The founder of LARCO - real name: Prodromos Athanassiadis – but known as Bodossaki, is a legend in Greece.

Called Bey by his friends, Bodossakis was born in the 1890s to very poor parents. Leaving school at 10, he was a self-educated man who learned from his experience of life. From the age of 12 he was involved in business. At 17, he was already active in commerce and industry.

By 1940, Bodossakis was head of a number of factories supplying Greece and its allies with military equipment. After the war, he dominated the country’s economy, employing a large percentage of its work force.

He perceived that the future of the country was in industrialisation. For 55 years, his activities - accounting for 35% of Greek industry - expanded into: munitions, textiles, wines and spirits, fertilizers, glassware, shipping , insurance, construction, but chiefly minerals and mining, including: Κassandra Mines, Ermioni Mines, Lavrio Mining Company Ltd., Ptolemais Lignite Mines and, of course, LARCO. 

Τhe secret οf his success was his passion for creativity rather than money. He himself led a simple life along with his wife, Ioanna, bequeathing all his fortune to the philanthropic Bodossakis Foundation during his lifetime. His death on January 18, 1979 brought to a close an unparalleled career of business brilliance and charitable generosity.