Nikolaos Metaxas
Nikolaos Metaxas, age 94, founder of the Metaxas Group of Companies S.A., died on Sunday, 21 June, 2009.
He was born in Crete in 1915 and graduated from the National Technical University of Athens in 1939. He married Theano Kanakaki with whom he had five children.
He is remembered by his associates as a man with a vision and a passion for whatever he did; a man that did not hesitate to adopt innovative ideas and implement them.
As a civil engineer he had successfully executed projects throughout Greece.
In 1947 he created the AKEK company in Crete, which produced building materials (bricks and tiles) and in 1971 he focused on the tourism industry and laid down the foundations for the creation of the Metaxas Group of Companies. The group kept the lead in tourism evolution and development not only in Crete but in all of Greece.
He founded the company TEAV SA tourism and built the Creta Maris (Creta Maris Convention & Golf Resort), a 1,100-bed luxury hotel in Hersonissos, Crete. The hotel was completed in a record time of 30 months and began operations in 1975.
This hotel of Aegean architecture became a starting point for the tourism development of the region to attract visitors of a high-income level.
Mr. Metaxas believed that the creation and development of hotels could not but reflect the philosophy of development, quality, innovation and achieving distinction not only in Greece but also on a European level.
Today, the Metaxas Group of Companies owns the Creta Maris Convention & Golf Resort, Terra Maris Convention & Golf Resort, Movenpick Resort & Thalasso (Candia Maris), the Creta Maris Conference Center and the Minoan International School of Tourism Management. The group also holds shares in the Crete Golf Club and also in the Aegis Hotels & Resorts mtd company and Aegeo Spa Consulting Management Solutions.