Former PM Karamanlis, new president of SEKE
Former Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Group of Companies of the Cooperative Union of Tobacco Producers of Greece (SEKE S.A.).
As pointed out in the relevant announcement, “for the Board of Directors and the entire family of SEKE, the election of Mr. Kostas Karamanlis to the Presidency of the Group is particularly honorable.
It is certain that his administrative experience, his knowledge, his international contacts, his great interest in the primary sector and his care for the agricultural world will effectively contribute to the strengthening of the strategic development that the company has been following with dynamism in recent years , both in domestically as well as in the international market, remaining faithful to the values and principles that its cooperative character advocates for its support of Greek primary production”.
What colleagues of Kostas Karamanlis said about his decision
“After the announcement of his decision to complete his parliamentary career, Mr. Kostas Karamanlis received many worthwhile cooperation proposals. The extremely honorable proposal of the Board of Directors of SEKE to assume the position of the Group’s president meets a number of criteria that weighed on the final decision of Mr. Karamanlis to accept it” note associates of the former prime minister and add:
“The importance of the primary sector for the Greek economy, regional development and social cohesion is enormous.
SEKE is not owned, managed, or dependent on a natural person. It is a cooperative enterprise that is essentially controlled by the producers themselves.
SEKE is a model, modern, healthy, dynamically developing and outgoing Greek company. With a dominant position in the domestic market, but also a strong and constantly growing presence in SE Europe.
SEKE is now in the phase of implementing a new ambitious business plan that concerns the gathering, processing, standardization and promotion of branded agricultural products (olive oil, honey, fruits and juices) in the Greek but mainly in foreign markets.
SEKE is based in Xanthi and the center of its activities in Thrace. Its contribution to economic development, social cohesion and the perspective of Thrace is particularly important”.
What is SEKE?
SEKE was founded in 1947 by the great co-operative and political leader Alexandros Baltatzis and is made up of co-operative organizations from regions mainly in Northern Greece.
The company is based in Xanthi and has subsidiaries and privately owned facilities in most neighboring countries. It sources agricultural products from more than 11,000 tobacco producers and employs a total of more than 1,000 workers in the countries in which it operates.
Its field of activity is the processing and export of tobacco to more than 30 countries, the production, processing and export of fruit and the production and marketing of quality Greek agri-food products (olive oil, olives, honey and juices).
SEKE is a model of a successful cooperative company that operates in the primary sector of our country, with a profitable course and an important contribution to local communities over time.
