John S. Koudounis

John Spiro Koudounis is an American business executive who serves as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Calamos Investments. He was previously president and CEO of Mizuho Securities USA Inc., a subsidiary of Japanese banking and holding company Mizuho Financial Group.[1]

Koudounis is the founder of the Chicago CEO COVID-19 Coalition. He is a member of the Leadership Council at Concordia and of the Bretton Woods Committee.

Early life and education

Raised in Chicago, Koudounis attended Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois, where he was the class president. He played basketball and American football.[2] He interned for Senator John Chafee and at Kidder Peabody, where he worked during the Black Monday stock market crash in 1987. In 1988, he graduated from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, earning a double major in International Diplomacy and Economics.[3]

Career

Koudounis began his financial career at Merrill Lynch[2] in 1988, immediately after graduating from Brown University. He then joined ABN AMRO's North American branch, where he spent 12 years as the head of fixed income.[4][5]

In 2008, Koudounis joined Mizuho Securities USA Inc. as executive managing director and head of fixed income,[6] overseeing trading, sales, and investment banking activities. In the following year, under his leadership, the fixed income division reported record earnings for the firm.[2] In 2010, at the age of 44, he was appointed president and CEO of the company, becoming the youngest CEO of a Wall Street firm up to that point in time.[2]

In early 2016, Koudounis was the designated CEO of Calamos Investments, an investment firm headquartered in Naperville, Illinois. He was appointed by founder John Calamos, Sr.[7] as part of Calamos' succession plan.[8] Koudounis oversees the business operations of the firm.[9]

Koudounis is the founder of the Chicago CEO COVID-19 Coalition, an organization created in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide relief for the city and bring Chicago's business leaders together. The coalition distributed over $1.5 million in proceeds from its televised fundraising.[10][11]

Koudounis is a member of the Leadership Council at Concordia[12] and the Bretton Woods Committee.[13] He is a member of the board of trustees of the National Hellenic Museum,[14] and an executive advisory board member for the SEAL Future Foundation.[15] He is a founding board member and executive committee member of The Hellenic Initiative.[16] He is a member of Leadership 100[17] and Chairman of the Metropolis of Chicago Foundation.[18] In 2016, he was inducted as an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Order of St. Andrew.[19]

Personal life

Koudounis was born in 1966 and raised in Lincolnwood, Illinois, and he is the son of George and Dina Koudounis. His father, George, was a United States Navy veteran of World War II who had roles to support the family, including managing properties and operating a hotdog wagon in Chicago’s Old Town. His mother, Dina, continues to live in his childhood home in Lincolnwood.

While attending Brown University, Koudounis faced the death of his father during his freshman year, an event, as he stated required him to mature quickly. He is a member of the Greek-American community and is involved in several Hellenic philanthropic organizations. Through 'The Hellenic Initiative', he has supported programs providing of food aid, student internships, and funding for start-up companies in Greece.

Koudounis is married to Joanne Koudounis. The couple has twin daughters, Constance and Demi, who were named after their grandmothers. Koudounis maintains residences and offices in both New York and Chicago. Outside of his business career, he has expressed an interest in global leadership and macroeconomic policy.[2]

See also

• Financial services
• List of Brown University people