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.
Alex Loizou
Alex is a computer scientist turned entrepreneur. After going through the inaugural Entrepreneur First programme in London, Alex co-founded Trouva, the curated online marketplace for the best independent bricks-and-mortar shops and one of the five fastest growing tech businesses in the UK (TNW Tech5). In 2016, Alex was the first ever Cypriot to be included in the US & European Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
As CTO, he has led the build of all of Trouva’s technology in-house from the bottom up, using innovative technology such as Node.js and Ember.js. Trouva’s mission and Alex’s ambition is to utilise technology to enable its community of independent retailers to gain access to markets that were previously locked down, providing the technology and scale for them to succeed online. An experienced iOS, Javascript and PHP developer, Alex studied at the London School of Economics and the University of Cologne.
Pavlos S. Charalambides
Pavlos S. Charalambidis is the Managing Director of MGR Human Resources Ltd (MGR), an accredited Human Resource Advising Services and Temporary Employment Personnel company, with offices in Nicosia and Limassol. The MGR offers solutions for each organization and can manage projects of great importance in cooperation with its network of recognized and specialized associates in Cyprus and abroad.
He has worked for Deloitte for many years, holding the position of Business Advisory Services Manager, and provides, among other things, advisory services to domestic and international organizations in connection with business start-ups and business management, corporate strategy, management efficiency, managing efficiency and empowering corporate culture and levels of commitment to human resources.
In addition, he has extensive experience in attracting, selecting and recruiting executives for all levels of hierarchy, by identifying and evaluating candidates by designing and conducting assessment centers, psychometric tools and structured interviews. He regularly evaluates individuals for internal promotional purposes and takes upgraded tasks through personal development centers and is an approved trainer on issues such as leadership and management, performance management, emotional intelligence in the workplace and negotiation skills.
Valentinos Polykarpou
Valentinos Polykarpou is the General Manager and the Head of Global HR Operations & Services at Wargaming, an award-winning online game developer and publisher that operates across 17 countries, with its headquarters based in Cyprus.
Valentinos has been working within the organization since 2014 when he first joined as HR & Communication Manager. Since then, he has climbed to the position of the Head of Global HR Operations and Services. In early 2018, he took on the additional role as General Manager for the company’s Headquarters in Cyprus.
He graduated with a degree in Political Science from the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Cyprus and he is a Master’s Degree graduator of the National School of Political Sciences of France (Sciences Po/IEP Paris). Prior he had graduated with the degree of Electrical Engineering in the Higher Technical Institute.
Valentina Kislaya
Valentina Kislaya is Founder and CEO of Phoenix Leaders, a leadership and executive training consultancy located in Nicosia and London. Valentina works with global leaders to help them inspire multi-generational and multi-cultural teams in a world of changing business models and non-traditional ways of working. She is passionate about promoting an authentic, sustainable and impactful leadership style.
Valentina’s unique approach combines business psychology, corporate experience and neuroscience, allowing her to help her clients to develop the skills and mindset required to adapt to the demands the modern world places on today’s leaders.
In 2018 Valentina founded Cyprus’ first private Members’ Club, as a place for members of the Cypriot business community to network and collaborate. The Club is an emerging concept in the Cypriot business community, providing a unique environment for leaders that helps facilitate dialogue, whilst also nurturing entrepreneurs of the future.
Valentina studied organisational leadership at Stanford Business and Columbia Business Schools. She also studied with CTI (acknowledged as a pioneer within the coaching profession) and is a graduate of its Barcelona based advanced training program. Valentina is a graduate of The Institute of Contemporary Knowledge, Minsk, Belarus, where she received her B.A. Degree in Intercultural Communications.
Prior to becoming a Leadership Consultant, Valentina completed advanced training at the London Image Institute, internationally recognized for image training. She is a member of AICI, Association of Image Consultants International.
Panayiotis Thrasyvoulou
Panayiotis Thrasyvoulou currently serves as the Head of People Advisory Services (PAS) of EY Cyprus. PAS delivers integrated HR solutions, via a global EY network of more than 10.000 PAS professionals. After graduating from the University of Essex (BSc in Business Management), he moved on to acquire an MSc in International Employment Relations & Human Resources Management from the LSE.
At LSE he graduated with Distinction and received the “Foundation of Automation and Human Development School Prize” for the best overall performance. He is currently a Phd candidate in Management from the University of Cyprus, researching issues related to organisational and job (re) design. At EY, Panayiotis and his team are advising clients on talent acquisition, performance management, immigration and mobility, organisational design, change management, learning & development and many other HR-related systems, processes and practices.
He currently serves as the President of the Cyprus Human Resource Management Association (CyHRMA).
Stephanie Michael
Stephanie has obtained her BA (Hons) in Home Economics at LJMU, an MSc in HR Management & Organizational Behaviour at CIIM and completed a Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing at DMI. After completing her studies, she kick-started her career to pursue her dream job at a newly international company that had started operating in Limassol which is one of the highest ranked companies in the Binary Options industry, IQ Option Europe Ltd. Stephanie was employed as an HR Officer in order to start HR processes as well as on-boarding new personnel.
By having shown her dedication on the fulfillment of her tasks, 2 years later she was promoted to a Senior HR Officer, supervising a number of people in the HR Department. Stephanie is also a very active individual, enthusiastically involved in many projects and campaigns. She used to be the President of the Student Council of CIIM, has been involved in the non-profit organization Rotaract Limassol Amathusia Club as a Secretary of the BOD and is a member of the CyHRMA.
Sotiris Kambanellas
Experienced financial executive in Shipping, Real Estate, Hospitality and Gaming industry, currently serving as the Financial Controller of Melco Resorts & Entertainment responsible for the development and operation of City of Dreams Mediterranean, the largest Casino Resort in Europe.
Holder of a degree in Accounting and Finance, the professional title ACCA and member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.
Actively involved with non-profit organization YoungShip Cyprus, Sotiris has been until recently the President of YoungShip Cyprus and participated in various committees and Advisory Boards for local and international projects and companies, currently acting as an Advisory Board member for [bluester] Germany.
Sotiris is Passionate about new technologies and disruptive ideas, always welcoming and embracing change.
Polis Xinaris
Polis Xinaris is the owner of PAX Social Media Agency. Working as a Marketing Manager since 2003, he developed a passion for Social Media early on and in 2012 began his career as a trainer on the subject.
In 2015 he established his own business, providing a variety of services on Social Media and Digital Marketing both in Cyprus and abroad, helping people and businesses achieve their goals.
Emilios Rotsides
Emilios studied Electrical Engineering at ATI. He then studied political science at the University of Cyprus and recently got his MBA from CIIM. He started his career as a guild and more specifically in the guild of semi-governmental employees.
Later, he joined the AREEBA and then MTN human resources departments. Over the past 10 years, he has been working as a Human Resources Manager for the Zorpas Group.
Leonidas Alexandrou
Self-development and high performance mentor, Leonidas Alexandrou empowers teens, young professionals and senior management teams with the soft skills, public speaking and employability traits demanded in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In terms of his background, Leonidas blends the leadership, focus and self-discipline of a former athlete, with nearly two decades of experience in entrepreneurship, business consulting and corporate training.
Having worked extensively in the UK and the Gulf, today he runs Leonidas Alexandrou, his personal Nicosia-based training brand, offering one-on-one mentoring and unique self-development workshops, both in Cyprus and abroad. Leonidas is currently board secretary to the Cyprus branch of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council, partners frequently with the Cyprus Volunteer Association to offer free self-development and public speaking workshops to students and new graduates and has mentored high-ranking officers of the Cyprus Youth Council.
Maria Markidou Georgiadou
Maria Markidou Georgiadou has 25 years of experience with the Cyprus Development Bank (cdb bank), where she worked between 1988 and 2013. At cdb, she headed for 8 years the International Banking Unit, she set up the EU Unit of the bank and attracted EU grants for SMEs in Cyprus and in for 3 years, she was Head of Business Development & Marketing of the Group. She was also extensively engaged in the Management Consulting Division of the Bank and in SME banking. Prior to joining cdb bank, she worked in the European Commission in Brussels. For the last 5 years, she is an Evaluator for the EU SME Financial Instrument which supports innovative technology projects. Since 2005, she is one of the two partners of the World Economic Forum in Cyprus for Cyprus’ participation in the WEF annual Global Competitiveness Report.
Between 2014 and 2017, she was a full-time consultant with the Bank of Cyprus in matters relating to innovation and entrepreneurship; in this capacity, she initiated and coordinated IDEA, the first Accelerator-Incubator Programme in Cyprus which supports the creation of Cypriot start-ups.
She joined the University of Cyprus since in September 2018 to advise on the launching of CYPRUS SEEDS, a new funding program in Cyprus to support academic research with strong IP value and the potential to commercialize. Having designed the program, she is now managing the implementation of it during its first, pilot year, at the University of Cyprus.
Maria Markidou Georgiadou has a B.Sc. in Economics & Computer Science from Trinity College in the USA, where she studied, on a Fulbright Scholarship, and an M.Sc. in Development Economics & Econometrics from the University of Oxford (Trinity College) in England.
Phanos Demetriou
Phanos enjoys developing new businesses and concepts, helping start-ups, talking about tech and discussing crazy ideas. In reality – he spends his time solving customer problems in web tech and marketing campaigns.
His current passion is to integrate web silos and marketing data into solid marketable platforms and Drupal.
Nasia Leonidou
Her professional journey began during her studies at UNIC, when she was offered a full-time position in the Department of Student Affairs. Over 7 years, Nasia evolved from Office Administrator to Officer, to Senior Officer, to Acting Head of the Department.
Eager to develop her skillset and broaden her professional expertise, Nasia decided to make a move to Cablenet, a leading telecommunications provider, where she took on the role of Marketing Executive and then Senior Marketing Executive. It was at Cablenet that she discovered her true passion: Marketing.
Eight years later, Nasia found herself returning to UNIC, an organisation that had provided her with not only vital academic credentials, but also the foundation, skills, mindset and confidence to pursue a career with a global impact.
Nasia has an easygoing style that puts people at ease. She is not afraid to make hard decisions and seek out advice from others when and as needed. She is a team player who works well even under pressure, be it as part of a team or on her own. With more than a decade of marketing-related experience, Nasia played an instrumental role in the development of the THINK BIG and UNIC Stories campaigns, and works closely with other professionals in the field, playing an integral role in developing marketing plans and strategies, on a global scale, for UNIC.
Kyriakos Yiangou
Kyriakos Yiangou is the Training & Development Manager of Melco Cyprus. He has solid experience as a training professional in the hospitality sector, having previously worked for Costa Cruises, one of the largest cruise operators in Europe and the world. He is an HRDA Cyprus accredited trainer and a CIPD and BPS member.
He holds a CIPD Diploma in Learning & Development and a BA & MSc in Psychology. He has a passion for languages and is currently hooked on NeuroLeadership, the science of brain and leadership behaviors; and a few other things.
Motto: “Remain curious and keep learning.”
Tasos Constantinou
Tasos Constantinou is referred to as a specialist in the domain of innovative education. After studying business in four different countries, he finally graduated from the Rotterdam School of Management with an MScBA specializing in Management of Innovation.
Tasos then embarked on a career as a Lecturer of Business Innovation and Sustainable Development at the University of Maastricht. Today, as co-founder of the StudentLife Academy, he presents and coaches on employability skills, aiming to bridge the gap between graduation and employment in Cyprus.
Georgia Cottis
Georgia Cottis is the Director of the Learning Delivery and Programme Management Department and an expert tutor at Globaltraining involved in lecturing for both Professional qualifications and seminars in topics for the financial services industry. She is renowned for her students’ excellent results and pass rates, with several students achieving top ranks worldwide.
Georgia has completed her BA in Accounting and Economics in the UK and then continued and trained for her ACA with Big 4 firm in Cyprus. In her role as member of the Board she has very close contacts and relationships with many companies in the Professional services, banking, and legal industry to enable her and her team to analyze the trends, work requirements and underlying training needs.
Fotini Masia
Fotini Masia is an HR Advisor, part of the Employee Relations and Administration team, at MELCO Resorts and Entertainment Cyprus. She is an experienced HR professional in the Retail sector, having previously worked for one of the biggest retails chain in Cyprus. She holds a BA in Business Administration with specialization in HR.
She is a strong believer in the power of positive thinking, collaboration and transparency in the workplace. She is people centric, and is inspired by interacting with and supporting the company’s most valuable asset: its Employees.
Motto: “Hire character, train skill.”
Efthymia Kosmidou
Efthymia Kosmidou is a HR Generalist Specialist at H.M Housemaket (Cyprus) LTD-IKEA where she specializes in Recruitment and Learning and Development. She is working at H.M Housemaket (Cyprus) LTD-IKEA for ten years.
In the past she has worked in several sectors such as Customer Relations and Sales within the organization.
Costas Argyrides
Costas Argyrides received the B.Sc. degree in informatics and computer science from Moscow Power Engineering Institute-Technical University (MPEI-TU), Moscow, Russia, with distinction in 2004 and the M.Sc. degree in advanced computing and the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from the University of Bristol (UoB), Bristol, U.K in 2005 and 2008 respectively. In 2018, he received his MBA degree with distinction from Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM). Currently he is a RAS Architect at Radeon Technologies Group (RTG) of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (AMD). He joined AMD at 2014 in Munich Germany and moved to AMD California in 2015. He now shares his time between AMD California (Santa Clara) and AMD China in Shanghai.
Prior to this, he served as validation engineer at Intel Inc in Barcelona from 2011 until 2014.
Before joining the industry, he served as a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Newcastle University, Oxford Brookes University, University of Bristol, University of Warwick, University of Cambridge and Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the author or coauthor of more than 50 technical papers.
He was selected by the European Commission as the Ambassador of Cyprus for the 2017 and 2018 Vocational Skills week. Additionally since November 2018, he is the Cyprus Ambassador for the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Chrysoulla Rossidou
Chrysoulla Rossidou has a Diploma of the Department of Human Resource Management from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Her professional career started in 1997, with the opening of the first McDonald’s restaurant in Cyprus, where she was employed as a Crew Member. Her hard work, consistency and discipline, along with her leadership and communication skills, were recognized very quickly by the management of the company, who awarded her hard work and her abilities.
In a short period of time she was offered the position of Store Manager, where she was responsible for certain McDonald’s restaurants.The positive results of her work, as well as her love and vision for the company, led her to the position of Head of McDonald’s Human Resources Department. Her duties include various matters revolving around people, mainly the employees of the company. Her restless nature does not allow her to relax, that is why she continuously attends seminars regarding the innovation and development of her work at Hamburger University in Chicago and in Dubai .
Christiana Christofi
Mrs. Christofi is a graduate of University of Cyprus, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Public and Business Administration and an MSc in Management from University of Surrey. She started her career holding the position of Market Research Executive at Amer Nielsen where she worked for a year being actively involved in the design and execution of primary market research on behalf of clients. Her HR career commenced in 1998 where she joined the People Services Department of KPMG in Greece.
Possessing the role of Human Resource Manager in 2000, Mrs. Christofi joined the Human Resources Advisory Department of KPMG Cyprus where she worked for 10 years reaching the position of HR Director. As from July 2012 Mrs Christofi is the Director of Human Asset Ltd, an HR advisory boutique offering HR Services to Cyprus and overseas markets. Her experience focuses on a wide range of services, such as Executive Search and Selection, Design and implementation of Performance Management Systems and Learning and Development.
Angelos Louis
Angelos Louis is the co-founder and Director of the RED HR Solutions. He has more than 25 years professional management experience in Cyprus and abroad (USA, Canada and Romania) in the financial and banking sector. Since 2013 he has worked with various companies consulting them on strategy, policies & processes and human resources.
He is a member of the Cyprus Human Resource Management Association and certified industrial relations officer of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance. He holds a first degree in Business Administration and an MBA from the University of Southern California in the USA.
Andreas Constantinides
With 16 years of specialization in Information Security, Andreas is immensely experienced in the implementation of network and security infrastructures for large scale organizations. He is an expert in numerous security technologies, networking equipment and systems, and he possesses deep knowledge in packet analysis, threat and incident investigation, vulnerability assessments and secure network design.
In his career, he has provided customized solutions and consulting to customers of diverse industries and organizational complexities. For the past few years, Andreas has served as the manager of the “Managed Security Line of Services” and “Professional Services” departments of Odyssey Cybersecurity.
Vanessa Antoniadou
Vanessa Antoniadou has been working with Microsoft since 2009 and is in charge of Microsoft’s education for Greece, Cyprus and Malta. Vanessa graduated from the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and has a Master’s Degree in Business Systems Analysis and Design from City University of London.
Previously, she worked in London as a Pre-Sales Engineer at Computacenter. She lives with her family in Nicosia.
Stelios Anastasiades
Stelios Anastasiades is the Managing Director of Telia & Pavla BBDO, Chairman of The Hybrid Advertising Alliance and most recently, founder of OneRabbit: a joint venture linking business between China and Europe through Cyprus.He graduated from the University of Delaware with a B.A. degree in Mass Media Communications.
A Cypriot/American, Stelios lived in the USA for more than 20 years where he began his work experience under a work study program with WIRV-TV and the U of D in Newark, Delaware. He returned to Cyprus in 1981 and joined an offshore marketing firm: Memo Marketing, where he served as an account executive and copywriter. In 1982, he branched out on his own and founded Telia & Pavla Advertising Ltd. In 1990, Telia & Pavla became the first agency in Cyprus to align with a worldwide network (BBDO Worldwide).
He has attended numerous conferences, workshops and seminars within the BBDO network and the BBDO University and has also concluded a senior management course at the INSEAD International Business School in France. In 2013, he founded The Hybrid Advertising Alliance as a swift and direct response to the severe economic crisis that crippled the advertising industry in Cyprus. The Hybrid Alliance brought together six specialized agencies under one roof, supporting one another through synergies and, at the same time, actually improving the talent and service level during an economic downturn.
Kenneth Cuschieri
Senior Global HR leader with demonstrated success in multiple industries including financial services, hospitality, consulting, pharmaceutical, and industrial manufacturing. Diverse experience working with companies ranging in size from start-up to Fortune 500. International business experience in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Skilled Human Resources professional who partners with business leaders to align HR strategies to drive results. A Leader who mentors and develops strong HR teams. Excellent communicator with fluency in several languages, able to work across diverse organizations, across all cultural and functional boundaries and at all levels of an organization. Recognized as critical thinker adept at aligning Human Resources needs with corporate strategies and leveraging people assets with technology based infrastructure. Practical, forward-looking leader with a collaborative focus.
As Director Human Resources for TSYS International based in Cyprus , since 2007 the function covers locations across the globe with direct responsibility for operations and team members in Nicosia, Cyprus, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Moscow, Russia, Dubai in U.A.E and Campinas, Brazil and provides support to colleagues in the US, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, and India.
Panayiotis Savvides
Panayiotis Savvides joined TSYS in 2001. During the last 17 years he has held several positions in Sales and has provided consultancy to processing and licensing sales for the PRIME solution.
A large part of his job is to develop relations with prospect clients, 3rd party partners and create complex commercial models based on comprehensive card management solutions.
Panayiotis is committed to applying TSYS’ code of ethics when conducting business, ensuring that the culture and spirit of TSYS of honesty and transparency with clients is present in all interactions and communications with new and existing clients.
Maria Karantoni
Maria Karantoni is an Audit Board Member at KPMG in Cyprus and the Head of Human Resources. Maria got her Bachelor degree from City University, London in Economics & Accounting, before becoming a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. Throughout her career she has provided audit services to large private companies, companies listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange and other Stock Exchanges.
She has experience with the audit of financial institutions, as well as companies in the oil and gas, advertising and retail industry. Maria is a member of the KPMG Cyprus IFRG team and of the IFRS committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus and provides technical support and informed advice on the correct application of IFRSs requirements to the technical staff of KPMG and to clients.
Artemios Antreou
Artemios G. Andreou is the Business Developing Manager for managed services with primary responsibility for Cyprus, Greece, Malta and the Middle East. He has more than 20 years of work experience in in the field of telecommunications and information technology (ICT). He worked in multinationals organizations such as mmO2 (formerly known as BT Cellenet) in the United Kingdom and MTN Cyprus.It has guided, managed and supervised the analysis, design and implementation of complex integrated solutions all the fields of the economy.