J&P founder dies, aged 91
GEORGE Paraskevaides, co-founder of the Joannou and Paraskevaides (J&P) construction giant and renowned philanthropist, died yesterday at The London Clinic, aged 91.
Paraskevaides was born in Athens in 1916, but moved with his family to Cyprus soon after his birth, where he attended the Pancyprian Gymnasium in Nicosia and studied architecture at the Milan Polytechnic in Italy.
The rags-to-riches tale of the founders of one of the leading construction and development companies in the world started when Paraskevaides, fresh out of university after World War II, partnered with Stelios Joannou to establish J&P.
Together they set off on a journey that would take six decades and span across the Middle East, North Africa, Cyprus and the Balkans, starting with renting construction equipment and later becoming civil engineers and contractors for major projects under British-ruled Cyprus and other territories.
By 1961, the two partners established Joannou & Paraskevaides (Overseas) Ltd. based in London that soon became one of the world’s leading construction enterprises with activities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The company’s activities presently cover the entire spectrum of construction business enabling it to undertake almost every type of project from hotels and office buildings, to residential complexes and palaces, highways, airports and ports, as well military bases and oil and gas facilities.
With an annual turnover of around $738 million and workforce exceeding 16,000, J&P was ranked 45th in the world in ENR-Engineering News Record’s 2006 survey of the world’s top 225 contractors.
Beyond J&P, the Paraskevaides Group includes Cosmos Developers in Cyprus and Greece and GP Homes in the US, medical distributors Phadisco, consumer goods distributors Christodoulides Bros, EP Global Energy and maintains interests in Pepsi Co. bottling plants and KFC franchises in Cyprus and the region, as well as hotels in Cyprus and Greece.
Often described as a humble man of few words and great actions, Paraskevaides, as his recently deceased partner Stelios Ioannou, constantly supported social and community projects.
J&P maintains a social policy to give something back to the community. This includes the George and Thelma Paraskevaides Foundation which sends sick Cypriot children to the US for medical care.
The foundation has provided numerous scholarships for less fortunate Cypriots. Paraskevaides also founded the Cyprus Kidney Association, the Surgical and Transplant Foundation and the Cyprus Heart Association.
Paraskevaides received several prestigious honors, including the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, the Order of Oman III, Class Civil by Sultan Qaboos of Oman, the Rotary Foundation Medal, and the Medal of Merit of the Lions International Club of Nicosia, the St. Paul’s Medal by the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of North and South America, and the St. Marcus Medal by the Pontifice.
He was an honorary citizen of Nicosia and also received the Golden Apple Award from Mayor Edward Koch, of New York. He was awarded the Aristotelian Award by the Greek-American Organization AHEPA, the Person of the Year for 1986 by the Hellenic-American Neighborhood Action Committee, and Distinguished Hellene Award by the Hellenic Medical Society of New York and the Freedom Award of the Pancyprian Association of America.
Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos expressed in a written statement his profound and sincere grief for Paraskevaides’ death, noting that Cyprus owes a lot to him.
“He was a model of humanity, dignity and kindness. He offered a lot in a selfless way to those who needed help and was a benefactor for Cyprus, serving his country with patriotism,” the statement said.
“He leaves behind him charity work for which he will be dearly remembered as a man of high moral standards,” he added.
