George Economou
Founder
TMS Group

George Economou has over 48 years of experience in the global shipping industry. He is a self-made entrepreneur, having grown his company to rank among the top three privately owned shipping companies in Greek shipping, and among the largest privately owned shipping groups globally.
He started his own company with an initial capital $400,000 back in 1986, after having held management roles in other shipping companies for 10 years. Since 1986 he has been investing privately and managed numerous vessels and newbuilding projects in several sectors. Companies of his interests currently own more than 150 vessels, inclusive of newbuildings in the Drybulk, Liquefied Natural Gas segments, Crude Oil and Refined Petroleum Products.
He founded Dryships Inc. and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since its initial public offering back in 2005 until its privatization in 2019. In 2007, Mr. Economou acquired, and expanded Ocean Rig UDW a NASDAQ listed ultra-deep water drilling company where he served as Chairman. The Company was acquired by Transocean Ltd in 2018.
Through his family office, he has been an active investor across many disciplines and different sectors including real estate, art and technology. He is a Board Member in various companies and institutions including the Union of Greek Shipowners, the Tate Foundation Board of Trustees and the Dia Art Foundation Board of Trustees. He has made various donations for art-related projects world-wide and provided philanthropic support to various organizations internationally.
Mr. Economou is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and a Master of Science in Shipping and Shipbuilding Management.