Christos Cotsakos
Encyclopedia
Christos M. Cotsakos is Founder, Chairman of the Board, CEO, and President of EndPlay, Inc.
and is fluent in Greek
. He is the fourth of five children. His mother worked as a store clerk and his father worked as a cook.
Cotsakos graduated from Eastside High School
in 1965. He enlisted in the US Army in 1967. He served in the Vietnam War
as a fire team leader and squad leader with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. He was honorably discharged from active duty in 1970.
Immediately following his return from Vietnam, Cotsakos quickly realized that being a weapons expert and leader while serving in the military wasn’t enough for potential employers to hire him; the need to further his education become clear after his brother John, a Paterson State student, suggested college as a way for Cotsakos to get his life on track.
Because of Cotsakos’ poor performance in high school, he used a family connection to get accepted to Paterson State College
(later William Paterson College, now University) in New Jersey.
He received an honors BA in Communications from William Paterson in 1973. In 1983, he received an honors MBA from Pepperdine University
. Cotsakos, while serving as CEO of E*TRADE Group, Inc. graduated with honors with a PhD in Economics from University of London
. In 2010, Christos Cotsakos joined the Graziadio Senior Fellows in Entrepreneurship at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management
William Paterson University honored Christos Cotsakos in May of 2001 by naming its business school the Cotsakos College of Business
.
In 2002, Dr. Cotsakos received an honorary doctorate from Hellenic College in recognition of his leadership.
In 2003, he listed his Atherton, California
home for $28 million.
Christos Cotsakos enjoys spending time with his family and friends, mentoring entrepreneurs, reading, writing, and teaching. Christos Cotsakos has traveled to Japan several times participating in Chanoyu (the Japanese tea ceremony of the Urasenke School of Tea).
, a market research firm. He was promoted to co-CEO in 1995. He left the Nielsen Company in 1996 to become CEO of E*TRADE, a financial services company. In April 2011, Cotsakos was announced as Founding Chairman, CEO and President of EndPlay, a Web Content Management System
currently serving media, entertainment and education companies.
Cotsakos co-founded and served as co-managing general partner of ArrowPath Ventures Inc from 1999 to 2003.
In 2000, Dr. Cotsakos served as a technical advisor at President Clinton’s first Cyber Security Summit at the White House.
He has also served as an advisor to the Military in the Information Age, a project on national defense and security systems technology sponsored by the Pentagon.
.
In 2001, E*TRADE experienced losses of $242 million. On April 30, 2002 E*TRADE disclosed that it had paid Cotsakos $77 million in a compensation package. On May 10, 2002 Cotsakos offered to return $21 million to E*TRADE. Nevertheless, 38 negative articles were written about Cotsakos’ excess compensation.
During Dr Cotsakos' last year as Chairman and CEO, in 2002 E*TRADE Group, Inc. reported the most profitable year in the company's history,
earning $0.45 per share from ongoing operations in 2002, delivering it's 3rd consecutive cash flow positive quarter and growing GAAP quarterly net income 41percent over the same quarter last year.
A 2002 accounting change resulted in a one-time charge for E*TRADE Group, Inc. and was the reason for a $275.9 million first quarter loss that year. Financial Accounting Standard 142 was responsible for the accounting change in which companies are required to assess the goodwill recorded from previous acquisitions and record a one-time charge that does not affect cash or operations.
Cotsakos resigned from E*TRADE on January 23, 2003.
In January 2000, E*TRADE Group, Inc. invested $5 Million in Official Payments Corp and E*TRADE Group, Inc. Chairman and CEO, Christos Cotsakos joined Official Payments Corp.'s Board of Directors.
, together with Senator Charles Hagel (Nebraska)
and James Kimsey (founder of America Online). In 2005, Cotsakos agreed to lead a nationwide effort to create an educational center near The Wall in Washington DC. In November 2005, thanks to the financial support of Cotsakos, a state of the art performing arts theatre opened at St.John's International School in Belgium.
Dr. Cotsakos is personally engaged in various civic and community activities through the Cotsakos Family Trust, of which his wife and daughter are principals. The Cotsakos Family Trust focuses on education, community outreach, and wildlife and environmental preservation.
Christos and Tami Cotsakos donate generously to his parish of St. Athanasius in Paramus, New Jersey and to William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ, of which he is an alumnus.
In 1984, Christos Cotsakos received the Chief Operating Officer’s Five Star Award for Leadership and Innovation while working at Federal Express and was instrumental in Federal Express receiving the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award in 1990.
Christos Cotsakos was invited to become a Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of London, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine from 2004 to 2006
In December 2010, Dr. Christos Cotsakos joined the Graziadio Senior Fellows in Entrepreneurship at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management.
Christos Cotsakos has been featured in a variety of media publications including:
http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/Article/1403163/The-Online-Finance-40.html
The CIO 100 (CIO August 2000)
http://www.stanford.edu/group/mfp/publicity/EYPressRelease.htm
Thirty Who Matter in Technology (Forbes ASAP October 1996)
Early Life & Education
Christos M. Cotsakos is a first-generation Greek-American from Paterson, New JerseyPaterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
and is fluent in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
. He is the fourth of five children. His mother worked as a store clerk and his father worked as a cook.
Cotsakos graduated from Eastside High School
Eastside High School (Paterson, New Jersey)
Eastside High School is a four-year public high school in Paterson, New Jersey, United States, that serves the eastern section of Paterson. EHS, which serves grades 9 through 12, operates as part of the Paterson Public Schools....
in 1965. He enlisted in the US Army in 1967. He served in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
as a fire team leader and squad leader with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. He was honorably discharged from active duty in 1970.
Immediately following his return from Vietnam, Cotsakos quickly realized that being a weapons expert and leader while serving in the military wasn’t enough for potential employers to hire him; the need to further his education become clear after his brother John, a Paterson State student, suggested college as a way for Cotsakos to get his life on track.
Because of Cotsakos’ poor performance in high school, he used a family connection to get accepted to Paterson State College
William Paterson University
William Paterson University is a comprehensive public institution located in Wayne, New Jersey serving nearly 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students through five colleges: , , , , and ....
(later William Paterson College, now University) in New Jersey.
He received an honors BA in Communications from William Paterson in 1973. In 1983, he received an honors MBA from Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
. Cotsakos, while serving as CEO of E*TRADE Group, Inc. graduated with honors with a PhD in Economics from University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. In 2010, Christos Cotsakos joined the Graziadio Senior Fellows in Entrepreneurship at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management
William Paterson University honored Christos Cotsakos in May of 2001 by naming its business school the Cotsakos College of Business
Christos M. Cotsakos College of Business
The Christos M. Cotsakos College of Business is the business school of William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey. The college is accredited in business and accounting by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business . It is one of four Business Schools in New Jersey that are...
.
In 2002, Dr. Cotsakos received an honorary doctorate from Hellenic College in recognition of his leadership.
Personal life
Christos Cotsakos is married to Tami Cotsakos. She also holds a B.S. in Music and a teaching credential (K-12) from William Paterson University '71. Together they have one daughter, Suzanne Renee. Suzanne pursued an MBA at her father's namesake institution: the Cotsakos College of Business at the William Paterson University.In 2003, he listed his Atherton, California
Atherton, California
Atherton is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 6,914 at the 2010 census. In September 2010, Forbes magazine placed Atherton's zip code of 94027 at #2 on its annual list of America's most expensive zip codes, with a median home price of $4,010,200...
home for $28 million.
Christos Cotsakos enjoys spending time with his family and friends, mentoring entrepreneurs, reading, writing, and teaching. Christos Cotsakos has traveled to Japan several times participating in Chanoyu (the Japanese tea ceremony of the Urasenke School of Tea).
Career
In 1973, Cotsakos started as a package handler at Federal Express in Los Angeles. In 1988 he became VP for European Operations, a title he held until 1992. For his next job, he stayed in Europe to work for ACNielsenACNielsen
ACNielsen is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in New York City. Regional headquarters for North America are located in Schaumburg, Illinois. As of May 2010, it is part of The Nielsen Company.-History:...
, a market research firm. He was promoted to co-CEO in 1995. He left the Nielsen Company in 1996 to become CEO of E*TRADE, a financial services company. In April 2011, Cotsakos was announced as Founding Chairman, CEO and President of EndPlay, a Web Content Management System
Web content management system
A web content management system is a software system that provides website authoring, collaboration, and administration tools designed to allow users with little knowledge of web programming languages or markup languages to create and manage website content with relative ease...
currently serving media, entertainment and education companies.
Cotsakos co-founded and served as co-managing general partner of ArrowPath Ventures Inc from 1999 to 2003.
In 2000, Dr. Cotsakos served as a technical advisor at President Clinton’s first Cyber Security Summit at the White House.
He has also served as an advisor to the Military in the Information Age, a project on national defense and security systems technology sponsored by the Pentagon.
E*TRADE
Cotsakos is former Chairman of the Board and CEO for E*TRADE, a financial services company. He was named president and CEO in April 1996. E*TRADE had its IPO on August 16, 1996. With Cotsakos's leadership, E*TRADE became a leading online financial services company. In 2000, Cotsakos was instrumental in acquiring Telebanc. The Chairman of the board of directors, President and Chief Executive Officer of Telebanc Financial Corporation and Telebank was Mitch CaplanMitch Caplan
-Background:Caplan grew up in Portsmouth, Virginia, and graduated from the Norfolk Academy in 1975. He subsequently received a BA in history from Brandeis University – later receiving his JD and an MBA from Emory University....
.
In 2001, E*TRADE experienced losses of $242 million. On April 30, 2002 E*TRADE disclosed that it had paid Cotsakos $77 million in a compensation package. On May 10, 2002 Cotsakos offered to return $21 million to E*TRADE. Nevertheless, 38 negative articles were written about Cotsakos’ excess compensation.
During Dr Cotsakos' last year as Chairman and CEO, in 2002 E*TRADE Group, Inc. reported the most profitable year in the company's history,
earning $0.45 per share from ongoing operations in 2002, delivering it's 3rd consecutive cash flow positive quarter and growing GAAP quarterly net income 41percent over the same quarter last year.
- Earns $0.14 Per Share from Ongoing Operations in the Fourth Quarter
- Double the $0.07 Earnings Per Share from Ongoing Operations in the Same Quarter Last Year
- Grows GAAP(1) Quarterly Net Income 41 Percent Over Same Quarter Last Year
- Delivers Third Consecutive Cash Flow Positive Quarter
- Total active accounts 4.2MM
- Cash and cash equivalents $771MM
A 2002 accounting change resulted in a one-time charge for E*TRADE Group, Inc. and was the reason for a $275.9 million first quarter loss that year. Financial Accounting Standard 142 was responsible for the accounting change in which companies are required to assess the goodwill recorded from previous acquisitions and record a one-time charge that does not affect cash or operations.
Cotsakos resigned from E*TRADE on January 23, 2003.
In January 2000, E*TRADE Group, Inc. invested $5 Million in Official Payments Corp and E*TRADE Group, Inc. Chairman and CEO, Christos Cotsakos joined Official Payments Corp.'s Board of Directors.
Philanthropy
Cotsakos served as co-chair for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial FundVietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. , was a non-profit organization established on April 27, 1979, by Jan Scruggs, Jack Wheeler, and several other Vietnam War veterans, finance the construction of a memorial to those Americans who died or were killed during the Vietnam War. The memorial was...
, together with Senator Charles Hagel (Nebraska)
Chuck Hagel
Charles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel is a former United States Senator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002...
and James Kimsey (founder of America Online). In 2005, Cotsakos agreed to lead a nationwide effort to create an educational center near The Wall in Washington DC. In November 2005, thanks to the financial support of Cotsakos, a state of the art performing arts theatre opened at St.John's International School in Belgium.
Dr. Cotsakos is personally engaged in various civic and community activities through the Cotsakos Family Trust, of which his wife and daughter are principals. The Cotsakos Family Trust focuses on education, community outreach, and wildlife and environmental preservation.
Christos and Tami Cotsakos donate generously to his parish of St. Athanasius in Paramus, New Jersey and to William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ, of which he is an alumnus.
Awards and recognition
Cotsakos received the Bronze Star with "V," the Army Commendation Medal with "V," the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, Parachute Wings and the Combat Infantryman's Badge.In 1984, Christos Cotsakos received the Chief Operating Officer’s Five Star Award for Leadership and Innovation while working at Federal Express and was instrumental in Federal Express receiving the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award in 1990.
Christos Cotsakos was invited to become a Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of London, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine from 2004 to 2006
In December 2010, Dr. Christos Cotsakos joined the Graziadio Senior Fellows in Entrepreneurship at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management.
Christos Cotsakos has been featured in a variety of media publications including:
- The October 1998 issue of Time Digital: The Top 50 Cyber Elite
- 100 People Who Have Changed the Way Americans Think About Money (Worth September 2001)
- 25 Most Influential Personalities in Financial Services (Future Banker May 2001 and May 1999)
- The Online Finance 40 (Institutional Investor April 2001)
http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/Article/1403163/The-Online-Finance-40.html
- Executive of the Year (Hellenic American Bankers Association March 2001) see above
The CIO 100 (CIO August 2000)
- The E-Establishment: The Top 50 Technology Leaders (Vanity Fair April 2000)
- The Financial Online Elite (Institutional Investor April 2000 and September 1997)
- Powerful Wall Street Pioneers (Wall Street Journal December 1999)
- The e.biz 25 Most Influential People in Electronic Business (Business Week September 1999)
- Power 50 – The Most Influential People in Financial Services (American Banker May 1999)
- The 25 Most Powerful People in Networking (Networld January 1999)
- Entrepreneur of the Year USA (Entrepreneur of the Year Institute November 1998)
- Entrepreneur of the Year California (Entrepreneur of the Year Institute June 1998)
http://www.stanford.edu/group/mfp/publicity/EYPressRelease.htm
- The New Entrepreneurial Elite (Inc. December 1997)
- Top 10 Visionary CEOs (Communications Week February 1997)
Thirty Who Matter in Technology (Forbes ASAP October 1996)
- Hellenic American Bankers Association honored Cotsakos by awarding him the Executive of the Year Award in March 2001.