PAOK FC President Ivan Savvidis is a public person, member of the Presidential Council of International Relations, President of the National Cultural Autonomy of Greeks in Russia, Coordinator of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) of the countries of the Former Soviet Union, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the «Agrocom Group» Holding Company, an outstanding philanthropist and benefactor and honorary citizen of Greece.

Ivan Savvidis was born on 27 March 1959 in the village of Santa, in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. Greek by birth, he is the eighth child in a family of workers. He is married and has two sons.

After finishing secondary school at Martinovski in the Rostov region, he went to serve in the Soviet Army. He was honourably discharged in the rank of sergeant major. In1980 he was hired as worker in the Rostov Tobacco Factory.

In 1988 he graduated from the logistic faculty of Rostov State University of Economics. He then completed his doctorate on Economic Science and has published 10 essays on marketing and logistics. In 1993 he was elected General Manager of the «Donskoy Tabak» company.

In 1998 Ivan Savvidis kicked off his political career and he was member of the Legislative Assembly of the Rostov region up to 2003. In December 2003 he was elected member of the State Duma of 4th convocation. In April 2004 he became the vice-chairman of Budget and Taxation Committee.

In April 2007 he was reelected in the Russian Federation State Duma of 5th convocation. During that tenure, he was Member of the International Affairs Committee and Coordinator of the Interparliamentary Relations Group with the Greek Parliament. He also served as vice-chairman of the External Politics Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Russia-Belarus Union.

Since 2012 Ivan Savvidis holds the chairman position of the Board of Directors of the «AgrokomGroup» Holding Company, founded by himself in 2004.

Today the range of Ivan Savvidis’ business group is spanning worldwide and consists of three enterprises:

• Russian firm «AgrokomGroup» consists of: the meat business complex “Tavr” (the biggest cooked pork meat factory in South Russia), the tobacco business complex “Donskoy Tabak” (the only Russian “player” in the international tobacco sector with a 8% share), the agricultural business complex (greenhouses and fishery facilities), the “Millenium” group of companies (distributor and retail companies) and other companies.
• The international company “Atlantis-Pak” (with branches in Russia, Czech Republic and Germany) specializes in bottling, casing and packing food. It is included in the top three worldwide companies in their sector.

Ivan Savvidis is engaged in social activities, presides over the Federal National and Cultural Autonomy of Russian-Greeks and is Coordinator of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) of the Former Soviet Union countries. Since 2012 he is a member of the Presidential Council of International Affairs.

In 2013, he was awarded the status of honorary citizen of Greece for his special role in the strengthening of the bond between Russia and Greece and for his contribution to the Greek nation, Greek republic, world Orthodoxy and his incessant social and philanthropic activity.

Ivan Savvidis is especially sensible to all social causes and has brought to life a charitable foundation that bears his name and launches programs aimed at the spiritual revival and restoration of Orthodox shrines, the creative development of youth, the promotion of healthy lifestyle and the boosting of cultural, educational, scientific and research projects. The annual volume of charitable payments made by the foundation is 2, 5 million euros.

Sports hold a special place in Ivan Savvidis’ life. He was the president of Russian top-flight club FC Rostov and then took over the reins of SKA Rostov of the second tier. Today Ivan Savvidis supports financially the handball team Rostov-Don, the International Chess Federation, the Billiard Federation of South Russia and sponsors other sports as well. 

Ivan Savvidis’ public, social and economic activities and his contribution to the social and financial development of Russia have earned him numerous state awards, such as the medals for the “Order of Merit for the Motherland” of II and IV degrees, the Medal of Honour and the medal for his contribution to the revival of Don’s Cossacks. He has also been honoured by the President of the Russian Federation, the Patriarch of Moscow, the Prefecture of Rostov and the Mayor of Rostov-on-Don.