John L. Demourkas
John Louis Demourkas was born in Santa Barbara to immigrant parents and grew up on the Mesa. He attended Santa Barbara City College and UCSB, and while in college started his first corporation Sewell/Demourkas, Inc., a professional beauty products distributor. In 1979, he became a founding employee of Nexxus Products Company, an international producer and distributor of salon professional beauty products, headquartered in Santa Barbara. Demourkas ultimately became VP of Operations, COO, and CFO, remaining at the company until 2006 when he oversaw its sale to Alberto-Culver, Inc.
John began sailing in the 1970s through Santa Barbara Yacht Club racing. In 2000, John and his wife Deneen began a competitive sailing campaign, launching the “Groovderci” series of yachts. They both sailed competitively throughout the USA, Europe, and the Caribbean. In 2015, he won the Rolex Farr40 World Championship. In 2004, John was nominated to the bridge of the Santa Barbara Yacht Club and served as Commodore in 2006. He was a member of the Santa Barbara Youth Sailing Foundation and served as its treasurer for nearly ten years.
John married the love of his life Deneen nearly 25 years ago, and as members of the Santa Barbara community, they have supported numerous non-profits and charities, including Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, VNA Hospice, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Opera Santa Barbara, CASA, Santa Barbara Zoo, and many others. John served the parish of Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church as Parish President for three terms.
