Konstantinos (Costas) Fragkogiannis was born in 1959, in Northern Greece (Kavala), where he completed his basic education. Following his graduation from the British Institute of Marketing (HND), he continued his studies in the U.S., earning a BS in Business Administration and an MBA in International Management & Computer Systems from the University of San Francisco.
In June 2023, his term was renewed as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, with the portfolio of Economic Diplomacy and Openness, an office he has held since July 2019. Fragkogiannis has greatly contributed to reforms and legislation pertaining to the Ministry’s restructuring on issues of economic diplomacy and the complete revamping of Enterprise Greece (Greece’s Trade and Investment Agency) and Export Credit Greece. Dozens of FDIs have been supported under his leadership, while fast-track procedures, one-stop-shop services and lucrative incentives have been introduced, resulting in record-breaking foreign investments and a complete turn-around in Greece’s branding. Fragkogiannis has worked towards enhancing Greece’s bilateral relations with Eastern Europe, the USA, Germany, all MENA countries and Libya, among others; while he also leads the ‘positive agenda’ initiative with Turkey. The innovative “Astypalea-smart and sustainable island” project is one of his most-known achievements at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Fragkogiannis brings experience of over 30 years in the private sector, where he has held senior executive positions in major companies and groups, such as Emporiki Bank, Interbank, Delta, the Vasilakis Group, Ant1, the Viohalco Group, Vivartia, and the Chipita Group. Having successfully handled development projects worth hundreds of millions of Euro throughout the world, he has gained invaluable experience in negotiating with organizations in countries where he has overseen investments. He has led a total of 18 greenfield projects in 16 countries, 9 investment consortiums, 5 buyouts and, finally, the founding of multiple commercial enterprises in dozens of countries.
Through his many years of international experience, he has gained a wide-ranging and up-to-date perspective on what is required to effectively attract foreign investments and to promote exports and growth in the globalized economy.