Iliadis Is IT For Athens Olympics

Alex IliadisIT For Athens Olympics

Electric engineer Alexis Iliadis, Bsc’81, Msc’84, is managing telecommunications for the world — the world of sports and competition at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. As the telecommunications director for the 2004 Olympics, Iliadis is responsible for ensuring seamless telecommunications and venue electronics programming for the entire Olympic family — some 4,000 staff members, 15,000 athletes and technical officials, close to 20,000 media representatives, and another 50,000 volunteers and sponsors — when the games kick off on August 13
“As we get closer to the games, the pace of a typical work day is very fast and demanding of my ability to make quick decisions,” says Iliadis. “I also have to be able to deal with people of varied backgrounds and needs.” In addition to managing a staff of 30, he has met with representatives from most of the 200 National Olympic Committees, including the Canadian Olympic Committee delegation on tour in Athens.

Iliadis was appointed to the Olympic telecommunications post after a series of successful positions with a number of cellular operators in Italy and Greece. Immediately following his graduation from U of C and before moving abroad, he worked for Philips Electronics Canada, Nortel Networks, and Novatel Communications Canada. He credits the University of Calgary with providing the foundation for his success. “Engineering provided me with the ability to grasp issues quickly and come up with simple and non-expensive solutions,” he says.

Still, Alexis admits his job is a challenging one, especially when it comes to delegating some of the intense work required to ensure all of the telecommunications services — voice and data, cellular and mobile services, radio, electronics and audiovisual, cable TV networks, video boards and cabling systems — are in top order for the Games. And the hectic pace won’t end August 29 with the Olympic closing ceremonies.  Reports will need to be written for the International Olympic Committee.  Alexis also plans to debrief the organizing committees of the next Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy (2006) and the next Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China (2008).

When time permits, though, he yearns to return to Calgary to see the mountains and his alma mater. “I actually want to drive through campus to see how it has grown and I can’t wait to pay a visit to the U of C library. I still love books.”

By Christine Ward