Information on CCE 2022 speakers
Opening Remarks
Fani Papamichael
Fani Papamichael holds a degree in “Sociology with a minor in Political Science” from the University of Cyprus and a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Cyprus Institute of Management. She is a Certified Trainer from the Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus. She has been working at Intercollege and in particular in the Training and Development department since 2011. Her main tasks are organizing, monitoring and evaluating training programs within the organization’s training and development. She deals with the identification of training needs and coordinates with external consultants, trainers and collaborators for the participation of Intercollege and University of Nicosia in European and local competitions and training programs. She collaborates with local authorities in order to make offers and training programs based on current market needs. Among other things, she is responsible for the subsidized programs and proposals of the Human Resource Development Authority. In addition, she is the Erasmus mobility coordinator of Nicosia’s campus for the placement of college students for their internship abroad as part of the European Erasmus program, as well as the staff training abroad via Erasmus funding. Additionally, she works as a Student Affairs and Careers officer, supporting students and graduates and creating links with companies in Cyprus and abroad.
Additionally, she teaches subjects of Human Resources Management, Communication and Behavior at Culinary Arts and Aesthetics departments of Intercollege Nicosia, at the Cyprus Maritime Academy and at the Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management Department of the Business School at the University of Nicosia. She is a member of the council at the Cyprus Sociological Association and a member of the Film Classification Board of the Press and Information Office. Her research interests focus on Social Sciences, Communication and Branding.
Fani Papamichael works as a radio presenter at love fm Cyprus from since 2013, with a daily show from Monday to Friday from 13:00-15:00 and on Saturdays from 17:00-19:00. She is also presenting events for clients and happenings in this context. Furthermore, she presents a weekly TV show on CYBC, named ‘’Movie Time’’, regarding movies, actors/actresses, movie festivals etc. The show is on CYBC1 and CYBC2 on Fridays and in the weekend.
Dr Alexandros Antonaras
Dr. Alexandros Antonaras, PhD, MSc, BSc, PMP
Alexandros is the Vice President of Student Services, and an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Nicosia (CY). He holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics & Statistics with Management from Brunel University of West London [UK], an MSc in Quality Management and a PhD in Quality & Process Improvement from Cranfield University [UK]. He is a Certified Entrepreneurship Facilitator by the Entrepreneurship Learning Initiative (USA) and a certified European Excellence Assessor and Validator for the EFQM Excellence Model. He is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by PMI and a certified VET Trainer by Human Resources Development Authority (CY).
Alexandros was the President of Cyprus Network for Corporate Social Responsibility – CSR Cyprus (2017-21), the Executive Director and Board Member of the Cyprus Business Ethics Institute (2011-2016) and Board Member of the Cyprus Quality Association (2011-2015). Currently, he is a Board Member of the Financial Wellbeing Institute. He has considerable graduate and undergraduate teaching experience and has published and presented many research papers in national and international journals and conferences. His research interests include CSR, corporate sustainability, business excellence, responsible entrepreneurship, and quality management.
Welcome Speeches
Zeta Emilianidou
Zeta Emilianidou was born in Nicosia. She holds a law degree from the Aristotelion University of Thessaloniki and a Diploma in Marketing Management from the Cyprus Institute of Marketing. She succeeded in the Cyprus Bar Examinations and was registered as a lawyer in 1978.
She was first appointed in the Department of Customs and Excise of the Republic of Cyprus in 1979 and has worked in almost all its sections. From 1988 – 1992 she worked as a member of the team that drafted the legislation for the V.A.T. and was then appointed as a Senior V.A.Τ. Officer, in 1992 and in 1996 as Chief Customs and Excise Officer.
From August 15, 2001 until March 14, 2 010 she was Director General of the Department of Customs and Excise, as well as V.A.T. Commissioner, prior to which she had been appointed as Acting Director General of the Department of Customs and Excise and V.A.T. Commissioner since May 2, 2000. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Ports Authority of Cyprus.
She was responsible for the implementation of the acquis communautaire with regard to Customs and Excise during the Cyprus – EU Negotiations that resulted in Cyprus’ accession to the European Union on May 1, 2004. She was also head of the team that drafted the current legislation of the Customs and Excise. In addition she was the author of a book, titled ‘The Value Added Tax in Cyprus”, which was published in 1992, when the first law on Value Added Tax was enacted in Cyprus.
From March 15, 2010 until April 2, 2013, she was appointed as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism. During this period, she was responsible for the completion of the Second Round of hydrocarbon exploration licensing offshore Cyprus. She was the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee, which by law had the responsibility of evaluating the applications of the companies that expressed an interest, which eventually led to the signing of contracts for 5 blocks of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus.
During her service, the Ministry dealt with issues concerning the gradual diversification of the energy balance of the country, to include natural gas and renewable energies, the attraction of foreign investments, support for small and medium-sized enterprises and the strengthening of entrepreneurship.
Equally, priority was given to topics related to competition, consumer protection, development of technology and encouraging innovation, creating supporting infrastructures for the development and modernisation of the business environment, protection of intellectual property rights, support and development of industry and promotion of exports of goods and services. Particular emphasis was given to the implementation of the development strategy for tourism including the issues of promotion of nautical tourism, with the development of marinas and the creation of new golf courses.
She was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism during the period of the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus of the Council of the European Union and she was also Chairperson of the Energy Foundation of Cyprus and the Special Fund for Renewable Energy and Energy Saving.
On the 3rd of April 2013 she was appointed by the President of the Republic, as Minister of Labour and Social Insurance of the Republic of Cyprus.
Antonios Antoniou
Mr. Antonios Antoniou was born in London. He studied at the University of London where he obtained a BSc (Hons) degree and a postgraduate diploma.
Mr. Antoniou worked for 5 years as a Biochemist at University College London and for 3 years as a Computer Systems Analyst at British Gas Headquarters in London. He was a founding partner of AMER World Research Ltd and Deputy General Manager from 1983 until 1998. From 1998 until December 2006 he served as Senior Vice President (Operations and Systems) of Nielsen Europe and was a member of the European Executive Committee.
As from February 2008 he has been the Executive Chairman of Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company Ltd. From August 2017 until December 2019 he undertook the additional role of the Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
He is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation as from July 2011 and Member of its Executive Committee as from December 2013. From January 2019 until December 2020 he was Vice-Chairman and as from January 2021 he is the Chairman of the Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation.
Christodoulos Angastiniotis
Christodoulos E. Angastiniotis is the Chairman of the Board of CIPA and the Chief Executive Officer of VitaTrace Nutrition Ltd Group. He is also the Vice President of The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2011-2014), President of Lefkosia Tourism Development & Promotion Company (2008-2014), President of The Veterinary Pharmaceutical Importers Association (2008-2013).
Formerly he served as the President of The Nicosia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2005-2011) and President of the Cyprus-Egypt Business Association. In addition to being the Chairman of the Board of CIPA he is actively involved in many international business and cultural Associations.
He has also served as member of the Board of Directors of the Human Resource Development Authority, the Cyprus Prisons, and the Institute of Technology.
He participated in many economic financial and business promotion seminars abroad where he presented a number of papers on the role of Cyprus as a Regional Financial and Commercial Center.
Christodoulos E. Angastiniotis studied in the U.K. and holds a post graduate degree MSc in Management Sciences from the University of Cranfield.
Yangos Hadjiyannis
From 2008 to 2019, he was the Deputy Director-General of The Cyprus Institute of Marketing, in charge for business development and strategy. Since 2020 he is the Chief Executive Officer. He is a member of the Board of Directors of CIPA (Invest Cyprus) and Chairman of the Promotion Committee. Moreover, he is a member of the Cyprus Advertising Control Agency, member of the HR & Training Committee of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA), member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB). He is also advisor to many companies on issues of strategy and management.
In recent years, he took up a research interest in Economics and Financial affairs and he has published various Articles with the local and international press. He is a commentator for the local media on financial affairs and as such he is regularly hosted on TV and radio.
Elena Stavrinou
Elena holds a BSc in Business and Management Studies and an MSc in Human Resource Management. She has worked as an HR (Software) Consultant in IBM Cyprus and as a Group HR Manager at Logicom Public Ltd. Today she leads her own company, OptimusHR Solutions Ltd, specializing in the provision of a full range of HR services as well as in personal development. Elena is also a certified instructor for Quest International, a program that focuses on the development of life skills for children up to 20 years old, as well as a certified provider of Psychometric Testing Tools (16PF, CAB, OVIS). Additionally, she is a SAP (HR) Certified Consultant and a Certified Labour Relations Officer by the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation. She has also been an active member of the CyHRMA, which she has been serving for the last 16 years from various positions on the Board of Directors. She currently holds the position of President. Through the various roles she had during her professional career, she has been able to implement a large number of projects in the field of HRM and to cooperate with important organizations both in Cyprus and abroad.
Conference Speakers
Domniki Kavatziki
Domniki Kavatziki
Senior Manager | Human Resources
Domniki is an HR Professional, currently working at Deloitte Alexander Competence Center in Thessaloniki; a hub for the development of specialized skills and competences for talented professionals.
She studied Archaeology at Aristotle University and got an MSc in Underwater Archaeology from the University of Southampton. She has worked on many underwater & land excavations around the world with international teams, but in the last 10 years she has built her career in the corporate environment & more specifically in the HR field. She is a true believer that people are multidimensional & they can learn, unlearn & relearn whatever they put their mind and soul on it!
Christos Papadopoulos
Maria Siopacha
Maria Siopacha (Director Career Success Centre): Maria Siopacha finished BSc studies in Mathematics, MSc and PhD in Financial Mathematics. She studied in Greece (where she comes from), UK and Vienna, Austria. She started her banking career in Athens, working for a local bank in the back office and soon after she was promoted and joined the Treasury department. After finishing her studies, she worked for a German bank in market risk management. Later she worked for Raiffeisen Bank International in Vienna where she was developing the internal market risk model. After working for Raiffeisen for 4 years, she joined UBS AG headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2011 as a Director. She spent a couple of years in model development of statistical economic capital models. Afterwards she was promoted to Head Model Confirmation & Governance within the statistical risk aggregation methodology team. With her colleagues, they were responsible for confirming the output figures of the Pillar 2 economic capital models and monitoring that model performance and model output is fit-for-purpose so that the statistical models can be used for risk measurement/equity attribution/risk appetite framework. From January 2018 to June 2018 she was appointed an Executive Role as the Local Supervisor of the Risk Methodology team in Krakow, Poland. In July 2019 she joined the University of Nicosia as the Director of the Career Success Centre. Her team consists of three direct reports and three student assistants. Among her diverse lines of duty, she leads projects on enhancing employability of students/graduates through various actions as well as she delivers seminars on career skills.
Antigoni Marinou
Antigoni Marinou is a Career Coach, Trainer, a Keynote Speaker and a Professional Advancement Coach. She delivers coaching in a fashion made for real people and backed by 20+ years of experience. She started it all, while simultaneously running a €30M Private Banking Operation at the largest Bank on the island while previously being the Business Development Manager at a Group of Companies listed in the stock exchange and working for a Big 4 Audit Firm.
She is a Fellow Chartered Accountant, a Certified Career Development Facilitator, a Certified Trainer and holds Master and Bachelor’s degrees in Strategy & Investment Banking from renowned Universities in the UK.
Her academic and professional record do not however grant her proof of what she does when she Coaches People, Delivers Trainings & Keynote Speeches. The 2.500 students, university students, graduates and experienced professionals coached with real progression and safe steps towards fantastic career paths, the 700+ seminars at hand with more than 8,200 people trained by her and her team coupled with the A* reviews at hand, can say a lot about what you are getting yourselves in for, when signing up for any of the Rokket Services.
With a true passion for tangible results and a strong work ethic towards delivering value to every single person separately have granted her collaboration with the much prestigious Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Health, The Cyprus Police Academy & Fire College, Tax Department and Treasury of the Republic of Cyprus. She also has excellent bonds and brought results with Organisations in the Finance Industry, the Real Estate Industry, Forex Industry, the Tourism Industry and many more.
She loves transposing seemingly theoretical notions into tangible takeaway tools and she does it while making people enjoy every minute of it. Hence she is obsessed with embracing Youngsters’ Dreams, University Students’ Goals and Experienced People’s strategic steps for career advancement!
But hey…check what some key people said on www.linkedin.com/in/antigonimarinou
Elena Stavrinou
Elena holds a BSc in Business and Management Studies and an MSc in Human Resource Management. She has worked as an HR (Software) Consultant in IBM Cyprus and as a Group HR Manager at Logicom Public Ltd. Today she leads her own company, OptimusHR Solutions Ltd, specializing in the provision of a full range of HR services as well as in personal development. Elena is also a certified instructor for Quest International, a program that focuses on the development of life skills for children up to 20 years old, as well as a certified provider of Psychometric Testing Tools (16PF, CAB, OVIS). Additionally, she is a SAP (HR) Certified Consultant and a Certified Labour Relations Officer by the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation. She has also been an active member of the CyHRMA, which she has been serving for the last 16 years from various positions on the Board of Directors. She currently holds the position of President. Through the various roles she had during her professional career, she has been able to implement a large number of projects in the field of HRM and to cooperate with important organizations both in Cyprus and abroad.
Mr. Marios Papalazarou
Mr Marios Papalazarou is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) in the UK. He holds a BA in Accounting and Financial Management from Sheffield University and an M.Sc. in Human Resources Management and Business from Aston University Birmingham. Mr Papalazarou worked at KPMG Limited between 2000-2018. Holding the position of HR Director, Mr Papalazarou was responsible for the setup, business development and organization of the People & Change Advisory Services Department. More particularly he has been involved in a wide range of Human Resources Advisory Services such as the design of HR Strategies and implementation of Performance Management Systems, Board of Directors’ evaluations, Incentive Schemes, Communication Channels, Job Descriptions and Competency Frameworks. Also involved in significant Organizational Restructurings, conducting HR Audits, Employee Opinion Surveys and Salary Benchmarks. He has acted as a specialist advisor of Investors in People for local organizations and has been an accredited Trainer by Cyprus Human Resources Authority with significant experience in Learning and Development. Since 2018 Mr Marios Papalazarou holds the position of Vice President HR in University of Nicosia being responsible for setting up and implementing the University’s Human Resources Strategy.
Mr Panayiotis Thrasyvoulou
Panayiotis Thrasyvoulou is an Associated Partner and the Head of People Advisory Services (PAS) at EY Cyprus. He joined EY after having worked for 15 years as Group Human Resources Manager in diverse groups of companies, operating, among others, in the fields of automotive, construction, property development, hospitality, FMCG, IT and 3PL.
He then founded his own consulting firm which he successfully ran for 3 years, before taking on his current position. He is a certified Quality Manager, a certified Trainer and assessor of renowned psychometric tests.
Panayiotis’ work concentrates on work and organizational (re) design, performance management, HR transformation, leadership development and culture. His project portfolio includes clients from government and semi-governmental organizations, as well as clients from the private sector operating among others, in the shipping, FMCG, real estate, retail, automotive and pharmaceuticals industries.
He holds a BSc in Business Management from Essex University, an MSc (Distinction) in International Employment Relations & Human Resources Management from LSE, and a PhD (cand.) in Management from the University of Cyprus. At LSE he received the “Foundation of Automation and Human Development School Prize for the Best Overall Performance”. His academic research revolves around the issues of work and organisational (re)design. He currently participates in a global study on work and organizational redesign which spans 44 countries (Global Work Design Study, GWDS).
Xenia Xenofontos
Xenia Xenofontos has been working in the Media industry for the past 20 years, where she held the positions of Executive Producer TV programs, Editor and Editor in Chief of various magazines and of the Director of Sigmalive.com news portal from 2013 – 2016. Up to 2018 she was the Media Director of Digital Tree e-Publishers where she now holds the position of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director. From 2015 – 2021, she was the President of the Cyprus Online Publishers Association where now is a member of the Board of Directors. She is also a member of the Cyprus Journalists Ethics Committee and member of the Board of Directors of AIPFE Cyprus- Women of Europe.