Meet our 2020 Speakers

Ken Hughes is now acknowledged as being one of the world’s leading authorities on consumer, shopper and cyber shopper behaviour. He is internationally renowned for helping his largely blue-chip client base to understand the physical, digital and future consumer.
With 20 years’ experience as CEO of a consumer insight agency, he blends his understanding of consumer & cyber psychology, digital anthropology, behavioural economics and retail futurology to explore the needs of the new consumer and predict the changes to come.
Ken advises some of the biggest brands in the world on customer experience, omnichannel strategy, artificial intelligence, shopper marketing, retail trends, the millennial / Gen Z shopper and the peer-to-peer economy. As an accomplished author, TED speaker, part-time university lecturer and actor, his performances are insightful and thought-provoking. His presentations are infamous for their sheer energy, entertainment and passion, not to mention his generous Irish wit.
As a behaviouralist and life strategist, he is also passionate about change, disruption, success, innovation, personal development and motivation. He brings this to life in his work with high performance athletes and executives all over the world.
Every year, Ken shares his thought-disrupting insight with tens of thousands of delegates globally. He is one of the most popular keynote speakers booked on the international conference and webinar circuit relating to the future of consumerism. Regularly voted best speaker at events where he is invited to speak, he believes in engaging and delighting event attendees at every opportunity.
 

Jacqueline Kassteen has 20 years of marketing experience in international education, student travel, publishing, lead generation, retail, and financial services.
Kassteen is known as a “top industry analyst” with extensive breadth and depth of knowledge in international education and marketing. She is a proactive, lateral thinker - able to create synergies across an organisation and craft innovative, multi-channel strategic approaches in marketing (inbound and outbound), communications, and product development. She has worked as an intrapreneur across a variety of organisational sizes and structures, enabling others to capitalise on changes in the market, and creating opportunities for brand development and revenue generation.
Now an entrepreneur, she launched 2 companies in 14 months. Kassteen is the Owner and Managing Director of Jackfruit Marketing, a consultancy, project management, and training company, and FruitFame.com, an award-winning platform dedicated to showcasing success stories in marketing, recruitment, enrolment and retention.
Kassteen works with clients as a consultant and project manager, offering marketing expertise in the international education industry. She advises on recruitment and retention strategies through the use of online and offline marketing techniques, agencies, social media, alumni, product development, as well as competitive analysis and research.

Asif is Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at adidas, prior to which he was the Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging for The Telegraph Media Group. He was previously the Head of Diversity and Inclusiveness for EY Financial Services and the Head of the Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Unit for the City of London Police. He is a Multi-Award Winning Diversity and Inclusion expert with over 15 years experience and a proven track record in achieving operational and strategic targets, managing quality, performance, risk and change.
He is a passionate and inspirational Global Leader, co author and a renowned keynote speaker with the ability to empower individuals and create a truly inclusive environment for all. Asif has been key in implementing D&I activities and programmes as well as connecting with stakeholders at all levels of organisations to build strong and influential relationships with influencers. Asif acts as a role model, providing governance across businesses on D&I and is committed to creating a strong sense of belonging for all.
Asif has received a number of accolades for his work that include the Mosaic (Prince’s Trust) Award for mentoring, Police Officer of the Year Award, the Civil Servant of the Year Award, the prestigious Asian Professional Award and the highly commended Head of Diversity Award at the European Diversity Awards. Asif was honoured in 2017 in the Queen’s birthday honours list with an MBE for his services to Policing and the Communities and is a member of the HR Guild, The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals and is a Freeman of the City.
He is currently a leadership fellow at St George's House at Windsor Castle, a Judge for numerous Awards including the CIPD Awards, BIMA Awards, Personnel Today Awards and the Lord Mayor's Dragon Awards, an Ambassador for Remembering Srebrenica, Member of the APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) on Hate Crime, Special Advisory to the charity Penny Appeal, a trainer for the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and a Special Sergeant with the City of London Police.

Lady Kinvara Balfour advises companies big and small (Jimmy Choo, Richemont, Smythson, UBS, Evian, Coutts to name a few) on what is cool out there in the zeitgeist. She understands the worlds of tech, fashion and popular culture and the psychology that drives them.
Having won the Lloyd’s Fashion Challenge, a national competition in fashion design as judged by Vivienne Westwood, at the age of 16, Balfour started her career working for Westwood, and Tomasz Starzewski. Roles at Condé Nast and Telegraph Magazine, where she was Style Editor, followed. In 2004, Kinvara was appointed London Editor at DailyCandy.com; she launched the brand to mass acclaim (the US web phenomenon was acquired by Comcast in 2008).
In 2012 she launched a digital blog platform for Time Out; its first foray into digital form. In 2014, she was appointed founding partner of tech startup StyleCard. In 2016 Balfour was Digital Consultant for Vanity Fair UK, directing the publication’s digital content. In 2016, she acted as Senior Advisor to Silicon Valley start-up SWNG, joining a team headed up by co-founders Tommy Stadlen and Fred Blackford, and chairman, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. SWNG was acquired by Microsoft in 2017.
As of 2014, Balfour hosts Fashion in Conversation for Apple Inc., a series of interviews with global icons at the Apple store which is available to an audience of over 900 million on iTunes. In 2014, she was one of the few women invited to speak at President Obama’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit. Balfour is the creator of THE VISIONARIES, a series of mini-films shot on iPhone, filmed and directed by herself, which feature the thought leaders of the world. In addition, she was recently Executive Producer on the twice BAFTAnominated ‘McQueen’, the feature documentary about the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen. She resides and works between California and London.

On 1 December 2019, Ms. Kyriakides became the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. 
 In the area of health, she is leading the Commission’s work on Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, to help improve cancer prevention and care and is in charge of developing a new Pharmaceutical Strategy to ensure that Europe has enough affordable medicines to meet its needs.  
Her responsibilities also include supporting Member States in improving the quality and sustainability of health systems, creating a European Health Data Space to promote health-data exchange and support research. She is also in charge of ensuring full implementation of the European One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance and working towards a global agreement on antimicrobials. 
On food safety, Commissioner Kyriakides is leading the new ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy for sustainable food, covering every step in the food chain from production to consumption. Her responsibilities also include ensuring enforcement of animal welfare laws and promoting European standards globally as well as ensuring enforcement of EU laws on food safety and animal and plant health and leading the work to protect plant health, reduce dependency on pesticides and support low-risk and non-chemical alternatives.  
During the COVID-19 crisis, she has been leading the Commissions work to coordinate the EU’s health response and support Member States to tackle the outbreak. This includes working to ensure that essential goods and services can flow freely across borders, essential medicines and medical devices are available at affordable prices, and leading the EU’s efforts to secure access to safe and effective therapeutics and vaccines.  
Previously, Ms. Stella Kyriakides worked as a clinical psychologist in the Mental  Health Services of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Cyprus in the area of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,  from 1979-2006. In 2006, she was elected to the Cyprus Parliament and was re-elected in 2011 and 2016 for the Democratic Rally party, of which she was the Vice-President.  
In 2012, she was appointed Head of the Cyprus Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). In 2017 she was elected President of the PACE, thus becoming the 30th President of the Assembly.  
She founded the First Breast Cancer advocacy organisation in Cyprus, Europa Donna - Cyprus where she served as President from 2000-2015. She was also President of the European Breast Cancer Coalition Europa Donna.  
She received many awards in recognition of her relentless efforts and work in support of women’s rights, children and patients’ rights and had numerous publications, research contributions/articles on children related matters and cancer in Cyprus and other European countries.  

Kyriacos Kokkinos is the Deputy Minister to the President for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, since March 1st 2020.
He previously served as the Chief Scientist for Research & Innovation of the Republic of Cyprus, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Research & Innovation Foundation and Member of the National Board of Research & Innovation.
He is a distinguished professional with 30 years of experience in Executive Management, Technology and Business Consulting, served at senior Executive roles in global corporations such as IBM Europe (Executive Director & Partner) and PwC. He also served at the Board of Directors of many Organisations, including Invest Cyprus (Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency - CIPA), the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO), the Cyprus Port Authority (CPA), and the Board of Trustees of the Cyprus Institute.
He is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for professional excellence, including the ‘Business Leader of the Year Award’ 2016, by Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and the ‘Quality Leader Award 2015’ by Cyprus Quality Association.
His Academic qualifications include Executive MBA in Strategic Management from Henley Management College (UK) and MSc & BSc in Electrical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology (USA).

Mr. Polemitis has two decades of experience in higher education, private equity, and software development.  He has a deep understanding of global higher education, having served as a CEO, investor, board member, instructor and technology developer in the field.  He has been a principal or advisor for a broad range of corporate financings in the United States, Europe, Latin America and India, ranging from multi-billion dollar industrial buyouts to early stage venture capital.  He has also led the development of high-scale cloud-based technology platforms in multiple industries.  
Mr. Polemitis currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the University of Nicosia and EDEX, as a Board member of EDEX and UNICAF, and as a member of the Council of the University of Nicosia.  The University of Nicosia (UNIC) serves over 13,000 students, along with over 15,000 additional students in its affiliated academic institutions.  UNIC is the largest university in Cyprus, by number of students, and is the largest English language university in southern Europe.  As CEO, he is responsible for the administrative and economic activities of the University. He previously led the strategic initiatives at EDEX that led to the financing and development of UNIC’s Medical School and online learning unit.
Mr. Polemitis helped found the world-leading Digital Currency / Blockchain Initiative at the University of Nicosia, co-taught the first university cryptocurrency course in the world, and is regularly quoted in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Wired and other publications as an expert on cryptocurrency issues.  He was a member of the national committee that designed the blockchain strategy for Cyprus.  He was also the founding CEO of Global Semesters, a study abroad organization affiliated with the University of Nicosia that has served students from over 700 universities in the United States and Canada.
Mr. Polemitis is the managing partner of Ledra Capital, where he led early-stage investments in, or software development of, Software-as-a-Service platforms in the areas of higher education, cryptocurrency, online video publishing and legal research.  Mr. Polemitis was previously a principal at ACG Capital, a privately held multi-billion dollar investment firm focused on buying and building businesses in financial services, business services, education and oil and gas.   At ACG, Mr. Polemitis led the investment efforts in the fields of higher education and business process outsourcing (BPO).
Prior to joining ACG Capital, Mr. Polemitis was a partner based in New York and London in the private equity practice of Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman), one of the world's leading strategy consultancies. At Mercer, Mr. Polemitis helped top-tier private equity firms and merchant banks improve their performance across the whole investment cycle from investment selection to portfolio optimization to exit strategy.  His research at Mercer on optimal financing strategy in private equity has been published in Buyouts and cited in the Financial Times.   At Mercer, he also consulted on growth strategy and customer relationship management to, among others, a top three information technology firm, a top three oil and gas major and two of the five largest investment banks. 
Mr. Polemitis holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with highest distinction as a Baker Scholar (top 5%), and a B.S. in International Studies, Accounting and Computer Information Systems from Indiana University, where he graduated with highest distinction as a Wells and Chancellor's Scholar (top 21 students). Mr. Polemitis also studied at the University of Paris IV (Sorbonne) in Paris as an undergraduate.   Mr. Polemitis is an Eagle Scout and Friend of The Explorers Club, the world’s premier scientific exploration society.

Prof Leonidas A. Phylactou received his Bachelor’s degree in Medical Biochemistry with honours from the University of Birmingham, UK in 1992 and his PhD in Molecular Genetics/Gene Therapy from the same University in 1995 in collaboration with the University of Connecticut Health Center, USA. Upon completion of his studies, he moved to Oxford University as a post-doctoral scientist where he led a research team on the use of catalytic RNAs as tools for gene therapy in the brain and muscle. Upon returning to Cyprus in 1998 he was employed at The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING) where he established a research team to investigate and develop novel ways to study gene function and exploit gene therapy approaches. In 2005, he was appointed as the Head of the Department of Molecular Genetics, Function and Therapy, which he still directs. 
 From 2012 until 2015, Prof. Phylactou served as the first Dean of the newly established post-graduate school of the CING, the Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine (CSMM).
 From March 2014 to July 2015, Prof. Phylactou served as the Acting Chief Executive Medical Director of the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics and Acting Provost of the Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine. In November 2015, he was appointed as the Chief Executive Medical Director of the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics and the Provost of the Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine.
 During his scientific career Prof. Phylactou has secured research funding from several local and international funding organisations and published extensively in the areas of molecular genetics, gene function and gene therapy. He also serves on the Editorial Boards of international peer-reviewed journals.  

Before assuming office as the CEO of Cyta in January 2019, Mr Neocleous main work experience comes from three large multi-national companies (Goldman Sachs, Ericsson and MTN). His time as a Senior Technology Analyst at Goldman Sachs (London and New York), introduced him to the corporate financial world at the highest level. His time in Ericsson Cyprus allowed him to make a smooth transition from technology to business while at the same time adjusting to the Cyprus business environment. Very importantly, his assignment in several Senior Management positions in ΜΤΝ Cyprus offered him priceless experience in leadership and organizational culture change in a demanding and multi-cultural global environment.
His academic qualifications include a Masters of Engineering in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and a PhD in Telecommunications & Digital Signal Processing, all from Imperial College, University of London.

Michalis Persianis has been Corporate Affairs Director at Bank of Cyprus since 2015. 
Michalis worked as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones from 2011 to 2014, and as Chief Editor for Finance at Kathimerini newspaper (Cyprus edition) from 2009 to 2014.  From 2005 to 2009 he was Head of Research (Presidential campaign) and Parliamentary staffer (European Parliament) for Mr Ioannis Kasoulides.
Michalis also worked as an analyst for the Institute of World Politics (2005), and provided political support to George Vassiliou, the Chief Negotiator for Cyprus' accession to the European Union.  
Michalis sits on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre and on the Board of Directors of the BoC Cultural Foundation.
He earned his BA in Political Science from Rutgers University, New Jersey, in 2002, and went on to earn an MA in International Economics and European Studies from John Hopkins University in 2005.

Marina Economidou was born in Nicosia in 1985. She is the editor in chief of Kathimerini newspaper and since 2014 is the political editor and columnist of Kathimerini. She holds a master degree in political communication from the University of Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Cyprus, a diploma of French literature and language from the University of Paris 4 Sorbonne. She speaks English and French.


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After her studies in Marketing in London, she started her career in the family petroleum company Petrolina Hellas in Greece.  In 1985 she retuned to Cyprus and founded DELEMA, one of the largest and most creative communication agencies in Cyprus, affiliated with MCCANN Worldgroup, the largest and most effective communication network in the world. She is the president of FED (Self-Regulation association) and SDEK (communication agencies association).  She also served as vice-president of the European Association of Young Entrepreneurs YES for Europe.
DELEMA is a full service agency, offering services such as Strategy development, Creative, Media, Online and Digital, PR, Events and Promotions.  
DELEMA’s work has been recognised in international competitions (London International Advertising Awards, Ermis Awards και European Digital Communication Awards) and has been awarded in Cyprus (Carob Awards, Cyprus Digital Awards και Cyprus Responsibility Awards).  

Demetris Demetriou was born in Nicosia in 1981. He studied Electrical and Computer Engineering (Faculty of Engineering) at the University of Patras in Greece. He holds an MBA in Business Administration from the University of Cyprus. 
He served as a Vice-President of the Youth Organisation (NEDISY) of the Democratic Rally in Cyprus (DISY) from 2009 to 2011. He has also been the President of the Organisation of Young Scientists (ONE) of DISY from 2013 to 2017. Since July of 2018 he is the spokesperson of DISY. In 2016 he has been elected as Member of the Parliament in Cyprus with DISY for the area of Nicosia. 
As MP he is the Deputy Chairman of the House Standing Committee on Legal Affairs, member of the House Standing Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources and of the House Standing Committee on Transport, Communications and Works and he serves as a leader of the delegation of the House to the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol.

Christoforos Charalambous has been working for more than two decades in universities where he has held researcher and faculty positions. Relatively recently he has undertaken a top management position at Frederick University, one of the largest universities in Cyprus.
Dr Charalambous holds a BSc in Computer Science from the Department of Computation at the University of Manchester where he ranked as the top graduate, and a Master’s degree with specialization in artificial intelligence from the same university. He obtained his Doctorate from Brunel University in London where his research, funded by Unilever Research Laboratories, concentrated in the field of optimization of complex systems. 
Academically, he concentrated in solving complex optimization problems and the improvement of operations in the process industry through the introduction of novel digital solutions. He has successfully completed a significant number of externally funded research projects as project and scientific coordinator and his work has been published in esteemed international scientific journals and conferences. At the same time, he has acted as a consultant in fields of his expertise for various Cypriot organisations as well as multinationals operating in Europe.    
​For the past five years, Dr Charalambous is serving Frederick University from the position of Director of Administration and Finance while he also holds the position of Vice-President of the University Council. From this position, he oversaw the administrative restructuring and modernization of the university services while at the same time he led the development of distance learning education at the university. Additionally, in collaboration with a team of academics and external consultants, he oversees the strategic action of integrating and adopting state-of-the-art technologies in the educational process as well as the development of novel solutions for the provision of a more efficient and effective educational framework that addresses the challenges of the new decade. 

Professor Dr. Kostas Gouliamos, Rector of the European University Cyprus, elected  
Ordinary Member of European Academy of Sciences and Arts (2018). He pursued an academic career in Canada and Greece. He is Honorary Professor at Lanzhou City University, Nanyang Normal University and Wuhan Business University in China. He was Member of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the European Social Survey (ESS): an innovative research project that won Europe’s top science award, the Descartes Prize. He served as Senior Editor and serves as member of Editorial Boards of eminent academic journals. His published work has been translated in various languages of the world. He appointed (2017-2019) by European University Association (EUA), Council Member of Experts for ‘Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialization’ RIS3’. 

Meet our 2019 Speakers

Andreas Ekström
Award winning journalist, author and digital futurist

Andreas Ekström is an award winning Swedish journalist, author and digital futurist. His topics reach across issues of digitalization, media, politics and culture. Ekström has been a keynote speaker at conferences all over the world and often serves as a digital thought partner for leaders and boards of directors.
 Ekström is also an active reporter and often uses journalistic methods and principles in his work. With a solid background in stage and tv production, Ekström is an experienced moderator and facilitator, able to craft high quality content and drive discussions. He is also a senior staff writer and columnist at Sydsvenskan, a daily morning paper in Malmö, Sweden.
 Ekström, an author of seven books, wrote a bestselling book about Google and has since been a keynote speaker, consultant and commentator on all things digital around the world.
 Andreas Ekström gained his biggest international audience through TED. His TED talk, recorded in Oslo, Norway, has reached over a million views to date. His passion is to educate for digital equality. He hopes to see a world in which wealth is shared – not only financially, but also in terms of knowledge and influence.

Ken Hughes
World’s leading Consumer & Shopper Behaviouralist CEO Glacier Consulting

Ken Hughes is now acknowledged as being one of the world’s leading authorities on consumer and shopper behaviour, internationally renowned for helping his largely blue-chip client base to understand the future of consumerism.
With over 18 years’ experience as CEO of a consumer insight agency, he blends his understanding of consumer & cyber psychology, digital anthropology, behavioural economics and retail futurology to explore the needs of the new consumer and predict the changes to come.
Ken advises some of the biggest brands in the world on customer experience, omnichannel strategy, shopper marketing, retail trends, the millennial and Gen Z shopper and the peer-to-peer economy. As an accomplished author, TED speaker, part-time university professor and actor, his performances are not only insightful and thought-provoking, but are infamous for their sheer energy, entertainment and passion, not to mention his generous Irish wit.
As a behaviouralist and life strategist, he is also passionate about change, success, personal development and motivation, which he brings to life in his work with high performance athletes and executives all over the world.
​Every year, Ken shares his thought-disrupting insight with tens of thousands of delegates globally, as one of the most popular keynote speakers booked on the international conference circuit relating to the future of consumerism. Regularly voted best speaker at events to which he is invited to speak, he believes in engaging and delighting event attendees at every opportunity.

Daniel Bobroff
Founder of Coded Futures and formerly the co-founder and Investment Director of ASOS Ventures

 Daniel Bobroff believes in the power of everyone to be a game changer. He is acknowledged as one of the World’s leading retail technology speakers. Passionate about the digitalization of retail and the changing customer experience, his unusual journey has led to a unique perspective that informs many of the World’s best-known retailers, agencies and brands. He is motivational and visionary, but always provides a roadmap. 
Daniel is the founder of Coded Futures, a creative technology advisory firm focused on the future of retail, and formerly the co-founder and Investment Director of ASOS Ventures, the online fashion company’s venture capital division. In over two decades as an innovator, entrepreneur, mentor and investor, he has pioneered advertising in video games, developed chart topping video games that sold in their millions, and is, today, a leading thought leader and keynote speaker in the world of retail and fashion technology. 
Daniel is also acknowledged as the pioneer of in-game advertising – “selling Mario to the admen” - starting an advertising medium that is today an eight-billion-dollar market. He built Microtime, the first and for over a decade the leading digital advertising agency for in game advertising and advergaming. Close contact to the gaming world led Daniel to build and lead Deibus Studios, a video games developer with studios in both the UK and France and which emerged as a leading talent for extreme sports, creating games for PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo, achieving combined sales in excess of 50 million units. 
Daniel has founded, invested in and led companies within a range of innovative technologies including virtual reality, visual search, e-commerce and ad-tech. 
At the World leading online fashion retailer ASOS, Daniel created the company’s venture capital arm. His mission was to identify and invest in the latest innovations within retail and fashion technology. He built an enviable network of cutting-edge retail tech talent, developing partnerships covering the latest in marketing, production and customer experience. 
Scouting for the latest innovations across retail’s value chain, Daniel talks about the technology driven future of retail. He evangelizes the need for personal, immediate, and interactive mobile experiences, new filters, the importance of culture and how all retail businesses will become technology businesses. He is a highly demanded international speaker, recently delivering keynote addresses for the Retail Institute, Salesforce, Google and Facebook.

Andreas Neocleous
CEO of CYTA

Before assuming office as the CEO of Cyta in January 2019, Mr Neocleous main work experience comes from three large multi-national companies (Goldman Sachs, Ericsson and MTN). His time as a Senior Technology Analyst at Goldman Sachs (London and New York), introduced him to the corporate financial world at the highest level. His time in Ericsson Cyprus allowed him to make a smooth transition from technology to business while at the same time adjusting to the Cyprus business environment. Very importantly, his assignment in several Senior Management positions in ΜΤΝ Cyprus offered him priceless experience in leadership and organizational culture change in a demanding and multi-cultural global environment.
 His academic qualifications include a Masters of Engineering in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and a PhD in Telecommunications & Digital Signal Processing, all from Imperial College, University of London.

Anastasia Sideri
Communications Director, Central and Eastern Europe The Coca‑Cola Company

Anastasia Sideri holds a degree in Chemical Engineering, and brings with her 32 years of professional experience in the Marketing, Strategic Communications & Public Affairs fields. 
 She started her career with Procter and Gambleand held a series of senior positions in large greek and multinational companies, including FAGE, Boutari, DIAGEO, DHL and the Athens International Airport
 She joined The Coca-Cola Company in 2002 and is currently providing Communications leadership in 26 countries in Central and Southeast Europe. 
 She is a founding member of the Hellenic Network of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Hellenic Communications network and served as Board member in the Hellenic Advertisers Association. She is  currently the President of the Women in Business (WIB) Committee of American Chamber of Commerce in Greece and Board member in various charitable organizations. 
 She is an advocate of lifelong learning, is NLP trained, speaks 6 languages and is very active in areas related to Effective communications, Crisis communications,  CSR,  Volunteerism, Ethical leadership, Accountable Marketing, Growth mindset and Women and Youth empowerment . She is a speaker in fora and conferences around the globe in all areas above and in 2018 became a Tedx Talker at the Agricultural University of Athens 
 She is a mother of two children, 23 and 21 years old,  and lives with her husband in Athens Greece.

Margaritis Schinas
Vice-President-designate for Protecting
​our European Way of Life​

Mr. Margaritis Schinas is a Greek politician and he is the new Greek Commissioner to the European Union in charge of the core priority protecting our European way of life.
On the 18th of July, 2019, Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced his intent to nominate Mr. Margaritis Schinas as the Greek Commissioner to the new President Elect Ursula von der Leyen.
On the 10th of September, 2019, President Elect Ursula von der Leyen, announced the appointment of Mr. Margaritis Schinas to the Vice Presidency of the European Commission leading one of her top priorities on protecting our European way of life.

Harris Georgiades​
Minister of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus

Harris Georgiades was born in 1972 in Nicosia.
He was appointed as Minister of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus on 3rd April 2013 and was reappointed on 1st March 2018. He had the leading role in the implementation and successful conclusion of the reform and consolidation program for the Cyprus economy after the financial crisis of 2012-2013. He participates in the Eurogroup and the ECOFIN. He was elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the period 2014-2015 and is a member of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund, the European Investment Bank and the European Stability Mechanism. He was selected by POLITICO as one of the 28 most-influential Europeans for 2016. He is a member of the Young Leaders for Europe community of the World Economic Forum. Prior to his appointment as Minister he was a Member of the House of Representatives with the Democratic Rally Party (2011-2013). He also served as Press Spokesman and as member of the Executive of the Democratic Rally. He studied International Relations and Economics (BA, MA, 1992-96) at the University of Reading, UK and was a post-graduate researcher at the Institute of European and International Studies, University of Reading (1996-98). 

George Nounesis
Director & Chairman of the Board of the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos” (Tesla Greece)

George Nounesis is the Director & Chairman of the Board of the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos” for a four-year term (2017-2021), an institution that is associated with Tesla Greece.  Dr. Nounesis studied Physics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He obtained his PhD at the School of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Minnesota.  He completed a three-year Postdoctoral training at the Chemistry Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Executive Education Program on “Innovation for Economic Development”at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.  He is currently the Director of the Biomolecular Physics Laboratory at Demokritos. Prior to returning to Greece he held Research Staff appointments at the Center for Materials Science and Engineering at MIT and at the Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory. He has spent sabbatical leaves at the Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal at CNRS and the Chemistry Department of the University of Bordeaux I as an Invited Professor.  His research is mainly focused on structural and thermodynamic studies of nano-structured soft materials as well as biomolecules, primarily proteins.  For his work he has received awards and distinctionsfrom the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, the Empirikion Foundation, the United States Department of the Navy and the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota.  He serves as an Expert Reviewer of several National and International Research Funding Organizations in the European Commission, the USA (NSF), Poland, Turkey, Belgium and Greece.

Dr. Marina - Lida Coutarelli
Founder of “Communication Lab” 

Dr. Marina - Lida Coutarelli has studied communication and political science at Brown University in the United States, and holds a Ph.D. in Communication Crisis Management from the University of Oxford.
In 2008, she founded “Communication Lab”, a Crisis, Communication and Management company. Also, since 2011, she is the founder and president of the organizing committee of the top multi sport event, Spetses mini Marathon and the Spetsathlon. 
She has been honored as one of the 40 most important women of the world in the field of Public Relations of the IPRA (International Association of Public Relations Professionals) and also a National Champion in the RSM Entrepreneur of the Year & Rubain D’ Honneur Recipient category , at the European Business Awards sponsored by RSM

Daniel Domscheit-Berg
Network security expert and former WikiLeaks spokesperson in Germany

A network security expert by trade, Domscheit-Berg is an advocate for transparency and freedom of speech by heart, deeply caring for equal access to knowledge and information in a globalized world. In 2011, he was named by Foreign Policy magazine in its FP Top 100 Global Thinkers,
 Daniel Domscheit-Berg, born in 1978, helped build the WikiLeaks platform from late 2007 to September 2010, and acted as its spokesperson under the pseudonym Daniel Schmitt. He quit WikiLeaks over disputes about its strategic orientation, lack of transparency and management style. Domscheit-Berg wrote a book about his experiences "Inside WikiLeaks“, which was published in early 2011, was translated into 23 languages and was one source for the subsequent Hollywood movie "The Fifth Estate".
 Before WikiLeaks, Domscheit-Berg worked for various fortune 500 companies, mainly building enterprise-scale wireless and wired networks for the automotive and transport industries.
 Domscheit-Berg today is involved with various internet projects relacted to privacy and anonymity, and furthering the decentralization of the Internet's infrastructure, Running a small innovation lab in Brandenburg's countryside, he passionately teaches kids about electronics and technology, and grows vegetables in a networked garden. In 2015, he will be working on bringing the open fiber broadband revolution to Germany.
 He has presented and debated on future chances as well as risks in a digitized and networked world in a multitude of both national and international conferences and fora, spanning a broad range from universities via commercial venues to the World Economic Forum, and is regularly present in national and international media on said topics.

David Clarke
FBCS, Chief Technology Officer The Trust Bridge

David has been recognized as one of the top 10 influencers by Thompson Reuter top 30 most influential thought-leaders and thinkers on social media, in risk management, compliance and regtech in the UK.
 David is a highly experienced Chief Information Security Officer/Cyber Security & GDPR Management Consultant with a deep knowledge of Global project delivery and operational leadership. He operates across FTSE (Financial Times Stock Exchange) 100, SME (small to medium enterprise) and start-ups within Financial Services, FinTech, Telecoms, Technology and Utilities sectors developing strong coherent cyber security, GDPR data protection and privacy strategies.
David created a Global Infrastructure for  the world’s largest private trading network, trading $ 3 trillion a day, and has managed Multiple Global Security Operations Centres.

Georgios Lakkotrypis
Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry

Before assuming office as Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism in March 2013, Yiorgos Lakkotrypis was Managing Director for Microsoft Cyprus and Malta, and subsequently Public Sector Director at Microsoft Central & Eastern Europe. A Fulbright scholar, Lakkotrypis also holds a Mathematics and Computer Science (BSc) degree from the University of Keele and completed his MBA at the University of Colorado.

Thalia Karafilidou
Editor-in-Chief Vogue Greece

Thalia Karafyllidou was born in Thessaloniki and is a graduate of the American College of Anatolia. She studied Law at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Communication at the Kapodistrian University of Athens and received her Master’s in Intellectual Property Rights from the University of Manchester. She is a PhD candidate at the same university on “Copyright law and the new business models in the film industry”. She worked as a PR Manager at the Thessaloniki Film Festival for 5 years and held senior positions in the field of international media in Greece and England. In 2018, Conde Nast International named her Editor in Chief of the Greek edition of Vogue, making her the youngest Editor in Vogue's history worldwide.

Kyriacos Kokkinos
National Chief Scientist for Research & Innovation of the Republic of Cyprus

Kyriacos Kokkinos is National Chief Scientist for Research & Innovation of the Republic of Cyprus, a Member of the National Board for Research and Innovation (NBRI) and the Chairman of the Board of  Research and Innovation Foundation.
 He has served in PWC Cyprus as Executive Director and in IBM as Executive Director & Partner, IBM Europe, with 30 years of experience in the Technology Consulting and Services Sector, the most recent role being the leader of European Consulting practice in Cognitive Computing – Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
 Having received numerous awards and recognitions for professional excellence, he serves at the Board of Directors of several organisations, including the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency and the Board of Trustees of Cyprus Institute.

Yiannis Olympios
​Founder V+O Group

Giannis began his career in the field of communication with the Greek Foreign Ministry. He is a leading consultant in the fields of privatization, acquisitions and crisis management. He has consulted major Greek companies and managed key foreign investments in the country. Giannis is active member of important think tanks in Greece and abroad.

Despo Lefkariti
​Managing Director DELEMA MCCANN

She begun her career in Greece, working for the family petroleum business Petrolina S.A.  In 1985, upon her return to Cyprus, she founded DELEMA McCANN, one of the largest and most creative communication groups in Cyprus, affiliated with MCCANN WORLGROUP, the largest communication group in the world.  She is the President of the Cyprus advertising Self Regulation Organisation (ΦΕΔ), has served as Vice-President of YES for Europe (the European Federation of Young Entrepreneurs), as President of SDEK (Cyprus Association of Communication Agencies) and on the Board of various public companies and organisations. DeLeMa was selected by the EU as a «good practice» for gender equality.

Nikolaos Mavridis
Founder and director of the Interactive Robots and Media Lab (IRML)

Nikolaos Mavridis, PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is an Academic and Consultant specializing in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. Founder and director of the Interactive Robots and Media Lab (IRML), he has served as faculty at numerous institutions, including New York University (NYU) AD and Poly, among others. Before his PhD, he was awarded an M.Sc. from UCLA, and a M.Eng. from the Aristotle University, all with Suma Cum Laude. He has received significant media attention, such as coverage of IRML projects from media of >20 countries, including the BBC, Agence France-Presse etc. He is the author of >80 peer-reviewed academic publications, and has served as vice-chair of the Hellenic Artificial Intelligence Society, bid preparer and TC member that brought the World Robot Olympiad to Abu Dhabi, founding chair of the IEEE UAE Robotics and Automation Society, and mentor in The Next Generation Initiative. Nikolaos has also completed further PD courses from the MIT Sloan School of Business, and courses in International Relations from LSE, as well as courses in Social Entrepreneurship from Berkeley HAAS. Furthermore, he is a board member at several companies, and has been an invited keynote speaker at more than 50 venues worldwide, including the Singularity University summit, a TEDx Speaker four times, including Athens and Geneva, as well as a speaker at the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg. He has also served as Judge for the Dubai Prime Minister's Office "Drones for Good" and "Robotics and AI for Good" international competitions, and is a mentor for the MIT Enterprise Forum, and a member of the MIT Educational Council.

Athanasios Ellis
Editor in Chief, Kathimerini English Edition

Athanasios Ellis is Editor in Chief of Kathimerini English Edition, published in Greece and Cyprus along with the New York Times as a single paper. A former long time Washington bureau chief, he has interviewed many influential personalities - among them Turkish leaders Erdogan, Gul, and Davutoglu, French Presidents Macron and Sarkozy, European Commission Presidents Junker and Baroso, IMF managing directors Lagarde and Strauss Khan - and has reported from foreign capitals other than  Washington, including Beijing, Tokyo, Brussels, Berlin, London, Paris, Rome, Ankara and Cairo.
He has appeared on international media to analyze Greek elections, the Greek economic crisis, and Greek-Turkish relations. He holds a B.A. from Boston University in Economics and Political Science, and a M.A. from B.U. in International Relations.

Michalis Sophocleous
CEO Glafkos Clerides Institute

Michalis Sophocleous is the CEO of Glafkos Clerides Institute, and a member of the Executive Committee and Political Bureau of Democratic Rally, Cyprus’ ruling party. Until March 2018 he was the Director of the President’s of the Republic of Cyprus Office, and responsible for Nicos Anastasiades election manifesto. A prominent member of the Nicos Anastasiades 2018 campaign committee, he was also the campaign manager of Ioannis Kasoulides for the presidential election of 2008, the coordinator of the support movement for the election of Glafkos Clerides in 2003 and a columnist for Kathimerini newspaper.  

He has a long involvement in political issues, especially on the Cyprus Problem, International, European, South-eastern Mediterranean Politics and issues surrounding political ideology. He is well known for his dedication to reforms and technological developments. He has also been a business strategy and communication consultant for major Cypriot companies and an active member of important think tanks in Cyprus and abroad.  

Jean Abou Assi
Director in Deloitte Digital ME

Is a director in Deloitte Digital ME, he has a track record of implementing and leading large scale digital programs, and is well versed in the entire digitization journey from strategy to delivery. He has extensive expertise in delivering cutting-edge digital customer experiences and products. Jean works closely with senior executives, business owners, marcom, creative and delivery teams, and digital product owners to elevate the human experience and make digital journeys work for customers.

Cleopatra Kitti
Founder of the Mediterranean Growth Initiative

Cleopatra is the founder of the Mediterranean Growth Initiative the only real time data analysis platform for the economies of the Mediterranean championing regional trade and market opportunity for investors and policy makers; a certified independent Director and Non-Executive director of Eurobank Cyprus (financial services); Louis Plc (regional travel and tourism); INSEAD’s  ambassador to Cyprus for its Independent Directors Network focusing building capacity and sharing knowledge on good governance; member of the international advisory board, International Crisis Group, the international NGO working to prevent war and shape peace.

 Tonia Sotiropoulou
Actress,  Influencer

Born and raised in Athens, Greece, actress Tonia Sotiropoulou graduated from the George Kimouli College and Giles Foreman center for acting in London. She has established her career in cinematography in London, where she has been living for 7 years. She has worked and collaborated with directors such as Sam Mendes, Bret Ratner, Peter Strickland, Noel Clarke, and Nikos Perakis. Mrs. Spyropolou commutes between London and Athens, and is the brand ambassador to Intimissimi, Oriflame, Audemars Piguet, and Adidas Greece. Additionally, she works alongside organizations such as WWF Greece, “Alma Zois”, and Save a Greek Stray.

Professor Elizabeth O. Johnson
Dean, School of Medicine, European University Cyprus

Dean Elizabeth O. Johnson is a Professor of Anatomy at the School of Medicine, European University Cyprus, and she currently serves on the Federative International Programme for Anatomical Education (FIPAE) of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA). Dean Johnson was trained in Functional Neuroanatomy and Psychoneuroendocrinology at Cornell and the University of Maryland, and did her post-doctoral training in Molecular Neuroendocrinology & Chemical Neuroanatomy at the National Institutes Health. Her research focuses on neurosciences, particularly on stress and stress-related disorders. Johnson’s scientific record lists over 150 invited lectures, 300 contributions to the international scientific literature where here published original work as amassed over 10,000 citations. She is on the Editorial Board of core journals, anatomical textbooks and atlases, such as Grey’s Anatomy for Students, and has written her own textbook on Neuroanatomy

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Meet our 2018 Speakers

MARGARITIS SCHINAS
Chief Spokesperson of the European Commission

Margaritis Schinas is the current Chief Spokesperson of the European Commission, and a Deputy Director General at the Commission's DG Communication. He has in his life been a politician and a European Union civil servant. He served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2007-2009. He has worked at the European Commission since 1990 and held since a number of senior posts mainly in the private offices of Commissioners.

ALEXIS PAPACHELAS
Greece's Kathimerini Executive Editor

In 2014 he was presented with the John Dewey Award for Distinguished Public Service from Bard College, awarded annually to alumni of the college for extraordinary contributions to the public interest. The magazine Politico included Papachelas as one of 27 most influential Europeans in the European Union. Papachelas has won a number of journalism awards, including journalist of the year, for his personal work and reports on his television programs. He has contributed columns for the New York Times and the Guardian and has been a guest at meetings of the Bilderberg Club. He is general secretary of the Greek Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP).

YIORGOS LAKKOTRYPIS
Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism

Before assuming office as Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism in March 2013, Yiorgos Lakkotrypis was Managing Director for Microsoft Cyprus and Malta, and subsequently Public Sector Director at Microsoft Central & Eastern Europe. A Fulbright scholar, Lakkotrypis also holds a Mathematics and Computer Science (BSc) degree from the University of Keele and completed his MBA at the University of Colorado.

SEBASTIAN WALDBAUER
Senior Product & Price Manager Digital Services & E-Mobility at BMW Group CSEU

Sebastian WALDBAUER (1989, born in Austria) holds a BA in Export-oriented Management from University of Applied Sciences Krems (Austria) and a MSc in Advanced Management Practice from the University of Bath (United Kingdom). Mr. Waldbauer has worked for PwC in the area of Strategy & Operations consulting with focus on projects in the area of sustainability as well as project management. Additionally, he gained valuable experiences in the diplomatic area working for the Ministry for European and International Affairs of Austria, (based in Geneva, Switzerland), focusing on human rights, public health and humanitarian affairs. Since 2014 Mr. Waldbauer is working for BMW Group Central and Southeastern Europe with his current position as Senior Product Manager for Digital Services & E-Mobility products.

Dr. STELIOS HIMONAS
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism - Cyprus Digital Champion

Stelios D. Himonas was born in Athens, Greece, on May 2, 1962. He received the BE, MS and PhD degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA in 1985, 1986 and 1989, respectively, all in electrical engineering. From 1989 until 1997 he was an Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering at the New York Institute of Technology, USA. From 1994 until 1997, he collaborated with the Multimedia Communications Research Group of Bellcore’s Applied Research Division in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. Since 2012 he was appointed as Digital Champion of Cyprus. Digital Champions are ambassadors for the Digital Single Market, appointed by their Members States to help every European become digital.

JIVKA PETKOVA
Multimedia Chief Editor of European Commission

Jivka Petkova is currently the European Commission Multimedia chief-editor and Head of Unit in the Spokesperson's service. She contributes to the Commission's communication strategy and coordinates preparation of corporate communication material, she is responsible for the speeches of President Juncker and ensures liaison on media-related issues with the Commission Representations in the EU Member States. As Political Adviser to the Managing Director in the European External Action Service and as Adviser t the Director on Human Rights and Democracy she followed different human rights, global and multilateral issues.

GEORGE MAKKOULIS
Co-Founder Avocarrot

PANOS PAPAGEORGIOU
Co-Founder Avocarrot

After graduating Imperial College, George and Panos, along with Conno Christou and Giorgos Eracleous, founded Avocarrot. Based in San Francisco and Athens, Avocarrot (now Glispa - Connect) is a high-growth native advertising supply-side platform (SSP), which combines programmatic advertising and real-time bidding technologies so that it can generate the right ads at the right time for the right users in order to maximize the effectiveness of a mobile ad. In 2016 Avocarrot was acquired by the ad tech giant Glispa for more that €20m. Both George and Panos are considered among those world class engineers that are leading the innovations in programmatic advertising.

TANIA GIAKOUMAKI
Digital Marketing Consultant

Tania has a long-standing experience as an innovative thinker with highly strategic mindset and broad-based experience in marketing, communication and business development. She started her career in the Public Relations Sector and quickly moved to one of the biggest global communications groups (Lowe and Partners) handling key accounts in the FMCG, Banking and Tobacco Industry. After almost nine years she followed a marketing career path in expertise pioneering the Greek market followed by dedicated General Manager positions on leading Digital Communication Agencies (XPLAIN, BAKERS DIGITAL).