Managing Shipping Companies, the Way Their Pioneer Managers Did: The Case-Study of Stavros Niarchos, 1909-1996

Abstract

Present, and future, managers of shipping companies have a lot to learn from their past colleagues. Students of the shipping industry always ask: How did Niarchos build such a fortune so as to leave $400 m upon his death? This is a third paper, presenting the business life of the late shipowner Stavros Niarchos, another “golden” Greek. He conceived the value of vertical integration in business, first applied by the Japanese. He established a ship-owning company, a shipyard, and a steel mill. In 1974, Niarchos owned 64 ships of 4.4 m GRT. This not only made him a top shipowner, but also master of an entire business environment, focusing on the tanker market. Shipping, being an international industry, was the victim of many major political events, and Niarchos, born in 1909, was a victim of the same events. Niarchos pursued economies of scale. Niarchos did not come from an Aegean Islands, which were the birthplace of many shipowners. Fifty Greek shipowners came from Chios and Aignouses. While Onassis failed as a father, Niarchos failed as a husband, marrying six wives, five women, and his tankers making the sixth.