Greetings by:
Stelios D. Himonas
Permanent Secretary of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy
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. Also, from 1994 until 1997, he was collaborating with the Multimedia Communications Research Group of Bellcore’s Applied Research Division in Morristown, New Jersey, USA.
Dr. Himonas has published numerous research papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings in the fields of detection and multimedia communications. Also, during the period from 1989 until 1997 he served as a reviewer of research papers submitted for publication to Transactions of the IEEE and Proceedings of the IEE, as well as to various conferences in the field of communications.
Currently he is the Permanent Secretary of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy. Prior to this position he was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order and the Director of the Department of Electronic Communications of the Republic of Cyprus.
Also during the period from 2000 to 2003, he served on the Board of the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority. From 2006 until 2013, he held chairmanship and vice-chairmanship positions in European electronic communications committees. Since October 2012, he has been appointed by the Council of Ministers as the Digital Champion of Cyprus.
Dr. Himonas is a member of the Sigma Xi and Eta Kappa Nu honor societies and the New York Academy of Sciences. He is listed in the Who is Who in the World, the Who is Who Among Human Services Professionals, the Who is Who in the East and the Who is Who in American Education.
Christodoulos E. Angastiniotis
President Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Christodoulos E. Angastiniotis studied Business Management & Management Sciences in the UK and he holds a postgraduate degree MSc in Management from Cranfield University.
Christodoulos E. Angastiniotis is the CEO and Managing Director of the VitaTrace Nutrition Ltd Group which is a Veterinary Nutritional and Pharmaceutical company with operations in Cyprus and internationally.
The company has received over the years export awards, quality awards and corporate social responsibility awards.
Christodoulos E. Angastiniotis is an exceptionally active businessman with very significant social contribution.
Christodoulos E. Angastiniotis serves as Founder President and Honorary President of the Cyprus Egypt Business Association, Member of the Board of Institute of Technology Cyprus, Member of the Board of the Wealth fare of Prisoners and Member of the Board Human Resources Development Authority.
In 2010 he was awarded by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus and the Cyprus Standard Authority the highest quality award for his exceptional contribution in upgrading quality in Cyprus.
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.
Introduction by:
Demetris Nicolaou
Chief Digital Officer, Bank of Cyprus
Demetris Nicolaou is Acting Chief Digital Officer as of January 2022 and is responsible for the Bank’s Digital Channels, the Digital Economy Platform and the delivery of the Digital Transformation initiatives.
He joined the Bank of Cyprus in 2017 as Manager Digital Transformation to oversee the delivery of the Bank’s Digital Transformation program.
Prior to joining Bank of Cyprus, Demetris held various technology roles in the UK working for UBS Investment Bank from 2007 until 2012 and Citibank from 2012 until 2016 where he was most recently the Global Head of Futures eTrading technology. Upon his repatriation to Cyprus, he took the role of Chief Product Development Officer at FxPro Financial Services.
Demetris holds a BEng in Computing from Imperial College, London, UK and is also a CFA Charterholder.
Presenter & Conference Moderator
Andrie Penta
Spokesperson, Organizational Leader
Andrie studied Marketing and Business Management in London where she also acquired the Advanced Certificate from the Chartered Institute of Marketing London. She was in charge of marketing and communications at EY Cyprus. At the same time, she graduated with Distinction from London and was awarded a Master’s degree in Strategic Marketing. In 2008, she founded Penta Marketing Art, which provided marketing and public relations solutions for private and public companies. In 2010, she founded the Cyprus Image Institute after obtaining the title of Certified Image Maker (with attendance in London) and joined as an associate member of the Association of Image Consultants International. At 27, Andrie was the youngest nominated Ambassador for Female Entrepreneurship for Europe, serving since then as a business advisor and mentor. In 2013, Andrie was designated as the Goodwill Ambassador of the Hope in Life Foundation and a Cypriot Woman of the Year (2013) finalist. She enjoys regular and extensive publicity in local print, online and television programs, and have been interviewed for various publications in the US, Denmark, Holland and Greece. She was a Senior Manager at the Markets department of KPMG in Cyprus and she currently holds the role of the Organizational Leader of the Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Cyprus.
Andrie is a Certified trainer by the Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus and has over 15 years of hands-on management, marketing, branding, PR and communications experience. She served well-known international and local brands and she is often invited to give public speeches and share good practice.
Panel Coordinator
George Papadopoulos
non-Executive Director ECOMMBX
Georgios Papadopoulos has been a non-executive director of Ecommbx since 2019 and has been the responsible director for AML. In his professional career he is a practicing lawyer specialising in banking, corporate and administrative law. He has been advising a number of local and international companies on a range of Banking and Corporate matters, cross border mergers and AML compliance.
He has had extensive training on Anti-Money Laundering regulations and is a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and has been attending regularly trainings both in Cyprus and abroad.
Georgios studied law at Queen Mary, University of London and obtained his Master’s Degree on Corporate and Commercial Law from University College London (UCL) with specialization on banking and financial markets regulation. Thereafter he completed the Bar Vocational Course qualifying as a Barrister-at-Law. He is a member of the Cyprus Bar Association and of the Honorable Society of Gray’s Inn. Georgios also holds an MBA from the University of Cyprus.
Speakers
Karolina Argyridou (LLB, LLM)
Managing partner K. Argyridou & Associates LLC
Karolina graduated from the University of East Anglia with first class honors (LLB) and obtained her Masters in Law (LLM) from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences with distinction (Banking and Financial Regulation). Prior to setting up the firm, Karolina had spent several years working as internal legal counsel to local and international credit and financial institutions, where she specialized in providing on banking law matters and investment and financial services legislation. Karolina has worked with government authorities on numerous projects for the drafting and transposition of major banking and financial services laws and regularly advises major local and foreign credit and financial institutions and other regulated entities. Karolina also provides training to professionals on banking and financial services matters. Karolina is a member of the Cyprus Bar Association.
Jean-Albert (J-A) Nyssen
Senior Advisor and Chief Economist, EuroCommerce
Jean-Albert (“J-A”) Nyssens is a senior advisor and the Chief Economist for EuroCommerce. In that capacity, he is leading research on the importance of the retail sector in the European economy. Recent publications include “The Value of European Retail” (2021) and the “State of Grocery Retail” (2021) published jointly with McKinsey. He leads a European network of economists of national retail federations and supports policy decisions for EuroCommerce.
Previously, Mr Nyssens was a partner with McKinsey & Company and worked with EY. He is also a non-executive board member of two investment funds in Belgium.
Mr Nyssens hold a Bachelor in Business Administration from Solvay Business School (Brussels), a Masters in Economics from Cambridge University and a Masters in Public Administration form Harvard University.
Stylianos Lambrou
Co-Founder, Heart Group
Member of the board of TechIsland
Stylianos was born in Limassol, Cyprus. He studied IT at UCL in London and then Entrepreneurship at the University of Cambridge. He started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 19. He already has several ventures in his portfolio. Specifically, and under the umbrella of Heart Group of which he is the founder, Stylianos is the co-founder of Heart Cyprus, the largest destination branding initiative promoting Cyprus. The lineup of the group’s companies includes a govtech company whose software is used by 150 municipalities and community councils and has recently been selected in the consortium to build the e-government platform for all the municipalities of Cyprus. Stylianos is also highly active in real estate. His group currently holds 10 projects in its portfolio, including the renovation and construction of boutique hotels, co-living and commercial spaces. Since 2017, he is the co-founder of Reflect, the largest technology festival organized in Cyprus and the wider region. Through this festival, important business synergies and actions for Cyprus and beyond have been achieved, with world-class founders, investors and researchers showing practical interest in operating their ventures on the island. In 2021 he was one of the initiators and founders of Techisland, a non-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate the growth of the tech ecosystem in Cyprus. Currently, Stylianos is also a venture partner at ZeroGravity Capital, a Slovak-based VC fund.
Elena Meli
Manager Business Development, Alliances & Operations (for the digital Economy Platform), Bank of Cyprus
Elena Meli is the Manager Business Development, Alliances & Operations of the Digital Economy Platform at Bank of Cyprus.
She is responsible for establishing and building relationships with customers, identifying new opportunities, growing the business, managing and evolving the partnerships with other digital ecosystems, actors or stakeholders in the economy. She is also responsible for the Support team and Operations of the Digital Economy Platform.
In her previous life she used to be a Trainer, working in HR Analytics, managing the CEO’s office at Bank of Cyprus.
Elena holds a BSc degree in Computer Science and MSc in Information Science (Business Informatics).
Stavriana Nathanail
Head of Opium Works
Stavriana is a Digital Marketing Freak, and Social Media Addict! A highly motivated, creative individual with experience and a passion for connecting with current and future brands. She worked with the biggest brands and organizations in Cyprus for their Digital Transformation and Digital Marketing Activities.
She strongly believes that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and a social media overreaction!
Christos Onoufriou
CEO of Odyssey Cybersecurity
Christos Onoufriou is the CEO of Odyssey, a leading strategic partner in Cloud & Information Security. Mr. Onoufriou also serves as Board Member in a number of business communities and organizations in Cyprus and Greece. These include Techisland, which aims to promote and accelerate the growth of the technology and innovation ecosystem in Cyprus, and Invest Cyprus (Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency), the investment authority of the Government of Cyprus dedicated to attract and facilitate foreign direct investment into the country. Prior to Odyssey, Christos Onoufriou held the position of Assistant General Manager of Logicom Group, and Pre-Sales Manager for Cisco Systems in Nicosia, Cyprus. He holds a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Computer Production Systems from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.
Christophoros Tzirtzipis
Head of Performance & E-Commerce at Digital Tree Group
Christophoros is Head of Performance & E-commerce at Digital Tree Group. An entrepreneur and Growth maniac, he has co-founded several entities, including Startup Cyprus. Very active in the startup ecosystem, supporting and training young people to “startup”! He has won awards such as Innovation Man of the Year 2014 (CY), Startup Weekend Cyprus 2013, 2014 Digital Championship, and Top 10 Startups at Founders Games by WEBIT.festival in Sofia
Alexandros Kaniklides
Manager, IthacaLabs™
Alexandros holds an MSc in the area of the Security Technologies & Applications, and leads the IthacaLabs™ Threat Risk Assessment Services Team. With over ten years of experience in the field, Alexandros specializes in analyzing new attack methods used by cybercriminals, and provides consultation to Odyssey’s customers. His research and analysis methodology is instrumental as it streamlines multiple Threat Intelligence sources to evaluate risk and provide countermeasures to emerging cyber-threats. Furthermore, Alexandros has led Offensive (Red Team) and Defensive (Blue Team) teams, and has engaged in multiple cybersecurity Incidents to assist organizations in detecting and responding to advanced cyber-threats targeting several industries.
Panelists
Demetra Kalogerou
Ex Chairwoman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), non-Executive Director of ECOMMBX
Demetra Kalogerou (BSc, MSc, MPhil) from September 2011 to September 2021 was the Chairwoman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CYSEC) the independent public supervisory Authority responsible for the supervision of the Capital Markets, the investment services market, all the transactions in transferable securities and other financial instruments carried in and out of the Republic of Cyprus and the collective investment and asset management sector. It also supervises firms offering administrative services as well as Crypto Exchanges only in terms of AML issues and financial terrorism. Also, from November 2012 until February 2021, she was a member of the Cyprus Public Audit Oversight Board, which has been established for the oversight of auditors and audit firms. Furthermore, from November 2019 until June 2021 Mrs. Kalogerou chaired the ad-hoc tripartite committee and she was also a member of the four-party committee concerning the investigation of the naturalization of all persons done through the CIP. Additionally from September 2013 until June 2014, Mrs. Kalogerou has been a member of the Resolution Authority, with the Minister of Finance and the Governor of Central Bank of Cyprus, which supervised the implementation of the resolution of financial institutions in Cyprus.
Mrs. Kalogerou previously held the position of a Senior Officer of the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) and has several years of experience in the financial sector and investors’ protection.
John Georgoulas
President of the Association of Cyprus Electronic Money & Payments Institutions (ACEMPI), non-Executive Director of ECOMMBX
Born in 1979. He is a Certified Director in Corporate Governance with specialization in Banking from INSEAD (France) and a Certificated Professional Banker from The Chartered Banker Institute.
In 2010, founded Way Out Communications Ltd, a company providing consulting ,strategy and corporate governance advice services to multinational corporations and not for profit organisations. Way Out Communications Ltd is the exclusive advisor of “The Economist Events” and “The World in…” publication in Cyprus. From 2010 until 2018 Mr. Georgoulas was the General Manager in Cyprus. He is currently a non executive Director at ECOMMBX, FXCM, Swissquote and TFI Markets.
He served as a Member of the Board of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and since 2013 he is an Alumnus of the United States Department of State’s International Visitors Leadership Program.