Giorgos Petrou was born in Engomi- Nicosia in the year 1947. He studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Surrey in England with specialisation in Economics and Industrial Law. On return to Cyprus in 1972 was employed by SHELL and following extensive training overseas on Fuel production and Lubricants, was appointed Sales Engineer for Cyprus. He served in various positions of ‘’SHELL” and ” BP” both in Cyprus and at the headquarters of the Companies in Athens and London and in 1995 was promoted to the position of President and CEO of ” BP Cyprus ” where he served until 2002. In 2003, he was appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of the newly created BP Eastern Mediterranean. In 1977, he founded PETA CO which specialises in production of Paint Brushes and Rollers with two factories in Cyprus and Jordan and with exports to 15 countries. A third factory, PETA PLASTICS, was founded in 2000 and specializes in production of plastic food packaging and bottles.

In 2007 founded a private owned Oil Company, STAROIL, specializing in distribution of fuels to commercial consumers and households. As from 2011 the company entered the Retail Sector and established Petrol Stations in many parts of the island.

He was the Chairman of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB) for the years 2019 and 2020 and is a member of OEB’s executive committee as Former Chairman. In 2024 he was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus. He was for years a member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Petroleum Refinery and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation CYMEPA (Cyprus Marine Environment Protection Association). He is President and Founding member of the Alzheimer’s Friendship Foundation, which aims to create day-care centres for people suffering from the Alzheimer’s decease.
He is married to Parvin Petrou and has 3 children