Maria Tsiakka Olympiou was born in 1964 and graduated from the English School in Nicosia. She was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she graduated with a BSc and an MSc in 1987. In her senior year, she was awarded the AMITA Senior award for academic excellence. She then attended Harvard Business School where she received her MBA with Distinction.
She was also awarded a Diploma through distance learning from the University of Leicester in Psychology of Work and is a certified Project Manager Professional (PMP).
She worked at the Bank of Cyprus in Strategic Planning and Retail Banking. She founded her own company in office equipment which was subsequently merged with her family company. To this day she is the manager of Tsiakkastel Office Solution Ltd.
She was a Board member of the Cyprus Association of Cancer Patients and Friends as well as a Board member of AMITA, the Association of MIT Alumnae.
She is married to Zeus Olympios and has two sons.
She was appointed Chairman of the Board of the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (Cyta) in January of 2024 and reappointed for a second term in August of 2026.