By Markos Papadatos

On January 3rd of 2010, Mr. Maragos was officially sworn in as Nassau County's Comptroller by Justice Stephen Bucaria of the New York State Supreme Court, in front of an energetic crowd which featured many supporters and dignitaries including Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and New York State Senator Dean Skelos to name a few.

As part of his job as Comptroller, Mr. Maragos serves as the financial “watchdog” for Nassau County, which has a population exceeding 1.2 million, and an annual budget of approximately $2.6 billion dollars. Mr. Maragos and his staff are responsible for the monitoring of Nassau County's financial budget and its financial operations. Furthermore, his Office reviews county contracts and claims, audits governmental agencies in an effort to uncover economic waste and abuse, reports on matters which substantially impact Nassau's fiscal health and its operations, works with the county’s administration and state legislature in an effort to help Nassau County overcome any financial challenges it may face, administers payroll and health benefits to county employees, as well as prepares Nassau County's comprehensive annual financial report.

Mr. Maragos' immediate future plans include turning Nassau County around by restoring fiscal responsibility, balancing the county budget without raising property taxes, and cutting waste in government and reducing spending. Mr. Maragos also intends on helping statewide Republicans such as Harry Wilson, Rick Lazio and Dean Skelos get elected this November. “It is critical that we bring back sanity to the New York State government by having Dean Skelos become the Majority Leader in the State Senate, Harry Wilson become the State Comptroller and Rick Lazio become the governor,” stated Mr. Maragos. “We all see how dysfunctional Albany has become.”

Prior to his election to the prestigious position of Nassau County Comptroller, Mr. Maragos had over thirty-five years experience in the banking industry, consulting and financial information systems. From 1981 until 1986, he served as Vice President at Chase Manhattan Bank, where he was responsible for the planning and implementing of global electronic financial systems, as well as for the telecommunications networks which supported the worldwide banking network. From 1986 until 1989, Mr. Maragos served as a Vice President at Citicorp where he presided over the investment banking system. While at Citibank, Mr. Maragos also served as Telecommunications Director for the Treasury Systems.

Additionally, in the last twenty years, Mr. Maragos also serves as chief executive officer (CEO) and founder for his own business, SDS Financial Technologies Inc., which provides financial information and online trading services to the financial industry, whose clients include brokerage firms, exchanges, and other financial institutions.

Originally from Lefkas, Greece, Mr. Maragos’ family immigrated in 1958 to Montreal, Canada when he was nine years old. He went to elementary school, high school and college in Montreal and moved to New York City in 1978. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1985.

In 1973, Mr. Maragos graduated with his Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from McGill University, located in Montreal, Canada. While at McGill University, Mr. Maragos was honored as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) on the Soccer team, and served as Chairperson of the Cafeteria Committee. Following his undergraduate degree, Mr. Maragos enrolled in graduate school where he attended Pace University’s Lubin School of Business. In 1983, he graduated from Pace University with his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree in finance.

While Mr. Maragos was in college, he remarks that “he never had any desire to run for public office and did his best to advance his career, in an effort to take care of his family.” He decided to run for public office just one year before his election. He was approached by the Nassau County Republican Committee while supporting his son, Angelo, in running for City Council in District # 26. “After serious consideration, I accepted to run for Nassau County Comptroller because I thought it was time for me to give something back to the community. I felt the need to make government more fiscally responsible and more efficient in delivering its services to the general public,” Mr. Maragos said. “The office of the Nassau County Comptroller was the right challenge for me given my thirty five years of professional experience and accomplishments.”

His proudest professional moments include a series of important events. First, “becoming Vice President of Chase Manhattan Bank was a huge accomplishment, especially for a young boy from Greece to reach that level.” Second, “starting my own business and seeing it grow and succeed was gratifying.” Third, “having been elected to public office as Nassau County Comptroller on my first election, and finally, having the opportunity to reach the impossible, to run for a seat in the United States Senate against Senator Chuck Schumer.” Alas, Mr. Maragos did not win the nomination of the Republican Party, but left a good impression, and established good relationships across New York State. “The future is wide open,” he remarked.

For the Greek-American youth who are interested in pursuing careers in politics or business, Mr. Maragos recommends that it is essential for them to follow their dreams. “If I can help in any way the young Greek professionals who aspire to enter politics, I would be more than delighted to assist them. I encourage them to do so.”

Being one of the few Greek immigrants to hold public office in New York, Mr. Maragos would like to provide encouragement for the Greek American community to become more active in local, state and national politics. “The Greek-American community throughout the state is severely under-represented in public life. The majority of Greek Americans are not even registered to vote. I would strongly recommend and urge all Greek Americans and our leadership to encourage the Greek community to register to vote. It is the only way for the Greek community to become empowered and to have our issues as a community responded, get our share of social services and have our ethnic interests advanced such as the Cypriot and Greek economic issues.”

Mr. Maragos has been married to his wife Angela for thirty seven years, and together they have two sons, Peter and Angelo, and two grandchildren; a granddaughter named Sofia who is three years old, as well as a grandson, Alexander Dean, who was born on May 27th 2010, on Mr. Maragos’ and Angela’s 37th wedding anniversary. Mr. and Mrs. Maragos had an elder son Constantine Dean who passed away ten years ago in a tragic car accident.

In his spare time, George Maragos enjoys reading, spending time with his family, playing golf, vacationing in his native Greece, especially Korinthos, and his island of origin, Lefkada.

And always he says the secret of his success has been “the ability to be yourself. It is important to be comfortable with yourself and have a supportive family. Always strive to do the right thing for your family and community, and never expect rewards or compliments in return, although those will come.Be yourself!”