A Greek shipping executive with no prior football ownership experience has taken control of AEL, one of Greece's most hi...

A Greek shipping executive with no prior football ownership experience has taken control of AEL, one of Greece's most historic clubs. Stylianos Zisis, a Larissa-born shipbroker connected to Genoa Shipping and Intermodal Shipbrokers, was presented as the new president of PAE AEL at a joint press conference alongside outgoing chairman Achilleas Ntavelis. The transfer process is in its final stages and is expected to be completed shortly. Zisis inherits a club in serious difficulty. AEL was recently relegated to Super League 2, and the new owner acknowledged from day one that immediate squad reinforcement, internal restructuring, and a modern operational model are all priorities. He named financial stability and competitive recovery as his core targets. On his first day in Larissa in his new role, Zisis met with Thessaly Regional Governor Dimitris Kouretas. Both sides stated their intention to maintain open communication and build cooperation on the club's future. Zisis was born in Canada to parents from Larissa and returned to Greece with his family during his school years. He studied Business Administration at the TEI of Kozani before completing two postgraduate degrees in the UK, one in Maritime Business at Liverpool John Moores University and a second in Shipping, Trade and Finance at Cass Business School in London, now known as Bayes Business School. He built his career in ship sale and purchase brokerage, working in London before returning to Greece in 2015. He has been with Intermodal Shipbrokers since December 2019. His own company, Genoa Shipping, based in Voula, grew a fleet of four bulk cargo vessels, including the "Lardos", "Panagia Giallousa", "Serenity", and "Agia Anna", operating routes spanning West Africa, the United States, and Asia. In April of this year, Zisis co-founded a scholarship fund for the Shipping, Trade and Finance master's program at Bayes Business School, contributing 10,000 pounds of an initial 30,000-pound fund. The remaining 20,000 pounds came from shipping magnate Yiannis Prokopiou. #AEL #GreekFootball #Shipping