Costas Yannopoulos was born in Athens in 1952.
He attended the Economic High School of Piraeus, and after completing his military service, he studied Marketing in the
United Kingdom.
While working to earn a living, he graduated from the WALTHAM FOREST COLLEGE in the field of Marketing &
Management Studies.
Completing the curriculum and currently working at the Embassy of Greece in London, he continued attending BSC
Marketing courses at BIRKBECK, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON.
In 1980, he returned to Greece and took up the position of managing director of “Grundy electronics Intl A.E.V.E.”
(Grundy electronics Intl Commercial & Industrial S.A.), a member of the London-based Grundy group.
The career path continued in 1983 when he created a business selling computers, software and integrated solutions for
home and businesses, including tech support. At the same time, he was a partner in the family business, which he
expanded, focusing on the technology sector.
During his career he has worked with world-renowned companies such as IBM, Hewlett Packard and others.
Costas Yannopoulos stopped all business activities when his youngest son, Andreas, was diagnosed with cancer at the
age of 10. While fighting hard for his life, young Andreas envisioned the creation of an organization that would undertake
the support and protection of all children in need. The 10-year-old Andreas Yannopoulos, as he wrote in his personal
diary, believed that every child deserves a smile and for this reason he named the Association “The Smile of the Child”.
When Andreas passed away in December 1995, Costas Yannopoulos devoted his life to fulfil his son’s wish. From its first
steps, citizens and businesses embraced the vision of young Andreas and became warm friends and supporters of the
Organization.
“The Smile of the Child” has been present for 27 years and has become a benchmark in the field of children’s rights
protection, having developed a wide range of services and practices aimed at protecting children and families in the
critical areas of Violence, Health, Disappearance and Poverty.
Aiming to increase its effectiveness, develop expertise and exchange good practices in the field,
“The Smile of the Child” participates in International Organizations and Networks for the protection of children’s rights,
cooperates with important institutions abroad and implements a series of programs in various fields related to the
protection of children’s rights.
Among others, Costas Yannopoulos is the Chairman of the Board of the European Antibullying Network (EAN)
continuously since 2012, and a member of the BoD of the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children
(ICMEC).
In 2014, he was awarded the European Citizen’s Prize by the European Parliament for the outstanding contribution of
“The Smile of the Child” to the protection of children’s rights.
In 2021, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate at the Department of Education and Social Work of the University of
Patras by the same Department, in honor of his 27 years of uninterrupted and substantial contribution to any child in
need or at risk.