Former Goldman Sachs trader becomes head of Greece’s left-wing main opposition party
Stefanos Kasselakis beats former Labour Minister Effie Achtsioglou in second round of leadership contest
ATHENS
A former Goldman Sachs associate and shipping entrepreneur pulled off a surprise win late Sunday to become the leader of Greece’s left-wing main opposition SYRIZA party.
Thirty-five-year-old Stefanos Kasselakis defeated former Labor Minister Effie Achtsioglou in the second round of the leadership contest by garnering nearly 57% of the vote, said Yannis Drosos, the head of SYRIZA’s Election Commission.
Having family roots in Crete, Kasselakis was born and raised in Athens.
He studied business and international relations at the University of Pennsylvania in the US.
While he was a student, he volunteered on the staff of then-Senator Joe Biden for the 2008 presidential election.
In 2009, he worked at the back-office risk management department of Goldman Sachs.
He later founded the SwiftBulk shipping company.
On Aug. 29 this year, he announced his candidacy for SYRIZA’S presidency.
In the first round of the internal party elections on Sept. 17, Kasselakis came in first among five candidates with 44.91% and around 66,000 votes.
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