Who is Ion Ţiriac

Between 1958 and 1964, Mr. Țiriac excelled as a professional hockey player, within the ”Știința” Sports Club of Bucharest and took part, as a member of the National Team, in the Ice Hockey World Championship and represented Romania at the Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck in 1964.

Additionally, from 1957 to 1972, he was also registered as a tennis player at Brașov ”Steagul Roșu” Sports Club and at Bucharest ”Dinamo” Sports Club, winning over 40 titles, including the Roland Garros tournament, together with Ilie Nastase (doubles) and taking part in over 150 Davis Cup matches representing Romania, including the three finals against the United States team. For his performances, Mr. Ion Țiriac was awarded the title of "Master Emeritus in Sports".

Coach, promoter, manager, consultant and organiser of tennis tournaments

After ending his career as a professional tennis player, Mr. Țiriac continued his activity within the sports environment and actively got involved in developing the career of some newly discovered talents, including:

• Guillermo Vilas, reached 2nd place in the ATP rankings, after playing 42 finals and winning 62 titles;
• Henri Leconte, reached 5th place, with special emphasis on the double matches played with Yannick Noah and as representative of France in the Davis Cup;
• Virginia Ruzici, entered the top 10 of the WTA rankings, well known for her powerful forehand; won the 1978 edition of the Roland Garros tournament;
• Gianni Ocleppo, won the Linz title in 1981, as an important member of the Italian team for the Davis Cup in 1980 and 1981;
• Boris Becker, was managed by Ion Țiriac between 1985 and 1994, in his ascension to the undisputed leadership position in men's professional tennis. In 1985, Becker was awarded the title of "Most Improved Player of the Year", and was later recognized as the youngest player in the history of Wimbledon to win the Open at the age of 17. In 1988, Becker won 7 out of 8 finals and the first Davis Cup for Germany, competing with Sweden, subsequently becoming one of the most famous figures in men’s professional tennis;
• Goran Ivanisevic, the only wildcard player to win the Wimbledon tournament, in 2001; also a finalist in 1992, 1994 and 1998, reaching 2nd place in the ATP rankings;
• Marat Safin, started his tennis career in 1997; in 2000 he won his first Grand Slam tournament at the U.S. Open, followed, in 2005, by another victory in the Australian Open. At the same time, he was a member of the Russian Davis Cup team, which won the finals in 2002 and in 2006. The first Russian player to enter the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2008 and to obtain 1st place in the official world men’s tennis rankings;
• Dinara Safina, finalist in three Grand Slam tournaments (Roland Garros in 2008 and 2009, and the Australian Open in 2009), won the U.S. Open (doubles) in 2007. Also won the silver medal in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and currently holds 1st place in the world WTA rankings;

Another side of the extensive sports career of Mr. Țiriac is represented by the ATP and WTA tennis tournaments, for which he acted as manager, adviser and promoter. The first such tournament is held in Kitzbuhel, for almost 30 years, until 2007. Between 1985 and 2002, Stuttgart witnessed one of the most important men’s tournaments, the Super 9 ATP. In 1996, Mr. Ion Țiriac brings to Romania the license for the Open Romania tournament, also acting as a consultant and promoter until 2003; the competition eventually became the largest event of its kind in Eastern Europe. Mr. Țiriac currently holds the license to this tournament. He was also a consultant and coordinator of the ATP Masters tournament, held in Hanover between 1996 and 2000. Between 2003 and 2008, Ion Țiriac is heavily involved in the Mutua Madrileña Masters, held in Madrid, which became, in 2009, a combined ATP and WTA event, the only tournament in the world to be held on 3 central open tennis courts and 2 indoor tennis courts.

Another sports field, namely swimming, also benefited from Mr. Țiriac’s experience. Thus, in collaboration with the News Corporation, he helped promoting the FINA World Championships (held in Perth - Australia in 1990 and 1998, and in Rome in 1994).

Between 1998-2004, while Mr. Ion Ţiriac was president of the Romanian Olympic Committee and Honorific President of the Romanian Tennis Association, Romania won 26 medals at Sydney Olympics in 2000 and 19 medals at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

1988 - Elite Management is founded in Monte Carlo, set up especially to guide and promote the sports-related activities of Mr. Țiriac;

1990 - Ion Țiriac Commercial Bank is founded, currently Unicredit Țiriac Bank;

1994 - The Children's House Foundation (currently the „Dumbrava Minunată” Foundation) is officially opened in Brașov, later becoming a home for some 100 orphans. The Foundation currently has 58 children in its care and has recently opened its doors for 24 senior citizens in need;

1994 - The first private insurance company is founded, that later became Allianz Țiriac, currently #1 on the Romanian market;

1994 - Ion Țiriac obtains the “rent-a-car” licenses for Avis and Hertz;

1995 - Metro Group enters the Romanian market having Mr. Țiriac as one of the major shareholders;

1997 - The Țiriac Group is created and it includes:

• the Motor Division (which brings together exclusive import licenses for well – known brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Jeep, Ford, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Land Rover, and Jaguar)
• the Real Estate Division (with an extensive portfolio of estate properties and large scale real estate construction projects, such as "Residenz - the German neighborhood" and the exclusive "Stejarii" Residential Complex)
• the Financial Division (banking, insurance and leasing operations)
• the Aviation Division, which includes ȚiriacAir, an airline with its own business terminal (the only one of its kind in Romania), and Globe Ground Romania (in a strategic partnership)
• Security and protection services (SecurIT Force)
• An elevators’ manufacturing company (IFMA)

• 1971: Mr. Ion Țiriac was awarded the Order of Labor, class 1, on 17/12/1971.
• 1998 - 2004: Mr. Ion Țiriac held the office of President of the Romanian Olympic Committee and the office of President (honorific title) of the Romanian Tennis Association.
• Present time: Mr. Ion Țiriac holds the office of President of the Romanian Olympic Foundation. For his active involvement in the development and promotion of Romanian sports, in the country and abroad, Mr. Ţiriac is awarded by the President of Romania with the following honours: the National Order “Faithful Service”, Grand Officer class (November 2000), the "Sports Merit” Order, 1st class, (March 2004), and the Order of the Star of Romania, Knight class (September 2004).
• March 2003: Western University of Timișoara awards Mr. Ion Ţiriac the Doctor Honoris Causa title, the highest distinction an University could grant.