Despoina Tsangari becomes the official president of the newly established Independent Consumer Protection Authority, following a proposal by the Minister of Development, Takis Theodorikakos.

According to the Ministry of Development’s announcement, her appointment was approved by majority vote during today’s session of the Standing Special Committee on Institutions and Transparency of the Greek Parliament. Minister Theodorikakos emphasized the importance of quickly and effectively establishing the new body, noting: “In accordance with the law we passed for the creation of the new independent authority, we immediately proceeded, as the transitional provisions required, with the process of selecting the first administrator.” He highlighted that “Ms. Tsangari comes from both society and the market and has full knowledge of how it functions,” calling her “the best possible choice to launch this institution during its initial and most challenging phase.”

Ms. Tsangari stated: “Knowing how the market operates and how companies function, I come as someone who wants to serve the public interest.” She added that “if this Authority is established and operates within the frameworks set by law, it will be highly effective.”

Biography of Despoina Tsangari

Born and raised in Patissia, Athens, Tsangari grew up in a household where her father ran a small furniture shop, giving her early exposure to the realities of the market, the value of hard work, customer respect, and the need for rules that ensure trust.

She completed her secondary education at Ionideios Model School in Piraeus and earned a degree in Computer Engineering and Informatics from the University of Patras. She later pursued postgraduate studies in Information Engineering at City University London, along with an MBA from EEDE in Athens.

Her professional career spans over 30 years and is self-made, beginning in 1995 at Procter & Gamble, where she held senior and executive roles both in Greece and across Europe, gaining strong foundations in multinational operations, data-driven decision-making, and complex organizational management.

Tsangari later served as President and CEO in major organizations in Greece and abroad, including Beiersdorf (Greece, Cyprus, Israel), Safilo in Italy, PepsiCo (Greece and Cyprus), and most recently NIKAS.

In all these positions, she operated in highly competitive and regulated sectors such as food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods. She is fluent in English, proficient in French, and professionally competent in Italian, allowing her to manage international organizations, collaborate with European institutions, and participate in cross-border decision-making.

Throughout her career, she has overseen general management, financial supervision, budget and internal control management, and the implementation of organizational and strategic transformations. Her extensive market experience has given her deep insight into both healthy competition and practices that could harm consumers. She has also consistently worked with regulatory authorities and institutional bodies nationally and at the EU level, including serving on the boards of SEVT (Greek Food Industries Association) and SEV (Hellenic Federation of Enterprises).

Married with a 15-year-old son, Tsangari is distinguished by her integrity, sense of responsibility, sensitivity to people and consumers, empathy, commitment to public interest, and ability to manage institutions with operational discipline and measurable outcomes.

In her new role, she pledges to strengthen market supervision mechanisms, uphold professional integrity, maintain institutional independence, protect consumer rights, and enhance the authority’s functions. Her goal is to create a framework where businesses operate with fair competition, quality, and transparency, and where citizens feel genuinely protected through modern management practices, evidence-based decisions, and transparent control mechanisms.