When Michael Tsamaz (BBA’84) looks back over his career – both in his home country of Greece and around the globe – he’s most proud of helping to turn around his country during a time of unprecedented financial crisis and contributing to a more positive Greek culture.
Michael served as chair and CEO of OTE Group from 2010-2024 and led the transformation of the former state-owned telecommunications company into a modern, customer-oriented technology powerhouse that enabled Greece’s digital transformation. It’s not an exaggeration to state that OTE Group's turnaround was a key contributor to the country’s economic growth during a period of crisis. The company’s investments in telecommunications infrastructure enabled high-speed internet access for millions of households and businesses, and combined with ICT solutions for businesses and government, helped Greece modernize its economy and improve quality of life for its citizens. As one of the biggest companies on the Greek stock exchange, its fate and financial health reverberate throughout the national economy.
OTE Group, a member of the Deutsche Telekom Group, is now one of the leading telecom groups in south-eastern Europe. Michael says that to get to this point, they “had to go through tough times and a radical structural overhaul, all against the backdrop of a severe financial and social crisis, and a volatile geopolitical environment.”
In 2010, just as Michael took the helm of the company, Greece’s unemployment hit 50% and the country had declared bankruptcy. He remembers, “the company was carrying €5.5 billion in debt and refinancing wasn’t an option. As the Greek saying goes, anything I lifted, I found a problem. Plus, we were on our own because our parent company was distancing themselves from Greece in case the country was kicked out of the EU. It was a huge challenge.”
“I set to work forming a business strategic and operational plan for long-term turnaround. We looked ahead to the future, we put customer-service and sustainability first, and planned our transformation in phases. The first was to fix the basics and grow. We focused on optimizing operations in our core business and new revenue streams, establishing a customer-centric philosophy, and investing in new generation networks. This phase took us to 2016, and in those six years we recovered financially. Our net debt was reduced by almost 50 percent and we were far and away the largest investor in telecommunications in Greece.”
“The next phase was to digitize and simplify. We designed and implemented a 360 digital transformation strategy to improve efficiencies, achieve economies of scale and offer an unprecedented customer experience. We invested in expanding Broadband, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) and 5G mobile networks to enable our customers and country to succeed in the digital era. We rejuvenated our workforce with 3,500 young digital talents, and we invested in the reskilling and upskilling of our people. The third phase began in 2021 with a new vision to transform from a telecom operator into a Digital Services provider incorporating the ESG principles as an integral part of the strategic plan. We had already been, since 2010, one of the first companies in our region to adopt the principles of sustainable development and corporate responsibility and integrate them into our overall strategy, operations, and actions. As a result, we’ve already been achieving results in climate neutrality, the circular economy, inclusion & equal opportunities, and digital society for all.”
For Michael, the path to transformational leadership was one that begαn in Fredericton at the University of New Brunswick. “UNB played a crucial role in my development – it was there that I became interested in business and it was there that I was trained in how to learn, and the importance of continued learning.”
Michael arrived in Canada in 1978 to pursue a degree in computer science – a novel academic route at the time – and UNB was one of the top universities in the field. He had never travelled outside of Greece and his English was not great. Along with a high school classmate, he decided to take the adventure and they landed in Canada to study English to pass the proficiency exam required to be admitted to university. “We were quite daring and took the chance of entering Canada on a tourist visa, so I could only take English language studies part-time in Fredericton. A few months later I got the required 90% on my proficiency exam and was accepted at UNB. I went home, applied for a student visa, and returned in September of 1979 to begin my studies. A Greek family (the Jimmy Chatzidakis family, the owners of Luna Pizza at the time) provided tremendous support which was critical especially during my first a couple of years in the country. I loved Fredericton, the friends I made there, UNB and its people, the ELP director, Mrs. Mary Murrey and Charles (Chad) McCarthy, Lianne Smith, and the faculty and staff in the business program. I had great professors and the conversations both inside and outside of the classroom really helped shape me. I began in Computer Science but took business electives. I remember my accounting professor, Barbara Trenholm, motiving us to start up a student investment club to gain hands-on knowledge of trading stocks and investments – it was the beginning of what turned into the very successful Student Investment Fund. For me, it was the start of a career in business. It sparked something in me and I switched degrees. UNB through its people, its teaching, the opportunities – and the second chance it gave me – played an instrumental role in developing my personality by giving me the foundations and the self confidence I needed for pursuing a successful and rewarding career.”
“UNB played a crucial role in my development – it was there that I became interested in business and it was there that I was trained in how to learn, and the importance of continued learning.”
He returned to Greece to do his obligatory military service for the country. “While I was in boot camp training, I was selected to become an officer, a second lieutenant, and that gave me experience in managing people and projects. I always looked for the opportunity to learn from wherever I was in any given situation, and that certainly proved helpful to my career. When I completed my service, I wanted to go back to Canada, but as an only child I felt obliged to stay closer to my parents. So, I sent out applications to big multinational companies and was offered a job as a management trainee at Procter & Gamble. It was a dream of any business graduate at that time to work for a marketing giant like that, so I was grateful for the experience.”
Michael also did stints at other multinationals like Mobil Oil, Warner Lambert and Phillip Morris International. “I landed the job as head of marketing with Phillip Morris when I was just 31 years old. I stayed for eight years, helping grow operations in Greece and Israel, and then, from their European headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, developing operations in 16 ex-Soviet Union countries. I learned a lot about marketing, logistics, modernizing operations, general management, and international expansion. I eventually wanted to move away from tobacco into a less controversial space – ideally in technology. One day, in 1998, the phone rang, and a recruiter asked if I would go back to Athens to take the job of chief commercial officer for a telecom company, Vodafone, that was going public on the Greek stock market. They wanted my international marketing and sales experience and I accepted. The major task amongst others was to establish a consumer-oriented commercial department based on FMCG best practices.”
Then, in 2001, the state-owned telecom, Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) came calling. They wanted, for the first time, to hire someone outside of government to help manage international investments (they had acquired other state-owned telecom companies as well as licenses in six Balkan countries). “At the time, Greece was abuzz with talk of scandals within state-owned companies. My friends and colleagues thought I was crazy to consider it. I had no network within the government. But I was excited by the challenge. I accepted the role of VP, International Operations. I progressively took on more responsibility and became CEO of international operations which were turned around successfully, and later, CEO of international wholesale, OTEGLOBE s.a. and eventually CEO of COSMOTE s.a. – the jewel mobile subsidiary. We focused on holistic customer experience and re-establishing the brand as the love brand. Within three years we achieved record performance on all KPIs and further increased the gap from our competitors. We had become the only unit to generate significant cash flow for the Hellenic Telecom group.”
In 2009, Deutsche Telekom bought a 30% stake in OTE, fulfilling the Greek government’s desire for a European strategic investor. “Deutche Telecom selected me as the most suitable candidate for the position of CEO. I rejected the offer unless a condition I had set was met: to be also selected by the Greek government as the chairman of the group. I got a call from the Greek Minister of Finance who wanted to find out why I had turned down the role of CEO. I paused. Greece had just declared bankruptcy. The company was losing 10% of its revenue. It had all kinds of problems with inefficiencies. The company was the largest employer in Greece with more than 20,000 employees and indirectly supporting more than 70,000 job positions in the country. It represented 4-5% of GDP. This was going to be a huge challenge. I countered that do to what was best for the company, its people, its customers and for the country, I had to be the undisputable leader without an internal political appointee who would act as an opposition front anytime difficult decisions were to be implemented. I needed to be allowed to do whatever was required to turn things around. The next day, October 22, 2010, it was announced that I was assuming the role of chairman and CEO of Hellenic Telecom Organization S.A. (HTO.AT).”
Michael recruited talented colleagues from across Europe, knowing he needed “capable, young and hungry business executives.” “I formed a management team of ten very knowledgeable people: engineers, IT gurus, marketing, and customer service experts. We travelled from one country to the other identifying problems and rewriting business plans. We turned it around.” He says that one of the reasons they were successful was that they were strongly bonded as a team and always looked into the future to prepare for what was coming. “I had a great training ground through my studies at UNB and then with international experience at big companies. Combined, it taught me to be open minded and look forward, to understand the big picture.”
“I learned from Harvard case studies at UNB, and now to be part of one was surreal.”
The turnaround at OTE was so significant that Harvard University came calling and wrote not one but two case studies. The study entitled “OTE: Managing in Times of National Crisis” is used at universities around the world as an example of how to manage in adverse economic environments. “I learned from Harvard case studies at UNB, and now to be part of one was surreal.”
In fact, Michael has returned to UNB to the Faculty of Management in recent years to provide personal insight into the case study for current students. In 2019, he gave time to his alma mater as Executive-in-Residence. “Returning to UNB and bringing my family to show them where I lived and studied brought up a lot of emotions. It was a joy to return because Fredericton was my home away from home. I experienced so much support and feel very obliged to UNB.”
Michael stepped down from OTE in June 2024 and has since joined boards of software and high-tech defense companies and founded an advisory consulting firm. He has received many accolades throughout his career, including being named to the list of top 100 powerful people in telecommunications, receiving an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration by the University of Piraeus, being promoted to the rank of honorary Brigadier General by the Greek Defence Forces command, and receiving the Alumni Certificate of Achievement from the Faculty of Management at UNB. He is also frequently invited as a guest lecturer by universities to transfer his knowledge and experience to students. But one of the things he gets most excited about is bringing pride back to the Greek people.
“When our country was struggling, we continually heard condemnation of Greeks and Greek culture. It was very negative and toxic, and I didn’t want our kids growing up hearing that and believing it. I wanted to remind our people and relay to our kids, our history, our culture, our values, the contribution of Greek civilization to western civilization. I desired to exploit the success story of OTE which had become an oasis in the storm, to develop a history channel which not only would educate our younger generation but also help lift Greek people up. I instructed our commercial team to develop it, to be produced by our Pay TV subsidiary. We bought and developed original documentaries highlighting Greek history, culture, customs, and traditions. Its impact has been proven to be significant.”
Michael is an example of what can be achieved when you face a crisis with calm and treat it as an opportunity. His leadership, promotion of the Greek economy and his contribution to Hellenism and society is admirable. “I’m proud to have been able to serve my country and shareholders in a positive way.”
