Theodore G Spyropoulos

Theodore G. Spyropoulos may be known to most as current World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) USA Region Coordinator, but he’s also an accomplished businessman in the Chicago area. Born and raised in Kalavryta, Greece, at age 14, Spyropoulos went to Athens for his high school studies. He studied Political Science in Sweden. In Sweden, he met his artist wife, Erika Knickman Spyropoulos. After completing his military service in the Greek navy between 1962 and 1964, he and his wife immigrated to the U.S., where his brothers lived. Previously, the family had arrived in the U.S. in 1888, with his grandparents Theodore and Aglaia Spyropoulos establishing the successful Maple Leaf chocolate company, which was a source of employment for many Greek immigrants over the years. Within a few years of establishing themselves in their new country, Spyropoulos and his wife founded T.G.S. National Wholesalers in 1975. The company specializes in wholesaling of automotive parts and its operations extend to Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East. One business led to another. In 1980, the couple launched, T.G.S. Petroleum Co, Inc. In 2009, select assets of the company were acquired by World Fuel Services Corporation, a Miami, Fla.-based international supplier of marine, aviation and land fuel. In 1985, he was a co-founder of CAM2 International, a motor oil lubricants company purchased from Sunoil. CAM2 International continues to grow, with over $500 million in annual sales. The company produces agricultural and industrial chemicals too – all of which are made at four refineries in the U.S. Since 1976 he has complete ownership of A&T Holding Company, which is a real estate holding company. He was previously director of Swiss-based GTE Engineering, Automotive Wholesalers of Illinois. Spyropoulos has been President of SAE USA since 2006, involved in the reorganization of SAE’s international organization to be politically and financially independent from the Greek government. He was among the founders that year and a president of the American Hellenic Institute in Washington, D.C. He also was the first president of the Hellenic American National Council, founded in 1991. He is currently a chairman of Hermes Expo International. He was president of the ENOSIS Federation of Hellenic American Organizations of Illinois between 1991-2006. Among his many distinctions, Spyropoulos is most proud of his Ellis Island Medal of Honor received in 2001, a tribute to his family’s early roots in America. He and wife have one daughter, Mariyana, who is an attorney and an environmental commissioner in Cook County.