Thodoros Karounos was born in 1953 in Barsinikos, Laconia, Greece. He graduated from the Sivitanidios Technical School in 1970 and completed the high school programme of the State University of New York in 1975. He went on to study sociology and subsequently computer science in New York, where he also completed his postgraduate studies in 1983.

He worked at IBM until 1987, after which he returned to Greece, where he has held senior positions involving the design and implementation of information technology and telecommunications policies and systems.

His main area of activity is the promotion of openness, with a particular focus on initiatives that put it into practice in education, public administration and the private sector.