Ioannis Boutaris Ioannis Boutaris was born in Thessaloniki (1942). He is a graduate of the Department of Chemistry of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and holds the Diploma of Oenology from the Wine Institute (1967). He has served as Deputy Director, Technical Director and Managing Director of the family business J. Boutaris & Son Wineries S.A. (1969 – 1996). In 1996 he stepped down from the family business and founded “Kyr-Yiannis S.A.” with the homonymous wines and wineries at the privately owned vineyards at Yianakohori Naoussa and Amyndeon, which is currently managed by his two sons.

Ioannis Boutaris served as a city councilor of Thessaloniki for two terms (2002-2006 and 2006-2010). He led the party “Initiative for Thessaloniki” during the 2006 and 2010 elections as a candidate for the mayor’s office. In November of 2010 he was elected Mayor of Thessaloniki for the first time (2011-2014) and in May of 2014 for a second term (2014-2019).

He has served as President and member of the administration of several professional, cultural, and environmental organizations since 1980, such as the Assembly of European Wine-producing Regions, the International Academy of Wine, the Greek Wine Federation, the Thessaloniki Film Festival, WWF Greece, the Thessaloniki Tourism Organization. He was a founding member of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, the non-governmental organization ARCTUROS, focusing on the protection of wildlife fauna and natural habitat.

In June 2015 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the Faculty of Oenology and Beverage Technology of the Athens University of Applied Sciences. He was received many national and international distinctions.