12 Facts About Dakis Joannou

Dakis Joannou is a Greek Cypriot industrialist and art collector.

Dakis Joannou is considered to be one of the leading collectors of contemporary art in the world and is famous for acquisitions such as the Jeff Koons-designed yacht 'Guilty'.

Dakis Joannou entered the construction and civil engineering business in the late 1960s and ever since has diversified his holdings through numerous areas of international industrial commerce.

Dakis Joannou is involved in several other industries including Coca-Cola bottling, shipping, aviation, and real estate.

Dakis Joannou is a major collector of contemporary art and is the founder of the DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, which was established in 1983.

Dakis Joannou is a member of the board of trustees at the New Museum for Contemporary Art, New York; a member of the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, where he served on the Committee on Painting and Sculpture and the Library Council; and a member of the International Council of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Dakis Joannou has been a founding member of the International Directors' Council at the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation, New York, where he served as president between 1995 and 2005, and now serves as an Honorary Member.

Dakis Joannou is a member of the International Council of Tate, London, having served as President of the Tate Modern Council between 2005 and 2008, and a member of the International Council of the Design Museum, London.

Dakis Joannou is actively involved in many not-for-profit organizations with a wide range of social activities.

Dakis Joannou is a supporter of the University of Cyprus, having donated with his family the "Stelios Ioannou" Learning Resource Center, designed by internationally renowned architect Jean Nouvel and due for completion in 2018.

In 2007, Dakis Joannou was appointed to the Chancellor's Court of Benefactors of the University of Oxford after the establishment of the Stelios Ioannou School for Research in Classical and Byzantine Studies.

Dakis Joannou owns the yacht Guilty, which was designed by Ivana Porfiri.