AMBASSADORS
Mangipudi Haragopal
CEO, finUNO (ex-CEO of Infosys)
Haragopal Mangipudi
Haragopal (aka Hara) is the Co-creator of finUNO® , an advanced
conversational platform powered by AI that delivers contextual and hyper-
personalized financial services to consumers.
Hara grew up with Finacle® (at Infosys) for two decades (till October 2014),
from its inception to global leadership across six continents, 80+ countries
touching the lives of 850+ millions consumers. He was the Global Head of
Finacle and was a member of the Executive Council of Infosys.
Hara is a member of the global board of ISPMA (International Software
Product Management Association), the global Software Product Management
tribe. He is also on the governing board of IIML – SCIFI (Indian Institute of
Management, Lucknow) Hara has been a regular speaker at various global
forums. He partnered with Industry forums like BAI (USA), EFMA (EU) and
Asian Banker in driving Innovation in Banking.
Hara is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2016 from the
prestigious IIMB (Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore).
Alexandros Angelopoulos
CEO of the Aldemar Group
Alexandros Angelopoulos
Alexandros Angelopoulos is the CEO of the Aldemar Group
Resorts, one of the largest hotel chains in Greece.
He has been active in the family business since 1995, while at the same time
he has maintained participatory action in various organizations and professional associations, systematically engaging in the implementation of new ideas and policies, both in the field of tourism and in the wider business world.
Until 2017, Alexandros Angelopoulos was a Member of the Board & its Chairman Committee on Environmental Policy of XEE while in 2018, he was re-elected in the Board, representing the five star hotels of Crete. He is the General Secretary of the Union of Greek Young Entrepreneurs (EENE) as well as Vice President at the Eurasian Council (GEBC). Also, since 2010, he has held the title of honorary Consul of Ukraine for the Peloponnese.
In recent years, he has been actively supporting new emerging executives to help them acquire a clearer vision for the future, either through collaborations with academics in the role of mentor, or through his speeches in large conferences, universities and colleges.
Alexandros N. Angelopoulos was born in 1972 in Athens. He studied Business Management at Boston University and and then International Management at the post graduaate school of Boston College. In 2008, he successfully completed the PDP training program of New York Cornell University.
Giannis Karakasis
Master of Wine
Giannis Karakasis
Giannis Karakasis MW (Master of Wine) is one of only 380 Masters of Wine in the world, a title that is considered the best in the field of wine. He writes about wine, advises and trains while being a judge in the most important wine competition in the world, the Decanter World Wine Awards. He is the founder of the dynamic blog karakasis.mw, the only wine blog in Greece, with only original content, that monitors Greek wine on a weekly basis in both Greek and English. At the same time, two books have been published so far: the e-book The Wines and Vineyards of Greece 2017 and Natural Wines in Greece. You can read his full CV here https://www.karakasis.mw/about-me
Dimitris Chris
CEO, Tuvunu A.E.
Dimitris Chris
Dimitris Chris is a member of the Board of Directors and CEO Consultant of Tuvunu SA , a Greek company producing, marketing and exporting natural soft drinks based in Thrace. He held managerial positions in companies, both large and small, including the Brewery of Macedonia Thrace SA. (www.verginabeer.com) and the Express Kalofolias Media Group (www.express.gr), where he served as Business Development Director, and as Senior Development Officer at Anatolia College for the North American region.
During the last two decades, Dimitris has worked as an author and columnist for publications in Greece and the USA, such as Kathimerini, the National Preacher of New York, Macedonia Daily, Athens News, Athens Insider and Observer of Thrace. He has also appeared as a guest commentator on CNN International and BloombergHT TV in Turkey. In addition to his experience in the media, Dimitris served as an editor for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Prague and as an external relations consultant for the Prefecture of Thessaloniki. Dimitris holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in New York City, majoring in European History and International Relations.
Emilios Kyriakou
Citi Country Officer, Citi Greece
Emilios Kyriakou
Emilios Kyriakou is Managing Director and Senior Credit Officer of Citi. Since 2014 he has taken over the position of CEO of Citi Greece, Cyprus and Malta. Since 1990, when he started working for Citi, Emilios Kyriakou has held a number of positions in the field of corporate finance and corporate customer relationship management.
Today In parallel with the role of the Managing Director, he maintains the position of the Chief Executive Officer of Corporate Banking, having in his portfolio all the activity of Citi corporate banking in Greece, Cyprus and Malta, which includes the departments of the major Greek businesses, the financial sector, multinational corporations, shipping and the bank's relationship with the public sector.
He has significant experience in the field of finance and capital markets, having led the introduction of a number of Greek companies in the international capital markets and the implementation of innovative and pioneering financial solutions in the domestic market. Prior to assuming the position of Chief Executive Officer, he was the Head of Corporate Banking. Citi in Greece, Cyprus, Central and Eastern Europe and had under its responsibility the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Israel as well as the Balkan and Baltic countries.
He holds a Master's degree in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Relations from the University of Denison in the USA.
He is a member of the Board of Directors (BoD) of the Hellenic Banking Association, the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce and Vice Chairman of the Board of the Junior Achievement / Youth Entrepreneurship Association. He has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of CITI Financial Credits SA. and member of the Board of Directors of Diners Club Greece SA
Giannis Kotes
Memeber of KEMEL Board of Directors, ex-President of ALGIDA, Certified Mastercoach, Senior Interim Manager.
Giannis Kotes
Giannis Kotes is ex President of ALGIDA, Certified Mastercoach, Senior Interim Manager and member of the Center for Volunteer Management of Greece (KEMEL). He has 30 years of experience having worked in various financial departments at the Anglo-Dutch UNILEVER and has served as CEO of ALGIDA ice cream for the past 12 years. He is an economist with extensive experience in Executive Coaching Executives and business management teams, as well as in e-structuring / change management projects.
Myrsini Lambraki
Journalist, screenwriter, director
Myrsini Lambraki
Myrsini Lambraki was born in Crete, an island which is a reference point worldwide for healthy eating. She has a long family tradition in gastronomy, as her great-grandfather and uncle were cooks. As regards herself, she studied at the Law School of Athens in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. In 1994-1995 she received postgraduate training in Cultural Promotion of Traditional Products by the Council of Europe and the Marcel Hicter Foundation in Finland and Portugal. She was quickly won over by cooking and thus began her own journey into the world of flavors.
She has worked in restaurant kitchens inside and outside Greece while in her assets she also has cooking shows, gastronomy magazines and writing gastronomic books. She has created her own company, Food Service Consulting (FoodVisions), a company of integrated services for catering, in the field of food and Greek Producers. In recent years she has specialized in meat and cooking and is the first Master Grill Chef in Greece and representative of the country in the World BBQ Association.
She has been certified as a Butcher in Athens she has specialized in meat slicing, BBQ and cooking techniques in London. She delivers small cooking and confectionery courses in her own cooking studio as well as more specialized seminars, for professionals, for meat management and the preparation of handmade meat products.
Konstantinos I. Marinakis
Founder of Marinakis Holdings
Konstantinos I. Marinakis
Konstantinos I. Marinakis is the CEO of the Swedish multinational cosmetics company Oriflame in Greece and Cyprus. He was the founder of Oriflame Greece in 1993 and remains to this day responsible for the overall strategy of the company. He leads the Management team and the strategy for the development of the company's turnover and its dynamic development in the Greek and International market. Oriflame was founded in 1967 in Sweden and is now the largest European cosmetics direct sales company with operations in more than 60 countries worldwide. Konstantinos Marinakis studied Business Administration and Finance at Concordia University of Canada and continued his studies in Geneva, Switzerland with an MBA in Finance and Management. From 2007 to 2013 he was President of the Hellenic-Swedish Chamber and in 2015 he was elected President of the Hellenic Association of Direct Selling Companies.
Sotiris Batzias
Principal | Strategy & Operations, Deloitte Business Solutions A.E.
Sotiris Batzias
Mr. Batzias has more than 15 years experience in strategic and business planning, financial and
economic analysis, impact and feasibility assessment, investment appraisal and operational
performance improvement. His consulting experience ranges across various industries of the Greek
economy, working for both private and public sector clients in the areas of energy, consumer
business, tourism, real estate, constructions, transport, etc. He is leading Consulting services in
the area of energy, infrastructure and economic development. During the last years he was
responsible for all relevant projects prepared by Deloitte in Greece as well as Deloitte’s services
towards the European Commission.
Daphne Fountoukakou
General manager of IST College
Daphne Fountoukakou
After leaving Athens College Daphne Fountoukakou, completed her Management Studies in Education at the University of Reading, and joined the quality assurance department of the University of Hertfordshire. With the principles of globalization and quality education, she
strengthened the collaborations of IST College as well as SBIE School where she undertook the respective sectors by participating in the Board of Directors of the organization.
Her experience falls mainly within the discipline of providing undergraduate and postgraduate programs, in a wide range of scientific fields, but also in the implementation of vocational training programs, distance courses in education and European mobility programs.
She was Vice President of the Association of Colleges and participated in Lifelong Learning Committee of the Ministry of Education with the aim of connecting education and production.
With 25 years of participation in cross-border tertiary education events, she hopes that Greece could become an international training center with global exposure and with an important role in the economic development of the country. Since 2010, her interest is focused on promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as developing skills through a high level of educational programs and services.
Her motto is "every obstacle is in your favour" and considers every testing experience to be a step towards success: "A quitter is never a winner, and a winner is never a quitter ».
