from Nicosia District Mayors of Nicosia