Tsunis, George James – Greece – November 2021

UNITED STATES SENATE

SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4)

POST:                  Greece

CANDIDATE:     George James Tsunis

George James Tsunis is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Chartwell Hotels, LLC, which owns, develops and manages hotels throughout the Northeast and Middle Atlantic states.  In addition, he is Chairman of Battery Park City Authority that manages 92-acre planned development on Manhattan’s lower west side. He oversaw the creation of a 10-year sustainability plan to create a carbon neutral Battery Park City. He is also a Trustee for the New York City Convention Development Corporation and the New York City Convention Operating Corporation and helped manage a 1.5 million sq. ft. expansion of the New York Convention Center transforming it into one of the world’s most modern and beautiful convention centers. Mr. Tsunis served as the chairman of the Nassau University Medical Center, a large public safety net hospital with a focus on providing care to vulnerable communities. His legal and business acumen, strong commitment to public service, and demonstrated ability to build broadly based partnerships make him a well-qualified candidate to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Greece.

Previously, Mr. Tsunis was Of Counsel and Partner (Attorney of Law), Rivkin Radler LLP, Uniondale, NY, and Legislative Attorney, New York City Council, New York, NY. He served as Counsel for Dix Hills Water District, Dix Hills, NY and Town Of Huntington Committee on Open Space Preservation, Huntington, NY.  Deeply engaged with the Greek – American community, Mr. Tsunis was a founding trustee of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, and is a trustee of the Hellenic Initiative among other roles.

Mr. Tsunis earned a B.A. from the New York University, New York, NY and a J.D. from St John’s University of Law, Queens, NY.  He was an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Order of Saint Andrew) – the highest ecclesiastical honor that can be bestowed upon a layman by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and is the recipient of  numerous awards including the Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award for Long Island Cares and the lifetime achievement award for civic engagement for Long Island Business News. He speaks Greek.