Mathios Rigas

As the founding shareholder and CEO of Energean, Mathios has led the company since its inception in 2007. A petroleum engineer with a background in investment banking, Mathios has been instrumental in transforming Energean from a single-asset operator in Greece into a leading hydrocarbons exploration and production company across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Under his leadership, Energean has executed landmark transactions that reshaped its portfolio and scale, including the development of Karish in Israel and the acquisition of Edison E&P’s Italian and Egyptian assets. Since founding the company in 2007, Mathios has played a vital role in turning Energean into a multi-country, cash-generative platform with over 1 billion boe of reserves and over 150,000 boe/d of production (2025) – up from just 1 million boe and 1,000 bbl/d at inception. This trajectory reflects not only operational execution but also consistent strategic foresight and disciplined capital allocation. The company has since secured a 20-year commercial position in Israel backed by ~$20 billion in contracted gas sales, providing long-term cash flow visibility, energy security and durable competitive positioning. He successfully led Energean’s IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, its subsequent dual listing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and multiple capital market transactions that strengthened the company’s balance sheet and enabled sustainable shareholder distributions.

A petroleum engineer by training, he previously structured more than $5 billion in mainly oil and gas financing at Chase Manhattan Bank in London, later leading private equity investments as managing partner of Capital Connect Venture Partners and heading Piraeus Bank’s shipping division. 

A pioneer in sustainability within the E&P sector, he became the first upstream CEO to commit to a net-zero strategy in 2019, positioning Energean as a European ESG leader. The company has since earned multiple awards for sustainability and environmental responsibility. His leadership has been internationally recognised, including CEO of the Year in London (2018), Independent of the Year for Energean, and Deal of the Year for the company’s IPO by the World Energy Council.

Mathios holds a degree in Mining and Metallurgical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and an MSc/DIC in Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College London.