5th HAEE Energy Transition Symposium

Adonis Georgiadis was born on November 6th, 1972, in Athens.
He graduated from the Faculty of History & Archaeology of the School
of Philosophy of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens.
In 1993, he took over the management of publications 'GEORGIADISLIBRARY OF GREEK'. In 1994, he founded the Liberal Studies Center
"GREEK EDUCATION".
Elected MP in Athens B region in the elections of 2007 and 2009 with
the LAOS political party.
In February 2012, he joined the Nea Demokratia political party, having
resigned from the parliamentary office. Elected with Nea Demokratia
in Athens B in the national elections of 2012 and 2015.
In 2011, he was Vice Minister of Shipping in the Government of Lucas
Papademos and in 2013 he was appointed Minister of Health in the
Government of Antonis Samaras.
On January 18th, 2016, he was appointed one of the two Vice Presidents of the Nea Demokratia by decision of Kyriakos Mitsotakis,
the President of Nea Demokratia.
On July 9th, Adonis Georgiadis was appointed as Minister of
Development and Investments after the 2019 greek elections.
He is married to Eugenia Manolidou and they have two children,
Perseus and Alcaeus.

Strategy Advisor of the President of the New Democracy party since October
2015 and Strategic Planning and Communication Coordinator of the party since
October 2016. Political research analyst.
Doctor of public policies at the University of the Peloponnese, he has been
teaching at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of the University of the
Peloponnese.
He graduated from the Faculty of Primary Education of the Νational and
Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA).
He pursued post graduated studies at the Faculty of Political Science and Public
Administration in political science and sociology, with a specialization in electoral
sociology. Scientific associate and president of the GPO SA , between 2000 and
2016.
He has presented important social and political research work in Greece and
abroad, at scientific congresses, workshops and the mass media. Born in 1964 in Keratsini, he graduated from the Ionideios Model High School.
He is married, with two children.

Kostas Fragogiannis was born in 1959, in Kavala, where he completed his basic education. After graduating from the British Institute of Marketing (HND), he continued his studies in the U.S., earning a BS in Business Administration and an MBA in International Management & Computer Systems from the University of San Francisco.

For over 30 years, he has held senior executive positions in major companies and groups, such as Emporiki Bank, Interbank, Delta, the Vasilakis Group, Ant1, the Viohalco Group, Vivartia, and the Chipita Group, where he was also a founding member of the Group’s international operations 24 years ago. Before assuming his duties as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness, he was the Development Manager of the Chipita Group, contributing significantly to the further growth and development of the Group's international operations.

Having successfully handled development projects worth hundreds of million of euros throughout the world, he has gained invaluable experience in negotiating with organizations in countries where he has overseen investments.  Through his role in the development and internationalization of companies, he has contributed to the creation of thousands of jobs, while also creating considerable added value in each country where he has been active. He has led a total of 18 productive investment projects in 16 countries, 9 investment consortiums, 5 buyouts and, finally, the founding of multiple commercial enterprises in dozens of countries.

Through his many years of international experience, he has gained a full and up-to-date perspective on what is required to effectively attract foreign investments and to promote exports and growth in the international economy.

Ioannis Kefalogiannis was born in June 1982. He grew up in Rethymno, Crete, and graduated from the Law School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2005. In 2007 he received his Master’s Degree in International Affairs from the University of Columbia and in 2008 he continued his studies at Harvard University Law School.

Mr Kefalogiannis is Member of the Hellenic Parliament with Nea Dimokratia representing the Prefecture of Rethymno since June 2012. He was the Secretary of Hellenic Parliament and participated as a full member in the Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs and Defense, and the Special Standing Committee for European Affairs. He was Head of Nea Demokratia’s Defense and Foreign Affairs Sectors. In November 2016, he was proposed by the President of Nea Dimokratia, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to be the Parliamentary Spokesperson of Nea Dimokratia. He is the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport of the Hellenic Republic since July 2019.

He speaks Greek, English and German.

Prof. Konstantinos Aravossis is General Secretary for Natural Environment and Water at the Greek Ministry for Environment and Energy. He is a Mechanical Engineer (Technical University of Aachen -Germany) with an M.Sc. in Management Science from Imperial College - University of London. He has further been awarded a PhD by the National Technical University of Athens, focusing on Operations Research.

He is at the National Technical University of Athens, and was a visiting Professor at Imperial College London. He was the Coordinator of the “Environmental Economics and Sustainable Development Research Group” of the Sector of Industrial Management and Operations Research of the Mechanical Engineering School and the Environmental Advisor to the President of the Greek New Democracy political party.

He was President of the Greek Branch of the Waste to Energy Research and Technology Council coordinated by Columbia University and associate researcher of the Earth Engineering Centre-Columbia University.

He has been an advisor of the deputy Minister of Culture for the Olympic Games Constructions and their Post-Olympic utilization, President of the Greek Association of Environmental Protection Companies, President of the Hellenic Solid Waste Management Association and President of the Ordinary Environmental Committee of the Technical Chamber of Greece. Furthermore, he was President and CEO at Environmental Companies. He has organised 13 International Conferences and has over 100 scientific publications.

Maria Spyraki is the awarded MEP of the year 2019 for Industry, Research, and Innovation. She is now serving in her second mandate in the European Parliament as member of the Committees on Industry, Research, and Energy (ITRE), on Regional Development (REGI) and the Environment (ENVI). Ms Spyraki is co-chair of the Intergroup on Climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development and rapporteur at the Renovation Wave for ENVI committee.

She has worked for 22 years as a journalist in her home country Greece. Also, she was a member of the Press Office of the European Parliament in Athens from 2003 to 2004, as well as the office of Greek Commissioner to the EU, Mr Stavros Dimas, for the period 2004-2009.

Maria Spyraki has served as the Spokesperson of Nea Demokratia and as an elected member of the Nea Demokratia Executive Board.

Her first degree is in Chemistry and she also has an MSc in Energy Law, Business, Regulation and Policy from International Hellenic University.

MP for Thessaloniki (B’ zone), Responsible for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change sector, KINAL, George Arvanitidis hails from Thessaloniki, Makedonia. He is married to Kalliopi Arabatzis and father of two daughters, Maria and Stavroula. He holds a Diploma Business administration at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. After completing his studies, he worked in the private sector as Manager. He elected Mayor of Sindos Municipality (1995-1998) and Mayor of Echedoros Municipality (2003-2007 and 2007-2009).

In 4 October 2009 he was elected Member of the Greek Parliament (MP) for the Constituency of Thessaloniki (B’ zone) with the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, PASOK Party. He was re-elected in the parliamentary elections of 25th of January 2015, of 20 September 2015 and of 7 July 2019 with the KINAL (Kinima Allagis) Party. During his incumbency in the Hellenic Parliament he has been member of the Standing Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice, the Special Permanent Committee of the Regions, the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, the Special Permanent Committee on Environmental Protection, the Subcommittee on Water Resources, the Special Permanent Committee on monitoring the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, the Greece – Georgia Friendship Group, the Greece – USA FriendshipGroup, the Greece – Russia Friendship Group, the Greece – China Friendship Group, the Greece – Azerbaijan Friendship Group, the Greece – Indias Friendship Group, the Greece – Kazakhstan Friendship Group, the Greek Delegation in the Council of OSCE.

He is the responsible MP for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change Sector for the KINAL Party and Member of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, the Standing Committee on Production and Trade, the Special Permanent Committee on Environmental Protection and the Parliamentary Delegation in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Mr. Famellos was born in Athens in 1966 and raised in Thessaloniki. He holds a Diploma in Chemical Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and an MSc in Environmental Planning from the Hellenic Open University. As Chemical Engineer, Mr. Famellos has extensive experience in the fields of Environmental Engineering, Water Resources management, Recycling, Solid and Liquid Waste Management. He has been member of the Board of the Technical Chamber of Greece from 1997 till 2015, and member of the National Delegation of the Technical Chamber of Greece from 2003 till 2015.

He was first elected as Member of the Parliament with SYRIZA in January 2015, and re-elected in September 2015 and July 2019. He was appointed as Parliamentary Representative of SYRIZA in October 2015, and as Chairman of the Inquiry Commission of the Parliament in April 2016, which was aimed at investigating the legality of the bank loans given to Political Parties and Mass Media owners. From November 2016 to July 2019 he served as Alternate Minister for Environment and Energy of Greece. Today he is responsible for coordinating Energy and Environmental Policies within the SYRIZA party.

Chief Executive Officer of Hellenic Petroleum since August 2019 and a member of its Board of Directors as a representative of POIH. Mr. A. Shiamishis holds an Economics degree from the University of Essex and is a fellow member (FCA) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ΙCAEW). He began his career in 1989 with KPMG in London, specializing in the banking sector and large multinational Groups before joining DIAGEO in 1993, to assume senior Greek and European positions in Finance and Business development. Between 2000-2002 he worked as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer in a high-tech ASE listed Group and in 2003 he joined PETROLA HELLAS as Chief Financial Officer. Following the completion of the legal merger and operational integration of PETROLA HELLAS with HELLENIC PETROLEUM, he assumed the position of the Group CFO in 2005 and became a member of the Group Executive Committee. In 2012 he assumed the responsibility for International subsidiaries and in 2014 he was appointed Deputy CEO of the Group. He serves as a board member of SEV (Hellenic Federation of Enterprises) and the board of SEV Counsil for Sustainable Development (BCSD) as well as a member in the AMCHAM board of Corporate Governance. Furthermore, he is a member in a number of proffesional bodies including the Economic Chamber of Greece and ICAEW specialized faculties.

He studied history and economics. He is Graduate of the Institute of Political Studies, as well as graduate of the National School of Public Administration.

Career:
- 2016 - 2019: Ambassador in charge of the International Strategy in the fight against terrorism
- 2013 - 2016: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Tel Aviv
- 2009 - 2013: Director of Strategic Affairs, Security and Disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- 2007 - 2009: Head of European Union Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- 2004 - 2007: First Counselor at the Embassy of France in Greece

Honorary distinctions:
- Knight of the Legion of Honor
- Knight of the National Order of Merit

Ambassador Viguera has been appointed Ambassador of Spain to the Hellenic Republic on the 21st. July 2017. He was AmbassadorDirector of Spain School of Diplomacy – Escuela Diplomática- from 2015 to 2017. He previously served as Ambassador of Spain to the Commonwealth of Australia (2011-2015) and to the Kingdom of Sweden (2006-2010). In 2010 he was appointed Ambassador at large for Energy Issues at the MFA. He was Director General for European Integration and European Union Coordination of General and Economic Affairs (2004-2006); Director General for European Union Coordination of General and Technical Affairs (2000-2004) and Deputy Director General for European Union Coordination of General Affairs (1998-2000) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid. He was previously Counselor at the Embassy of Spain in Ottawa (1996-1998) and at the Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Union (1990-1996), where he was delegate in the Council Groups dealing with the negotiations of the European Economic Area (1990-1993), the European Union Enlargement to Austria, Sweden, Finland and Norway (1993- 1995) and the New Transatlantic Agenda with the US (1995). A career diplomat since 1982, he is a law graduated (corporate law, Hons) at Seville University (1971-1976). Studied European integration (law) at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium (1979-1980), and International Relations at Spain School of Diplomacy – Escuela Diplomática – Madrid (1980-1981). Ambassador Viguera is married to Marta Altolaguirre and has three children (Pablo, Cristina and Marta). He speaks fluently English, French and German.

Professor Dr. Kostas Andriosopoulos is the Executive Director of the Research Centre for Energy Management at ESCP Business School where he holds the position of full Professor in Finance and Energy Economics.

Kostas holds a PhD in Finance (Cass Business School, City University London), where he has been the recipient of the prestigious Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation’s scholarship. He also holds an MBA and MSc in Finance (Northeastern University, Boston, USA), and a bachelor’s degree in Production Engineering and Management (Technical University of Crete, Greece). 

Kostas is a member in various professional and academic associations: Chairman of the Energy Committee of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce; Founder and former Chairman of the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics (HAEE); Board member of the Global Gas Center - World Energy Council as a Gas and LNG markets expert.

In September 2019 he was appointed Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Public Gas Company (DEPA), a position he also held for the period 2014-2015. Since August 2018 he is Country Manager of Akuo Energy in Greece, a multinational company based in France that develops RES projects in more than 30 countries around the world. In addition, he has worked as an advisor to the Retail Banking Director and Managing Director for the British Bankers' Association (2007).

His work has been published in international finance and commodity-related Journals, and has participated as speaker in recognised conferences world-wide. He is the Associate Editor for the International Journal of Financial Engineering and Risk Management,  Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Energy Markets, he has edited special issues in recognised journals, acts as a reviewer for a number of academic journals, and has organised numerous international conferences. 

Theodora Antonakaki, Advisor to the Governor of the Bank of Greece (BoG) is coordinating BoG's work on climate, sustainability and research at the Climate Change Impacts Study Committee (CCISC) since 2009 and representing BoG at the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS). She obtained her Diploma at the Architectural Department of the Polytechnic School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the MSc in Built Environment at the Bartlett School of Built Environment of the University of London, where she was an Honorary Research Fellow. She has consulted companies in Greece and abroad in a wide range of projects, in planning, urban and architectural design, on issues of sustainability and socioeconomic impacts. She has participated in competitions and her work has gained awards from Europa Nostra and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Theodora has been an Adjunct Professor at the Syracuse University, presented her work at conferences and has lectured at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the University of Stirling, the School of Nordic Urban Design, University of London and the Hellenic Open University. She has written book chapters in edited books and her work has been published at peer reviewed journals.

Tasos Athanasopoulos holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from NTUA and an MBA in Business Administration from ALBA Business School. He has worked for many years in multinational companies in the Energy sector, holding managerial positions in large infrastructure projects. He has acquired extensive experience in Medium & High Voltage, transmission, distribution and protection of Electrical Energy, as well as Project, Construction and Resource Management in large-scale projects.

He is the founder of Enerdia since 2010, a pioneering company active in the Energy sector. Enerdia has established long-term relationships with global energy funds, and has been delivering complete services in the Renewables Sector, such as development, construction, operation & maintenance as well as asset management. The company is currently developing a Renewable Energy project portfolio which exceeds 1.2 GWp, and aims to double that capacity in the next five (5) years.

Sonia Babilis is the Chief Investment Officer of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF). Prior to HRADF, she was a Director in the Investment Banking Division of the National Bank of Greece. She began her career in Morgan Stanley in London having worked in Commodities, Emerging Markets Global Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions. She holds an M.Phil. in Economics from the University of Oxford and a B.Sc. in Banking and Financial Management from the University of Piraeus. She speaks Greek, English and French.

Mr. Nikolaos Bakatselos is the President & CEO of “Pyramis Metallourgia A.E.” and “Pyramis Deutschland GmbH”.

Mr. Nikolaos Bakatselos was Member of the Board of Directors, and Deputy Managing Director, of “Northern Greece Publishing S.A.”. He has held the position of Managing Director of “Imperium AEEX”, and Member of the Board of Directors of “Egnatia Bank Securities S.A.”. He was a Member of the Board of Directors of Attica Bank from February 2014 until June 2016.

Mr. Bakatselos was a Member of the Steering Committee of the “International Hellenic University” from 2006 until January 2014 and Member of the Board and President of the Northern Greece Committee of EEDE. He is Member of the Committee Support CERTH, Trustee of Anatolia College, Member of the Board of Directors of SVE, Member of the Board of Directors of IOBE and Honorary Consul of Belgium for Northern Greece.

After being a Member of the Board of Directors of the American – Hellenic Chamber of Commerce for several years, in June 2010 he was elected Vice President of AMCHAM and President of the Northern Greece Committee and since June 2019 he is the President of AMCHAM.

Mr. Bakatselos is Founding Member and Member of the Board of Council of Competitiveness of Greece.

In October 2019 he was elected as President of HEDNO by the General Assembly of HEDNO.

Mr. Nikolaos Bakatselos holds a B.A. in Sociology from University of Reading and a MSc in Shipping, Trade and Finance from City University Business School.

Mr. Leonidas Bakouras, from 2000 to 2014, served as Manager of Commercial Activities, External Relations and Regulatory Affairs of EPA Thessaloniki & EPA Thessalia contributing decisively to the natural gas penetration in the areas of the Companies’ Licenses.

From 2014 to 2016, he served as Deputy General Manager of EPA Thessaloniki & EPA Thessalia (Gas Supply & Distribution Companies), where his duties among others included the  construction, operation, maintenance of the Distribution Network, the safety of facilities and the emergency intervention to the distribution networks.

From 2016 until today, he is the General Manager of EDA THESS, Gas Distribution Company in the Prefecture of Thessaloniki and the Region of Thessaly. During his 20-year professional course his leading actions were determinative for the implementation of a long-term and efficient investment plan for the evolution of the natural gas market.

With postgraduate studies in Strategic Management, Business Administration and Finance, he held a successive position as a Member of Committees in Ministries for the issuance of the Natural Gas Technical Regulation and other relevant texts governing the gas market. His contribution to the international recognition of EDA THESS is also catalytic as through its participation in the powerful pan-European organization GD4S, the opportunity is given to actively participate in the formation of energy market policies at European level.

• Argie is heading NBG’s Structured Financing division, leading the Bank’s origination and execution efforts of wholesale lending transaction for local and international clientele. Core sectoral coverage includes: Energy, Real Estate, Concessions – Infrastructure & Leveraged Acquisitions.
• Argie brings more than 15 years of dedicated Capital Markets, Investment Banking & Financing experience across CEEMEA, with key specialization on primary and secondary debt-related solutions, across products (Loans, Bonds, Securitization).
• Prior to NBG, she worked for 5 years at HSBC Bank plc, supporting origination, structuring and execution of Global Markets & Capital Financing solutions for Greek and Cypriot Sovereigns and Financial Institutions. Prior to HSBC, she worked for 7 years in the DCM & Structured Capital Markets divisions of various international institutions, incl. Deutsche Bank and RBS in the UK
• Notable transactions include:
  - €270mn GEK Terna Motorways Group Reorganization & Acquisition Facility (2020/NBG)
  - €220m Lamda Olympia Village Refinancing & New Money Facility (2020/NBG)
  - €300m Prodea Investments REIC Refinancing & New Money Facility (2019/NBG)
  - €665.6m Concession Financing for Athens International Airport (2018 / NBG)
  - €357m Acquisition Financing for the international bidder consortium (SNAM, Enagas, Fluxys) of DESFA (2018/NBG)
  - NBG €750m Covered Bond (2017 / HSBC) – 1^st covered bond by a GR issuer since 2007
  - NBG €300m SME securitization (2016 / HSBC) – 1^st SME CLO by a GR issuer since 2007
  - 4 Greek Banks’ Senior Bonds totaling €300m (2014/HSBC)
  - Greek Sovereign DCM re-tap (2017, 2014 / HSBC)
  - BoC UK commercial real estate loan portfolio sale (2014 / HSBC)
  - €300m outright loan sales across CEEMEA & SEE (2011 / Eurobank)
  - $45bn Inbev acquisition facility for AB - the 3rd largest syndication of all times (2008/RBS)
  - $40bn Rio Tinto acquisition facility for Alcan - the 4th largest syndication of all times (2008/RBS)

• Argie is currently attending executive education at Columbia Business School, NY, US. She Holds an MSc in Investment Management, from Cass Business School and a BSc in Finance & Banking Management from University of Piraeus. She is LMA certified and FCA registered.

Nicola Battilana is the Chief Executive Officer of DESFA, the Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator.

Born near Genoa, Italy, in 1967, he graduated – after college in Nautical School – in Electrical Engineering at Genoa University.

After a few collaborations within the university and a period in the Italian Navy, he joined Snam in 1995, where he worked for 3 years in the technical area.

After a diversified professional path in the operations area, that led him through LNG terminal and gas network maintenance to pipeline construction, with several assignments of increasing responsibility, he was appointed in 2009 Network Development VP and in 2010 Network Dispatching and Balancing VP.

In 2013 he started up as SVP of the Technical Division, with the aim of promoting operational excellence and granting technical support in the then starting foreign asset acquisition process.

In October 2015, he was appointed CEO of TAG Gmbh, the Austrian company owned by Snam (85%) and Gas Connect Austria (15%) that owns and operates the Trans Austria Pipeline, the strategic transit infrastructure transporting ca. 40% of the Italian annual natural gas demand through Austria.

Before his new assignment as CEO of DESFA, he was managing, since September 2018, Snam’s activities in Greece and the Balkans, including the opening of a representative office in Athens.

CEO of Gaznat SA since 2008, René Bautz is also Chairman of Swiss Energy Trading (SET) and Gas&Com (Telecommunication), Board and Committee member of several companies and organizations within the gas industry: Swiss Gas Industry Association, Fingaz, Swissgas, Swiss Gas Invest, Transitgas and Unigaz. He also acts at an international level in the frame of Eurogas, Green Gas Initiative, and the World Energy Council within which he chairs the Global Gas Centre.

In 2002, René Bautz joined Gaznat, starting his career in the company as Chief technical officer. He then served as Chief operating officer for two years before taking over as CEO of Gaznat.

René Bautz studied electrical engineering and holds a Master of Science degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). He dedicated his entire professional career to the energy sector. René Bautz held the position of Managing director at the Société Electrique des Forces de l’Aubonne (SEFA) for 5 years. Prior to this, he served as Director of the Utility of the town of Bienne (ESB). During this period, between 1994 and 2002, he was also Board member and manager of several companies within the water and energy industries.

The first 10 years of his career were spent at the power company Electricité Neuchâteloise (ENSA) as Head of the studies and construction. René Bautz then joined Câbles Cortaillod (now Nexans Switzerland) as Head of the electric network and testing division. As part of his training, he completed an internship on behalf of Brown Boveri Canada in Montreal where he participated in the development of a test platform for electric generators. He further completed his training in the field of business economics and management.

Julian Bowden worked for BP for four decades in a variety of mainly planning, strategy and business development roles in downstream oil and international gas.  His international roles included postings to BP’s offices in Moscow and Brussels.  He was involved in the planning for Caspian crude oil exports (culminating in the BTC pipeline) and latterly in the development of the southern gas corridor.  Publications include chapters on Azerbaijan and Georgia in an OIES book on CIS gas, a chapter on SE Europe’s gas markets in an European Commission sponsored book on gas in the EU’s energy union and research papers on gas pricing for the IGU.  He has also published an academic journal article on Soviet oil marketing in the UK in the 1930s.  Principle interests remain in gas and broader energy issues in Eurasia.

Charlotte Bucchioni covers the dirty tanker markets for the S&P Global Platts EMEA office, focusing on West of Suez markets. Products coverage include crude and fuel oil from the main loading regions West of Suez (North West Europe, West Africa, Mediterranean basin). Charlotte has a Master in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and joined S&P Global Platts in September 2019 as Associate Editor.

Pantelis Capros, full-tenured Professor of Energy Economics and Operation Research at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens, heads the E3MLab, a research and consultancy group of scientists, operating since 1988. He holds an engineering degree from NTUA, three Master Degrees in Economics, Informatics and Operations Research from ENSAE, the University of Dauphine and a Doctorat d’Etat (PhD) in Mathematical Economics from the University Pierre & Marie Curie.

Prof. Capros has been the first Chairman of the Regulatory Authority for Energy in Greece (2000-2005), a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Power Corporation (1995-2000), a visiting Professor at University of Paris Sorbonne for five years and a researcher at CEA in France (1979-1984). He is a founding member of the European Energy Institute.

Prof. Capros has more than 30 years of experience in research, consultancy and studies, in particular for the European Commission. He specialises in the field of energy systems analysis and economics, environmental and climate policies, macroeconomics and industrial economics. He performs empirical research in these fields using and developing large-scale mathematical models. He has widely published (more than 200 publications) in the areas of Energy Modelling, Climate Economics, Empirical Macroeconomics, Operations Research and Mathematical Programming.

The E3MLab led by Prof. Capros develops, since 1990 energy-economy modelling, scenario building and impact assessment studies that support the European Commission. Indicative studies are the Reference energy-transport projections (published every two years), and a series of policy reforms, such as the 20-20-20 package (2007), the Low Carbon Roadmaps (2011-2012), the Winter package (2016), the Long-Term Strategy (2018), the Green Deal (2020), and others. The support relies on complex models, such as PRIMES, PRIMES-TREMOVE and GEM-E3, which are tools widely used for energy, transport, climate policies and economic assessments of the EU policy, also in national energy planning studies, roadmaps by Eurelectric and Eurogas and in studies for large private corporations. A series of European governments make use of consulting and modelling services based on E3MLab’s models for national energy, economic and environmental planning.

Aristotelis joined the Enel Group in November 2018 and is currently the Head of
Europe region in Enel Green Power (EGP). He has a diverse background in the
management of different types of renewables projects, varying in both size and type.
His broad professional career in renewable energy, both in Europe and North
America, includes executive roles in business development, construction and
maintenance, M&A and new investments.
Aristotelis graduated in Civil Engineering from DUTH and holds an MSc in
Engineering Business Management from University of Warwick, with further
specialization in Entrepreneurial Studies at Harvard University.

Maher Chebbo, has 30 years of Private Energy & Industries Digital & Venturing leadership roles and15 years of Public Board Leadership roles

Private Industrial:

Founder & CEO of CTECHNOLOGYS focusing on Digital Venture Capital, Board advisory & Digital Energy Ventures
Board observer at Greencom-networks (German IOT Energy SME)
SVP & Global Chief Innovation Officer GE Digital Energy Solutions (3 years)
General Manager Energy & industries for Europe, Middle East & Africa at SAP (21 years)
Director of Software Engineering Utilities & Telecom at Cap Gemini (6 years)

Public Board Leadership

Chair of the Governing Board of REEEP (Investing in Clean Energy Markets - Vienna)
Chair of the ETIP Batteries European Digital Task Force (European Commission)
Co-Chair of the SmartGrids (ETIP SNET) Digital Energy Group (European Commission)
Board member of ARMINES (R&D 50 Labs of MinesParisTech)
Strategic Advisory Committee member of VITO (Belgium)
Former President of ESMIG Association (European Smart Metering & Energy Association-Brussels)
Former Member of the Audit Scientific Committee of TNO (Dutch Government R&D Institute)
Former Member of the EVCA (European Venture Capital Association)
Nominated 5th among the Top40 most influential people in European Smart Grids

Pierre-Jean Cherret is managing director new business at items international, a French strategic consulting boutique in the fields of energy, digital, telecom, innovation. He is mainly involved in developing new markets, strategic alliances, building startup ventures, creating origination and investment strategies, program management in the energy &utilities & industries sectors. He is engaged in complex acquisition projects with VC financial institutions and innovation ventures to build our future on topics related to smart energy and cities systems involving new digital and deeptech developments. Pierre-Jean Cherret is also professor in the executive and fulltime “energy management master” of ESCPE on innovation and entrepreneurship. He holds engineering degree in computer science & applied mathematics and a master degree from CentraleSupelec in energy markets and technologies.

Dr. Athanasios Dagoumas is an Assistant Professor in Energy and Resource Economics and Director of the Energy and Environmental Policy laboratory at the University of Piraeus. He holds a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, where he elaborated his PhD in Energy Economics. He is Member of the Board of the Cambridge Trust for New Thinking in Economics. He has more than 15 years of work and research experience in energy related issues, including working as a Senior Researcher at the University of Cambridge and as a Senior Energy Analyst at the Transmission System Operator and at the Electricity Market Operator in Greece. Moreover he was enrolled as a Special Advisor to the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change in Greece. His extensive experience builds his capacity for an in-depth understanding of multidisciplinary aspects of the energy sector: economic, engineering, environmental and policy. He is keen on developing models for the energy system, the economic-energy-environment (E3) systems and the real energy markets. He has been President to the Regulatory Authority for Energy since July 2020.

Matthew Doman is a public affairs professional with long experience in government, media, industry advocacy and communications in Australia, Latin America and the United States. He boasts a successful track record of advocacy for gas producers in Australia, including leading industry campaigns for investment and development. He has strong communications skills, political judgment and media insight.
Matt is the Interim Public Affairs Director of the International Gas Union.

He is also director of the Australian public affairs consulting firm Mill Street Advisory.

Until June 2020, Matt was the External Affairs Director for the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA), the peak body of the Australian oil and gas industry.

Dr. Haris Doukas is an Associate Professor at the School of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). He is a mechanical engineer from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), with a PhD in the area of decision support systems for energy policy and management, from the ECE, NTUA. His scientific and research expertise includes the development of decision support systems for energy and climate policy. He has almost 2 decades of working experience in the design of energy and climate policies and programs for the promotion of renewables, energy efficiency and management in a regional, national and European level. Moreover, he participates as a specialist in respective initiatives beyond Europe, such as the countries of the Mediterranean basin and the Arab states of the Gulf. In the abovementioned fields, he has more than 120 scientific publications in international scientific journals with reviewers, the Greek Book "Multiple Criteria Decision Models for Energy and Environmental Systems", the open access Book as co-Editor "Understanding Risks and Uncertainties in Energy and Climate Policy: Multidisciplinary Methods and Tools for a Low Carbon Society", the English Book "Multicriteria Portfolio Construction with Python", as well as numerous presentations in international conferences, chapters in Books, articles in technical magazines and daily and weekly press. Finally, Dr. Doukas is an Associate Editor of the Operational Research International Journal (ORIJ) and participates as member of the scientific journals' Editorial Board in the areas of energy policy and operational research. For his work, Dr. Doukas has received numerous awards by the State Scholarship Foundation (IKY), the NTUA, the AUTH, the Technical Chamber of Greece (TCG), the Hellenic Operational Research Society (HELORS) and the World Renewable Energy Congress (WREC) among others.

Panagiotis Doumas is the Managing Partner and co-founder of A-Plus Insurance
Brokers, a company specializing in Energy Insurance Lines, having in his delegated authorities the business development and maintenance of big corporate accounts within a variety of territories.
Starting his career back in 1999, Panagiotis has worked as an agent for Phoenix
Metrolife Emporiki until 2004, when he joined Frontline Insurance Brokers S.A. operating as a Corporate Producing Broker.
He has a BA degree in Business Administration from Deree College in Athens, Greece and a Postgraduate Diploma in Marine Insurance and Reinsurance from World Maritime University in London, UK.

Marina Economidou is a scientific and technical project officer at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. In her current function, she co-ordinates and provides scientific/technical support for the JRC activities on the Energy Efficiency Directive. Her work focuses on EU energy efficiency policies, financial instruments on building renovations, and innovative measures to overcome barriers to energy efficiency.  She previously worked as a Senior Expert in Energy Efficiency at the Buildings Performance Institute Europe, Brussels where she managed a large country-by-country study on the energy performance of buildings in Europe, co-ordinated the data collection in 29 countries and led the development of an online data tool on buildings. Her PhD work focused on low-energy strategies in the built environment whereby she examined the physics behind natural ventilation and its impact in multi-storey buildings. She is a civil engineer by profession and obtained her MEng and PhD degrees from Imperial College London, UK.

President of the Board of Directors at the Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CRES) from September 2019.  Dr. Economou received his PhD degree from the Catholic University of Leuven and his Engineering Diploma from the National Technical University of Athens, Dept. of Mining & Metallurgical Engineering.  He has worked in industry and research in Belgium, Canada, Middle East (UAE & KSA) and Greece in various management positions.  His research work has been presented in 43 publications in scientific journals and international conferences.  In addition, Dr. Economou as an EC expert has evaluated more than 100 business plans from SMEs requesting funding for their innovative products or services.

With 18 years of experience in the area of Foreign Direct Investments, a long course in executive positions and a Master's background in Political Science from the leading University of Warwick in the UK, Elias works as Director of Investment Promotion & Facilitation at Enterprise Greece (EG), Greece's national investment and trade promotion agency.

As part of an ambitious, self-motivated and forward looking team, Elias has organised a vast number of missions in key target markets with the aim to promote solid investment opportunities to international investors and highlight all aspects that make Greece a unique business and investment destination.

Organising the business part of Greek government officials' visits to foreign markets, preparing customised investment proposals for multinationals and international entrepreneurs, setting-up site visits for assisting investors to establish their presence in Greece, reporting on the available financial tools and incentives and presenting the country's investment environment, are just some of the activities Elias has been involved in with tangible results.

Prior to his current position, Elias has been employed as investment promotion manager in the country’s predecessor Organisation (Invest in Greece) and as marketing advisor to the CEO of the supervising body of the public transportation system in Athens.

Born in Palermo on January, 28th 1965. In 1989 she graduated in Political Sciences, International Relations, at the University of Perugia. She entered the diplomatic service in 1992. She started to work at the Directorate General for Migration and Social Affairs and she was then appointed in the Cabinet of three consecutive Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs. In 1997 she was appointed as Head of the Commercial Office and responsible of the Consular Section in Dakar (Senegal). In 2001 she returned to Rome to work at the Directorate General for Human Resources. In 2004 she was posted to Austria as Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Italy to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna.
From 2008 to 2012 she worked as the Head of the Economic and Commercial Office at the Embassy of Italy in Ankara. In 2012 she returned to Rome as Chief of the Office for Legal and Economic Personnel at the Directorate General for Human and Budget Resources and Innovation and, in 2015, she was appointed as Deputy Director General for Human and Budget Resources and Innovation and Director Central for Human Resources.
On 8 June 2020, she was appointed Italian Ambassador to Greece.
In 2012, She was awarded the insignia of Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

Dr. Rabia Ferroukhi joined IRENA in 2011. She is currently the Director of the Knowledge, Policy and Finance Centre where she oversees the Agency’s work on knowledge, policy and finance, including: efforts to produce up-to-date and authoritative renewable energy data and information; analysis to identify best practice in renewable energy policies and finance; and advice and support to countries, tailoring policy and investment analysis to renewables deployment in the field.

Dr. Ferroukhi brought to this position over 20 years of experience in the fields of energy, development and environment. She worked in both public and private sectors, including with governments in the Middle-East and North Africa, energy companies in the Mediterranean region and the GCC, and international institutions.

Dr. Ferroukhi holds a Masters in Applied Economics and a Ph.D. in Economics from the American University in Washington DC.

Georgios (George) Gkiaouris is an Associate Director, Regional Head Energy, at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), responsible for EBRD’s Energy sector activities in the South Eastern European region.

George has more than 23 year experience in financing and investing in emerging markets and transition economies with an emphasis on the power and energy sector. Since joining EBRD in 2001, George has led numerous complex power and renewable project financings in Central and South Eastern Europe, involving syndicated debt, equity and intensive policy dialogue at the highest level in Governments and with local and international investors.

Prior to working at the EBRD, George worked for Barclays Capital and for the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) in London, focusing again in power sector financing in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Latin America.

George was born in Kozani (Greece) and holds a Masters in Finance from Manchester University and a degree in Economics from Aristotle’s University of Thessaloniki.

Ricardo Gorini is an economist (PUC-RJ) and holds an MBA in Finance (IBMEC-RJ). MSc. and DSc. in Energy from Energy Planning Program COPPE - (UFRJ-Brazil). Visiting Student at the Energy Institute - University of Sheffield, UK. He has published several articles. Previously he has worked in the financial market and mining sector, as well as advisor for energy policies and regulation in Brazil, including as the Director of Energy Economics and Environment Studies at Empresa de Pesquisa Energetica (EPE) – the Brazilian Energy Office in charge of the energy planning studies for the Brazilian government. He was also involved in the Brazilian NDC formulation and he coordinated the energy group of the Brazilian Climate Change Forum. He was the sherpa for Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and Mission Innovation (MI) before he joined IRENA, in 2018 as Senior Program Officer – REmap, responsible for the Renewable Energy roadmaps program at global, regional and country level. He is co-author of the IRENA global roadmap series including the latest Global Renewable Outlook 2050 (April 2020), and contributor to Post-COVID Recovery report (released in June 2020).

Dr. Panagiotis Grammelis is Director of Research at the Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute of CERTH (CERTH/CPERI). The scope of his research is the exploitation of solid fuels, i.e. biomass/waste and coal, with emphasis on the thermochemical conversion technologies. He is experienced in numerous EU and national funded and industry oriented projects, with an extensive knowledge of the South-East European market. Since May 2011, Dr Grammelis is Head of the Laboratory of Alternative Fuels & Technologies and guides a team of highly-skilled researchers. He has been Steering Committee member of the Biomass Panel in the RHC-ETP (responsible for industrial boilers and district heating), national expert for the standardisation of solid biofuels and member of DHC+ (District Heating & Cooling) Platform. Member of the Editorial Board in IJER and IJGW and the Scientific Committees of international conferences (EUBCE, GCGW, WSED). He is co-author in 380 papers in scientific journals, international conferences, workshops and books, with 2777 citations and h-Index 30 according to Scopus.

An expert on energy policy and European economic policy, Victor Grigorescu was Romania’s Minister of Energy from November 2015 to January 2017. He is currently working as an energy Consultant focused on EU affairs in SEE and CEE regions. A former member of the board of Electrica, one of Romania’s largest electricity distribution companies, he also has a background in diplomacy and international relations, having served at the Permanent Representation of Romania at the EU (2007-2011) as an expert for the EU’s common commercial policy. He actively took part in Romania’s accession negotiations to the EU during his time at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (2004-2007), focusing his work on international relations and the EU’s common commercial policy. Before being appointed minister of energy, he has published various articles on public policy and international relations in Romanian and has co-authored several works on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. He is a graduate of Bucharest University’s Law School.

Walburga Hemetsberger has been working in Brussels for more than 18 years in different positions, most of the time in the energy sector.

Before joining SolarPower Europe, Walburga headed the VERBUND Representation Office in Brussels and was a Board Member of Hydrogen Europe. Her previous experience includes her roles as Head of the EU Representation Office at VERBUND for nine years; Advisor of Financial and Capital Markets at The Association of German Public Banks and Association of Public Banks (VÖB / EAPB); Competition lawyer at Haarmann Hemmelrath; A Parliamentary Assistant to Austrian MEP and experience in the DG Competition Merger Control Task Force.

Walburga holds a degree in Law and Business Administration from Leopold-Franzens Universität Innsbruck. She speaks German, English, Dutch and French.

Arnaud HENIN is managing director of Gommyr Power Networks, leading work on localised renewable generation, energy storage, and microgrid projects as a trusted independent third-party advisor.  He brings more than 12 years’ experience in the renewable energy and finance sectors covering engineering, technical and economic issues.  He is focused on developing customised and appropriate technical options as well sustainable business models for deploying renewable energy in microgrid and localised power solutions.   Arnaud has led projects covering village electrification, electric mobility, commercial and industrial systems, and utility scale projects.  He has worked across a range of geographies including over 15 different countries across Southeast Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Prior to Gommyr Power, he managed the Piraeus Clean Energy fund, investing in renewable energy and cleantech projects in South East Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean region. Before that he was a manager with McKinsey & Company serving clients on projects in the energy, renewables and climate change sectors across Europe and Africa. At the beginning of his career he spent several years working in engineering and as a manager with a number of start-ups in the high tech sector in Canada. Arnaud holds a BEng in Electrical Engineering from McGill University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Dr. George Ioannou is the Chief Executive Officer of the Energy Exchange Group. He is also Professor of Production & Operations Management at the Department of Management Science and Technology of the Athens University
of Economics and Business (AUEB), and Director of the Management Science Laboratory. He was an Assistant Professor at the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering of Virginia Tech, directing the Manufacturing Systems Integration Lab, and Director of the International MBA Program of AUEB. Dr. Ioannou received his diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, and his M.Sc./DIC in Industrial Robotics and Manufacturing Automation from Imperial
College, London, UK. He was a Graduate Research Assistant at the Institute for Systems Research of the University of Maryland at College Park, USA, where he received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. His research concentrates on the quantitative and analytical study of business systems, and merges operations research tools with modern information technology to address open problems faced by today’s complex enterprises and supply chain networks. His work has been sponsored by several research  organizations and private companies from the US, Europe and Greece, while his publications have appeared in various archival journals covering topics that range from facility and material handling systems design and operation, to Enterprise Resource Planning Systems. He has consulted for many companies and public organizations, and was responsible for executive and educational seminars in his areas of expertise, both in the US and Greece. He is the recipient of the Microsoft Excellence in Education Award and has been honored with many Teaching Excellence Awards for his MBA courses. He is a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE), where he chaired the
Research and Development Committee, and served as a member of the  Editorial Board of the international journal Production Planning & Control. He has been an Executive Member of the Board of Directors of Hellenic Railroads SA, and a member of the Innovation Council of the Ministry of Development. He was also the academic coordinator of the Energy Club of MBA International that organized seven conferences on energy-related topics between 2012 and 2018, and Head of the Evaluation Committee of ΣΥΖΕΥΞΙΣ ΙΙ, a focal project of Information Society S.A.

Dr. Symeon Kassianides is the Founder, CEO and Chairman of the Hyperion Systems Engineering Group. He holds a PhD and DIC in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London (UK), a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) and has extensive experience in project execution and management of technology in the process manufacturing industries. He has been a Member of the Board of the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) since 2014 and was appointed as Chairman in March 2017.

Dimitris Kavvouris is a highly experienced Senior Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the automotive industry. Dimitris received his Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.) in Business and Economics from Piraeus University of Economics and Business. He pursued post graduate studies at Athens University of Economics and Business, for a Master's degree in Marketing and Communications/Marketing Management (M.Sc). In 2004, he was elected as a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Marketing UK (CIM).

Dimitris started his Automotive career at Volkswagen Brand in 1994 and during the years of his career in the VW Group he has been assigned various managerial positions, such as Sales Manager, Marketing Manager, and in 1999 he became the Head of VW Commercial Vehicles in Greece.

In 2000, he joined as Marketing Director the Syngelidis Group of Companies, Citroen Hellas and in 2004 he was appointed the position of Head of Audi in Greece for 11 years at Kosmocar S.A. In 2015 until 2016, Dimitris held a Senior Position in VW Middle East.

Dimitris Kavvouris is a skilled and focus businessperson who has been at the helm of 5 different companies and since 2017 holds the position of Chief Operating Officer leading the Brands Citroen, DS Automobiles and Mazda at Syngelidis Group of Companies, AIGLON S.A., the importer of Peugeot, Citroen, DS Automobiles and Mazda in Greece.

He is married and has one daughter.

Olga Khakova is the associate director for European energy security at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, where she manages transatlantic energy initiatives. Before joining the Atlantic Council, Khakova was a senior program coordinator for US Energy Association’s Energy Technology and Governance Program. She helped start and coordinate the Western Balkans’ Electricity Market Initiative working group, which provides technical expertise on creating better-connected electricity markets.

Khakova also worked as a program director for a leading energy non-profit in the Midwest, The Climate + Energy Project (CEP). While at CEP she co-led the conception and development of the Clean Energy Business Council, a network of businesses seeking to capitalize on renewable energy resources in Kansas and the greater Kansas City area through legislative, regulatory, and educational solutions. Khakova facilitated state-wide stakeholder engagement on energy issues, such as education and outreach on rate design dockets at the Kansas Corporation Commission. During her time at Bombardier Aerospace, Khakova organized events and developed communications strategies in Brazil, Canada, China, and the US for a distinguished human factors safety program called Safety Standdown.

Khakova has a business administration degree from Wichita State University and a professional science masters in environmental assessment from the University of Kansas. She is originally from Ukraine.

Konstantin Konstantinov, CEO of Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange EAD (IBEX) since its establishment in 2014, has a Master’s degree in “Electrical engineering” from the Technical University of Sofia. He also holds a Master’s degree in “International Business Relations” from the Technical University. Konstantinov has got a solid experience in energy sector. Prior to this role, he was an Electricity trade director at the Bulgarian electricity public provider -  National electricity company EAD (NEK) and a member of the board of directors of NECO S.A. From 2005 to 2013 Konstantinov was a member of the Management board and a Deputy executive director of Enemona Utilities EAD. Prior to joining Enemona Utilities he was a senior specialist Geographic Information Systems at Electricity Distribution Sofia EAD.

Nikolaos Koutsogiannis was the founder of the Naoussa International Film Festival, which was the most significant digital cinema event in the region of South East Europe. He is a graduate of University of Macedonia in International and European Economic and Political Studies with a Master degree in International Relations and a second Master degree in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Sheffield. He was elected Mayor at the 2014 mayoral elections with the urge of the younger people of his hometown Naoussa. During his mandate he envisioned and planned the innovative and pioneering project of energy production generated by small hydropower stations installed in the city's existing water supply system which he presented at the European Council, in China and several other conferences in Greece and abroad. He is now advisor to the Board at HENGAS for strategy and communication, thus becoming part of the most rapidly developing sector of Greek economy.

Marcel Kramer is a Dutch national residing in Amsterdam. After obtaining a Master’s degree in Private and Corporate Law, he held several positions in Government and in international organizations (NATO, International Energy Agency). Subsequently Marcel spent his entire career in international energy companies on different continents.

He has held a range of senior executive positions in the international energy industry and has an extensive global personal network in this field.

He currently works as an independent consultant, company director and advisory board member on strategy, policy and project management in the field of energy and infrastructure.

He is also President of the Energy Delta Institute, an international energy business school, which supports the development of executives through a wide range of industry courses and learning-related events.

Marcel Kramer is a frequent public speaker on energy topics and lectures in several executive education programs associated with universities in Europe and Russia. He is an active longstanding member of the Council of the International Gas Union (IGU), for which he also reports to the IGU President as ‘Regional Coordinator’ for Russia, the Black Sea region and the Caspian.

Special advisor to the Greek Prime Minister on environment and Circular Economy. Honorary Director in the European Commission (EC), in charge of circular economy issues on behalf of DGENV. National coordinator for the EEC internal market (1990-1992), Head of the EEC Committee under the Greek Prime Minister (1993), Secretary General for European Affairs in the Ministry of National Economy (1993), Head of the Legal Unit DG ENV (1995-2004). Head of the “Legal affairs and Governance” Unit (2004-2005). Head of the Unit "Cohesion Policy and Environmental Impact assessments” (2005-2013) Head of the "Mainstreaming and Environmental Assessments" Unit (2013-2018) Member of the Board of the Espoo Convention, and elected Chair of the upcoming MOPs in 2019 and 2020.

Ulrich Laumanns is working as a project manager for the project “Technical Support for Clean Energy Investments in Greece“ (TARES4) project which is implemented by GIZ (German International Cooperation) on behalf of the European Commission as well as the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The objective of this project is to improve the framework conditions for renewable energies and energy efficiency in Greece in order to facilitate the achievement of the national targets for 2020 and 2030. The project provides advice and support to the Greek Ministry for Environment and Energy (YPEN) for the preparation and implementation of priority reforms in the field of clean energy. Ulrich Laumanns has studied political science in Germany and France with a focus on energy policy as well as support instruments for renewable energy and energy efficiency. During the past 15 years, he has been working for GIZ in the field of renewable energies and energy efficiency in Germany as well as abroad.

MBA in economics, born in 1967, has over 20 years of national and international professional experience as Chief Executive Officer, COO, Vice President, in various groups and medium-sized companies such as Ford Motor Company, Visteon Corporation, Lear Corporation, Freudenberg, CIE Automotive and Amtek Group with focus on business development and operations. He was responsible for reorganization, investment and restructuring of companies of up to 20 investment vehicles. He is founder, investor and one of the most successful business Angels in Europe. Mr. Lazanas supports the group in the strategic expansion of our group worldwide.

Loukas Lazarakis is currently serving as the CEO of “NOSTIRA SA”, a renewable energy company with main activities the development, construction and asset management of RES units since 2016 when originally was founded. He brings more than twenty years of executive experience in the Renewable Energy Industry. Prior to Nostira, he served as a CEO in EDF EN Hellas S.A. and RETD S.A.

Having joined Windsolar Hellas S.A. in 1999 as CFO, Loukas originally worked in Finance roles and in 2003 was one of the founders of RETD S.A., in which he held positions of CFO/CEO. In 2007, RETD S.A. became an EDF EN subsidiary and five years later Mr. Lazarakis was appointed CEO in EDF EN Hellas S.A. until June 2017.

During his career, he has gained a reputable experience in the Energy sector having developed major RES projects, summing up to hundreds of MWs, in Greece, Cyprus and Romania. Loukas was in charge of the strategic directions and financial decisions of the organizations he cooperated with, while implemented hundreds of millions of financing facilities and facilitated 500MW of RES projects in Greece.

He holds a degree in Economics from University of Piraeus.

Since 13 April 2018, Jean-Marc Leroy is Senior Executive Vice-President for External Relations. His role is to promote a global smart energy system underpinned by a sustainable and well-balanced energy mix. Prior to that, Jean-Marc Leroy was Managing Director for Gas Chain at ENGIE. Between January 2009 and July 2015 he was Chief Executive Officer of Storengy, the underground gas storage operator of ENGIE. Jean-Marc started his career in 1980 at EDF-GDF Services. Between 1997 and 2004, he held several key positions at Gaz de France: President’s Chief of Staff, Secretary of the Board, Deputy Vice President for Strategy, Vice President for External Relations and Internal Communication. Between 2005 and 2009 he was in charge of underground gas storage and LNG regasification terminals at Gaz de France and subsequently GDF SUEZ. From 2010 to 2019, he chaired the Supervisory Board of ENSEEIHT, an engineering school of Toulouse’s University, gathering 1200 students and focusing on energy, environment and IT. Since November 2015, he is President of Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), now in its third mandate. Previously, between 2008 and 2013, he held the position of the President of Gas Storage Europe (GSE), the storage column of GIE. In December 2015, he became Board member of Global Gas Centre within the framework of the World Energy Council and in October 2018 he was elected at the IGU Executive Committee. Jean-Marc Leroy is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of GRDF. In September 2019, he was elected Vice -President of OME (Mediterranean Energy Observatory).

David Livingston is a senior analyst at Eurasia Group, the world's leading geopolitical risk firm, and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington, DC. Previously, he worked as a deputy director at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, as a fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and as the inaugural Robert S. Strauss fellow for geoeconomics at the Office of the US Trade Representative. David has also worked at the World Trade Organization in Geneva and at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in Vienna.

David holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree from the University of Oxford. He serves as an adjunct associate professor at the University of Southern California, teaching a course at its Washington, DC campus, and serves as a mentor and strategist for the Obama Foundation Scholars program.

Mr. Manolis is the Head of the International Activities / Projects of DEPA Commercial S.A..

He first joined DEPA in 1998, where he worked in the Finance Division, focusing mainly on the planning and monitoring of the EU funding mechanisms for the co-funding of projects.

From 2004 up to 2007 Mr. Manolis held the position of Procurement Department Head, carrying out all Project tenders related to EU co-financed Operational Programs. In 2007 he was appointed Manager of the Greece - Italy Interconnector Project, the new offshore pipeline that will connect the Greek and Italian natural gas transportation systems and, as of 2011 forged the development of the Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline (Eastmed) Project, the new offshore and onshore pipeline that will connect the Cypriot and Israeli gas findings to Europe. Mr. Manolis also holds the position of Deputy Development Director in IGI-Poseidon S.A., the equally owned by DEPA and the Italian Edison S.p.A holding company, where he was also appointed Member of the BoD (2019 to February 2020).

In June 2009, Mr. Manolis contributed intensively in the launch of the new Greece – Bulgaria Gas Interconnector (IGB Interconnector), a project developed on an equal basis by IGI-Poseidon S.A. and the Bulgarian Energy Holding, and was involved since its inception in the Northern Greece LNG Terminal project concept.

From 2013 to February 2020, Mr. Manolis held the position of Member of the Board and Vice Chairman of the Fysiko Aerio Hellenic Energy Company.

Mr. Manolis has a degree in Economics and holds an MBA.

Ioannis Margaris, Dipl. Electrical Engineer and Computer Engineer (NTUA 2006), completed his PhD dissertation at the Power Systems Laboratory - School of Electrical and Computer Engineering NTUA in 2011 focusing on design and operation of Electricity Grids and Power Systems with Increased Penetration of Renewable Energy Sources.

He worked for a period in the Public Power Corporation (PPC) – at the Non-Interconnected Island Power Systems Department – on dynamic security of power systems and data management for Smart Networks and MicroGrid applications on Greek island systems.

He completed his Post-Doc research at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Wind Energy Department 2012), where he continued working as Researcher (equiv. Assistant Prof.) and R&D project manager in North Europe, lecturing in MSc programs of DTU.  He participated in the technology cooperation program between Denmark and China, in particular in the field of Transmission Systems and Electricity Networks and Wind Energy.  

In 2015 he became Executive Vice-Chairman of the BoD of Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO – DEDDIE) focusing on Network Technology, Strategic Projects and Investments in the Distribution Grid, strengthening domestic and international partnerships of HEDNO with Distribution Network Operators and IT/ICT companies in the field of Smart Grids.

In the past he had served as member of the BoD of OTE and as technology and policy advisor for projects in Europe, Latin America, Africa and China.

Grigoris Marinakis, Country Manager of Voltalia Greece (100% subsidiary of VOLTALIA SA, French Multinational Group)

Grigoris joined Voltalia Greece at its establishment in 2007, where he started his professional career in Renewable Energy as a Development Manager, managing the company’s finance as well as the projects’ development and construction phases.

In 2011, he was appointed Country Manager, where he extended the company’s entire operations and activities from an Electricity provider to being also a service provider. He successfully developed new business activities within the Renewables’ Market in Greece which involved the entire value chain of a renewable project: development, engineering, procurement, construction (EPC), operations & maintenance (O&M) and asset management.

Before joining Voltalia, Grigoris gained a significant experience in the maritime Business where he managed large shiping companies employing more than 100 employees.

Andrea Martinez has over 25 years of experience in the infrastructure and local development market space. He is actively involved in the deployment of several technical assistance EIB ELENA schemes, ESIF financing platforms, Horizon 2020 projects aimed at accelerating the energy transition process. He is Deputy Managing Director at Sinloc - Sistema Iniziative Locali SpA, an investment and advisory company, participated by ten leading Italian Banking Foundations. Since 2011 he is Key Account and Investment Team Manager of JESSICA Urban Development Funds in Sicily, Sardinia and Campania. Since 2014 he is member of the Steering Committee of Green Building Council Italy and has been board member of several special purpose vehicles involved in energy and urban regeneration. Starting from October 2019 he is Project Coordinator of the EU Islands Facility NESOI.

Konstantinos Mavros has significant and diversified experience in the broader energy sector and the fields of corporate finance and technology. He has worked in the past in the Renewable Energy Sector, and has been leading companies in the technological field. He has also co-founded a Venture Capital fund supported by the European Investment Fund. He is an active member and holds key positions in several international professional and academic associations and has been a visiting lecturer at the Athens University International MBA program. Mr Mavros holds a Masters’ degree in Finance from Imperial College London and has completed high level executive education programs at Harvard Business School.

Dan Milstein has been Director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s European Regional Office since 2014 and is based at the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic. In his previous job with DOE, Dan was an International Relations Specialist in DOE’s Office of International Affairs, where he was the “desk officer” for much of Europe and Southeast Asia. Dan joined DOE in 2008 as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) after earning his Masters in Public Policy that same year at the University of California-Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, where he specialized in energy policy.

Miloš Mladenović has graduated in Faculty of Electrical Engineering in 1995 at University of Belgrade. Following the establishment of the Serbian TSO (EMS), starting from 2005 he has played important role in the emerging process of the Serbian electricity sector unbundling and liberalization of the national electricity market, acting as the Executive Manager for System and Market operation and Director for International and Regulatory Affairs in EMS. With comprehensive regional and European experience, acting as a member of the ENTSO-E Board and ENTSO-E Market Committee, as well as the Chairmen of the SEE RG within ENTSO-E MC, he becomes also one of the key players in the process of the SEE Electricity Market integration and EU Target Model implementation in the SEE region. Since July 2015, he works as a Managing Director of SEEPEX (South East European Power Exchange), JSC established by EMS and EPEX SPOT.

Richard L. Morningstar is the founding chairman of the Global Energy Center and a board director at the Atlantic Council. He served as the US ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan from July 2012 to August 2014.

Prior to his appointment, since April 2009, he was the Secretary of State’s special envoy for Eurasian energy. Prior to that, Morningstar lectured at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and Stanford Law School.

From June 1999 to September 2001, he served as United States ambassador to the European Union. Prior to this, Morningstar served as special adviser to the President and Secretary of State for Caspian Basin energy diplomacy, where he was responsible for assuring maximum coordination within the executive branch and with other governments and international organizations to promote United States policies on Caspian Basin energy development and transportation. From April 1995 to July 1998, he served as ambassador and special adviser to the President and Secretary of State on assistance for the new independent states of the former Soviet Union, where he oversaw all US bilateral assistance and trade investment activities in the NIS. From 1993 to 1995, he served as senior vice president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

Morningstar also served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Costar Corporation from 1990 to 1993 and as president and chief executive officer from 1981 to 1990. He was an attorney with Peabody and Brown (now Nixon and Peabody) in Boston from 1970 to 1981, where he became a partner in 1977.

Morningstar served as a commissioner of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (1989–1993). Prior to returning to the government in 2009, he served as director of the American Councils for International Education, a trustee of the Kosovo-America Educational Foundation, and a trustee of the Eurasia Foundation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Morningstar received his BA from Harvard in 1967 and JD from Stanford Law School in 1970.

Dr. Anita Orban joined Tellurian LNG as Vice President for International Affairs in 2017. Previously she worked as Chief Advisor for Cheniere Marketing Ltd. Between 2010 and 2015 she served as Ambassador-at-Large for Energy Security of Hungary. Prior to that she was the Director of Constellation Energy Institute, a think tank facilitating cooperation in the Central Eastern European energy sector.

She is the author of the book Power, Energy and the New Russian Imperialism (CT: Praeger, 2008). She was awarded with the Woman Executive of the Year in Energy Award in 2018. She is on the European Advisory Board of the Fletcher School and the Chairwoman of the International Advisory Board of the Regional Centre for Energy Policy Research (REKK).

She earned her PhD degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston in 2007. She holds a Master Degree in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School and a Master in History from Tufts University. She earned her Bachelor degree in economics from the University of Economic Sciences in Budapest in 1997.

Υiannis Panagis holds the Position of Chairman of Panhellenic Federation of Photovoltaic Enery Producers (POSPIEF), the only body representing photovoltaic producers in the second level in Greece, founded in 2013 and currently consisting of seven regional associations with more than 1,500 members.

He was born in Serres, where he lives and works. He has shown remarkable trade union activity, representing the farmers of his area, while he has developed significant business activity in the field of renewable energy sources’ production.

Since 2012 he holds the Presidency of Photovoltaic Energy Producers΄ Association of Serres (SPIEF Serres). At the same time, he is vice-president of the Agricultural Association of Serres, while he participates, as a member, in the Administrative Board of the professional football team of Panserraikos. In 2016 he was, as a representative of beet growers, a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Sugar Industry.

He graduated from the Department of Physical Education & Sports Science (TEFAA) of AUTh and speaks very well in English.

Papastamatiou Panagiotis is Director of ENTEKA Group where he directs the development and financial sectors of the Group. Moreover, he is Chief Executive Officer of the Hellenic Wind Energy Association, ELETAEN. He has a vast experience in energy projects development in Greece and in Balkans with special focus and deep knowledge in wind energy. In the past he worked as advisor for the Hellenic Ministry of Development as well as for other public and private corporations. He holds Diploma in Electrical Engineering from NTU of Athens with PhD in Operational Research and Energy Policy & Planning and postgraduate lessons in Economics and Management in Athens University of Economics and Business. He is elected member of the Board of Directors of the Greek Association of RES Electricity Producers, GAREP.

Katherine Poseidon is an associate in BNEF's Energy Transition Team. She leads coverage of Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and manages BNEF's research on coal phase-out and energy transition policy in Europe. Katherine also contributes to BNEF's regional market outlooks and long-term modelling. Prior to joining BNEF, Katherine worked at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy in Athens, Greece as a Junior Research Fellow. Katherine holds Masters degrees from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Athens, and a BA from the University of Cambridge.

Arthur is a Freight Analyst at Vortexa, with a background in freight markets and data analysis. Prior to joining Vortexa, Arthur was a Senior Pricing Specialist on the Freight desk at S&P Global Platts, covering dirty and clean tanker markets. Arthur holds an MSc in Energy Management from ESCP Europe and a Foundation Diploma in Tanker Chartering from the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.

Aurora Rossodivita is Senior Expert on Gas at the Energy Division of ARERA, the Italian independent regulatory authority for electricity, gas, water and waste as of 2004. She currently represents ARERA at the Gas Working Group and in other Task Forces of ACER, the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators. During her years in ARERA she has been also seconded four years as national expert at the European Commission (DG ENER). Before joining ARERA, from1998 she was working at EURELECTRIC, the sector association which represents the common interests of the electricity industry at pan-European level. Prior to this (from 1996 to 1998) she has been working for private consultancy and for the European Parliament. She has a background in Economics.

Development Manager at Romanian Commodity Exchange

Has been working in the last 15 years in the capital market sector in various positions in market institutions in the private sector. With a theoretical background in economics he has been acting as CEO of Sibex Depository and Development Director at Sibex Exchange for several years. In the last years he has focused on energy trading and market development of energy markets in the EU regulated and is currently acting as Development Manager for new products and market structures at Romanian Commodity Exchange in Romania.

_{Ms. Gulmira Rzayeva is a Research Associate at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) and visiting research fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy of Columbia University. She is also on board of directorate of the Institute for Effective Governance and Stabilization based in Stockholm, Sweden. She is a founder and managing director of the London-based Eurasia Analytics Ltd consulting company. She was a senior research fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies (SAM) under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan for last ten years until January 2019. Her area of expertise includes energy security covering issues such as the energy policy of Azerbaijan and East Europe/Caspian region, Turkish domestic natural gas market, SEE gas market, global natural gas market, gas-to-hydrogen etc. Ms Rzayeva is recognized worldwide for her reports and seminal articles about energy focusing on the region, as well as for her speeches in some of the most prestigious universities including Harvard University, think-tanks and prestigious international conferences world-wide. Ms. Rzayeva has published several scholarly publications focusing on her area of expertise.}

Éric Scotto is a dedicated entrepreneur and skilled investor concerned with climate change.

In 2007 he cofounds Akuo Energy, an independent global renewable energy power producer and developer. The company is present across the entire value chain, including project development, financing, construction, and operation. Akuo has invested more than EUR 2.5 billion to build a portfolio of over 1.2 GW of assets in operation or under construction and a 5GW development pipeline. With more than 350 employees, the Group, headquartered in Paris, France, has a presence in over 15 countries around the world.

Fereidoon Sioshansi is President of Menlo Energy Economics, a consulting firm based in San Francisco, California, with over 35 years of experience in the electric power sector. He advises domestic and international clients on strategies to respond to the rapid transformation of the electric power business including utilities, energy intensive industry, innovators, start-ups and companies engaged in electricity delivery supply chain, regulators and policy makers. 

Dr. Sioshansi is the editor and publisher of EEnergy Informer, a monthly newsletter with international circulation, now in its 30^th year of publication. His professional experience includes working at Southern California Edison Co. (SCE), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), NERA, and Global Energy Decisions.

Mr. Vassilis Spiliotopoulos is a graduate of the Civil Engineering Department of Athens Technical University, being also awarded a Master of Science degree from Birmingham University, U.K.

Since 1985 he has been involved in the construction field, participating in several big infrastructure projects in Greece, as well as, overseas.

The last twenty-five years he is focused to the energy sector business, construction of oil product storage facilities, medium and high-pressure natural gas pipeline projects, development of combined cycle power plants, and finally development, implementation and sale of wind farm projects.

As of 2004 he is Managing Director of SIEMENS GAMESA RENEWABLE ENERGY SA – member of the Group SIEMENS GAMESA RENEWABLE ENERGY.

Mr. Theodoros Stavropoulos is a Chemical Engineer of National Technical University of Athens and holds a master's degree in Business Administration from the Athens University of Economics and Business.

During the period of the full liberalization of the natural gas retail market he took over the Management of Natural Gas Suppliers and Consumer Services in Attiki Natural Gas Distribution Company. He has 4 years of experience as Manager of Design and Planning of Natural Gas Construction Projects and 14 years of experience in the field of Operation and Maintenance of Medium Pressure networks and installations.

He has also participated as a Consultant in shaping the operational procedures of the High Pressure transmission system.

Mr. Aristofanis Stefatos holds a PhD in Geology from the University of Patras and has specialized in Environmental Oceanography. During the last 15 years he has worked in oil companies abroad with their main activity being the exploration and development of hydrocarbon deposits having held senior and top management positions. Since 2011 he has been a manager in Norway in private hydrocarbon exploration and production companies and is a founding member of four Norwegian companies. He has been the General Manager of Operations at M Vest Energy AS during the last four years, and the Director of Land Management and Technology at Atlantic Petroleum Norge before that. Dr. Aristophanes Stefatos’ exploration work has been exposed to several geological settings namely in Europe, North America, the Indian Ocean, West Africa and Southeast Asia.

Bert Stuij (MSc.) is Vice President Innovation at the Energy Delta Institute (EDI) and Manager National Programmes/Energy at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency RVO, a government institution. At EDI, Stuij works on programme development and education with a specific focus on energy transition. At RVO, Stuij is responsible for renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy innovation policy. Previously Stuij worked in the private sector for Shell and at various semi-private institutions (Novem) and government agencies (SenterNovem, AgentschapNL).

Head of Strategy & Development Division, DESFA, as of 1^st October 2020. Until then, he was a Partner in Grant Thornton Greece, leading the Energy Sector advisory, since September 2016.

He has extensive experience in energy markets’ regulation, as Vice Chairman of the Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) and Member of the Board from 2005 to 2015, responsible for Gas and International Affairs, but also as member of the Board of Regulators of ACER, member of the CEER General Assembly, Chairman of the Gas Working Group of the Energy Community Regulatory Board and Chairman of the Investment Group of the Energy Charter Conference. He is a Member of the Board of Appeal of ACER since November 2016 and member of the Advisory Board of the Training Academy of CEER since 2015.

He has extensive personal involvement in the development of the gas legislation as well as the regulatory framework of the Greek gas market for the last 14 years, and was deeply involved in the corresponding developments in South East Europe. He had a leading role in the development of the regulatory framework for several gas infrastructure projects related to the Southern Gas Corridor, such as TAP, IGB and IGI.

He had active participation in the evolution of the Greek energy policy and served as Advisor to several Ministers of Energy on the evolution of energy policy, including Intergovernmental Agreements for international gas projects.

Before joining RAE, he was Deputy Head of Department in the Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEPA SA), were he worked from the onset of the gas industry in Greece and for 7 years, as the contractual administrator of the Gas Procurement contracts from Russia (pipeline) and Algeria (LNG), the LNG transportation contracts, as well as on the development of underground gas storage, on the derivation of transportation tariffs and on the establishment of the Gas Distribution Companies in Greece. He was involved in all contractual negotiations with the gas suppliers and transporters, including price revision requests and dispute settlement with the suppliers.

In 2013 he chaired the Arbitration Tribunal which settled the electricity price dispute between a power producer and one of the biggest industrial consumers in Greece. He has a Mechanical Engineering degree from National Technical University of Athens and a PhD from the same University. He is the author of more than 30 papers and invited lecturer in many events of the energy industry worldwide.

Mr. Tomaras is Deputy General Manager of SPYROPOULOS SA, a technical-commercial company active in the fields of Renewable Energy Development, Engineering, Procurement and Construction, specialized in the Photovoltaic Sector.

The Company has around 35MW of installed capacity in photovoltaic plants, over 150MW in electromechanical maintenance, 500MW in panel cleaning and weed management services and a pipeline of over 150MW under Development in the photovoltaic sector in Greece.

Mr. Tomaras is an experienced Electrical Engineer & Manager with a demonstrated history of work in the renewables and construction industry. Strong engineering professional skilled in Financial Analytics, Renewable Energy, HVAC, Project Finance, and Investment Banking. He has worked in the UK in the Investment Management Sector (2008-2010) as Financial Analyst, while in Greece he worked since 2010 in the Renewable Energy as well as in the HVAC Sector and Commercial Refrigeration as an Engineer and Technical Manager.

He studied as Electrical Engineering (MEng) at the Aristoteleion University of Thessaloniki and is a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece. Moreover, he holds an MSc in Energy Trade and Finance from Cass Business School of City University London where he has been the recipient of the prestigious Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation’s scholarship. He is also a member of the CFA UK holding also the CFA Certificate in Investment Management. Furthermore, he is trained as a Project Management Professional (PMP) - PMI Greece Chapter.

Dr Marios Tsakas was born in Athens and studied Chemistry at the National and
Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). He holds a Master’ s degree in "Chemistry and Environmental Technologies" and a Ph.D. in "Organization and Management" from the NKUA. He has published numerous scientific papers in international and national journals. He has served as Special Secretary of the Financial and Economic Crime Unit (SDOE, 2008-2009), General Secretary of the Municipality of Glyfada (2014-2018) and scientific advisor to the Minister of Economy and Finance (2004-2008). He has coordinated the Greek committee for the implementation of reforms in Health Sector under the national programme «Health in Action 2013-2015», in cooperation with the World Health Organization. He has also held positions of responsibility in the fields of consultancy services and information technology.
In October 2019, Dr. Marios Tsakas was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of
Public Gas Distribution Networks S.A (DEDA).

Dr. Theodoros Tsakiris is an Associate Professor of Geopolitics and Energy Policy at the University of Nicosia’s Business School. Since 2018, Dr. Tsakiris is also Visiting Professor at the ESCP Europe Business School in Paris. Dr. Tsakiris is an international Research Associate of ESCP’s London-based Research Center for Energy Management and has directed the Energy Program at Greece’s principal Foreign Policy think-tank ELIAMEP between 2011-2017. Between 2017-2019 he served as a member of the Executive Board at the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics and between 2014-2015 he was an Associate of the Southeast Europe Program at the LSE. Dr. Tsakiris has served in several high-level policy-making positions in Greece and Cyprus including the Office of the Minister of Energy & Development, the Board of Directors of the national oil & gas company of Cyprus, CHC (Cyprus Hydrocarbon Company), the office CEO of the Greek Natural Gas TSO, DESFA, and the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus (Geostrategic Council).

Dr. Andrew Walker is the Vice President for LNG Strategy and Communication for Cheniere. He is located in London and is responsible for the LNG Strategy and Market Outlook of Cheniere, reporting into the Chief Commercial Officer. Until October 2015 he was Vice President for Global LNG - and prior to that Head of LNG Strategy - at BG Group where he worked for over 20 years before joining Cheniere. During his career in LNG he has been located in Singapore, Egypt, the USA and UK and has worked on numerous LNG projects including Atlantic LNG in Trinidad and Tobago, Egyptian LNG, and Dragon LNG in the UK. Dr. Walker has a Doctorate in Geology from Imperial College, University of London.    

Menelaos (Mel) Ydreos is the Executive Director of EnergyVantage, a consulting firm specializing in supporting transformational energy strategies and solutions. Areas of specialization include global energy policy and strategy, market assessment and implementation strategies and organizational cultural, revenue and cost transformation.

Clients of EnergyVantage have included the International Gas Union where until recently, he supported the transformation of the Union from a technical association to one of strong global advocacy. He served the Union in the capacity of Public Affairs Director.

Yiannis Yiarentis is currently the CEO and the Chairman of the BoD at DAPEEP S.A., which is the state company authorized to operate the Renewable Energy Sources in Greece, handling 14.000 RES production contracts and 2 billions budget annually.

During 2013-2015 he was the CEO and the Chairman of the BoD of ADMIE, the company which is the Utility company operating the Electric Transmission System in Greece.

His work experience in top managerial roles within Energy sector in Greek and Multinational companies supported by his academic background in Petroleum Chemistry, Engineering and Sustainable development helped him to result significant results through his 30 years carrier.

He represented Greek State in several European Committees (ENTSO-e, MED-TSO), also being member of the Greek National Counsils.

Alex Barnes is an independent consultant specialising in energy market design and regulation. He has nearly thirty years’ experience in the oil and gas sector, most of it spent in the liberalisation of gas and electricity markets. He has worked for a range of companies including Total, BG Group and Gazprom, helping them manage the impacts of energy liberalisation. He established the Regulatory Affairs function for Gazprom Marketing & Trading in 2009, supporting its rapid expansion in gas and power trading in Europe. He has helped draft gas market rules as an industry representative on expert panels for the European Network of Transmission Operators for gas (ENTSOG) and the European energy market regulator ACER. He has also represented the European Federation of Energy Traders at the Madrid Forum organised by the EU Commission. He is a regular speaker at conferences and seminars, and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. He has a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University, and an MBA from Henley Management College.

Recent publications include “Can the current EU regulatory framework deliver decarbonisation of gas?” and “EU Hydrogen Vision: regulatory opportunities and challenges.”

Harris carries more than 15 years of experience in business reporting, specializing in the energy, industry and shipping sectors. In 2006 he joined Capital.gr and in 2009 newspaper Kefalaio. He also contributes articles to the Greek edition of Forbes magazine as well as several energy related media such as Energypress and Businessenergy magazine. During his career as a journalist he has worked for numerous Greek media such as newspapers Eleftheros, Express, Isotimia, Extra Channel etc. In 2014 – 2015 he was chief press officer in the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Minister K. Skrekas). Harris is a graduate of Communication and Mass Media School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1997).

Nick Frydas is a Chartered Power Systems Engineer and Energy Economist and has more than 30 years of professional experience in the power sector. He specializes in the design and regulation of competitive Energy Markets, in new Business Models for energy utilities, energy policy and institutional reforms, and in techno-economic feasibility studies for energy investment projects.

Nick’s experience includes working with major European Utilities (PPC, National Grid) and Energy Trading firms (EDF Trading, Merrill Lynch), and as member of the management team of ENTSO-E in Brussels. In the period 2004-2007, he served as the first Chairman of the Board of the Energy Regulatory Office of Kosovo, appointed by the United Nations. During the period 2016 – 2020 he worked for the World Bank Group out of Belgrade, and since August 2020 is based in Athens with the Advisory business of Grant Thornton.

Mr. Frydas is also a visiting Lecturer and Member of the Advisory Board of the “Research Center for Energy Management”, at the “ECSP Europe Business School” - https://www.rcem.eu/about/advisory-board/

Jean-Michel Glachant is the Director of the Florence School of Regulation and the Holder of the Loyola de Palacio Chair.

Glachant took his Ph.D. in economics at La Sorbonne in France. He worked in the industry and private sector before becoming professor at La Sorbonne.

He has been advisor of DG TREN, DG COMP and DG RESEARCH at the European Commission and of the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). He has been coordinator and scientific advisor of several European research projects. Jean-Michel Glachant has been editor-in-chief of EEEP: “Economics of Energy and Environmental Policy” (an IAEE journal) and he is vice-president of the International Association for Energy Economics.

Filippos Ioannidis is a PhD candidate at the Department of Economics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. His specialization lies in the field of Energy Economics. Filippos holds
an MSc in Banking and Finance from International Hellenic University in Thessaloniki, and an MSc in Economics from the School of Economics and Management of Lund University in Sweden. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Department of Economics
(University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece). Currently, he is a research associate of HAEE.

Evangelos Kyritsis is a Senior Researcher in Environment, Energy and Climate Policy at the VATT Institute for Economic Research, Helsinki, Finland, and Research Fellow at the Center for Energy, Natural Resources and the Environment at the Norwegian School of Economics, Norway. His research addresses challenges pertaining to the low-carbon energy transition, including power system flexibility, energy security, interfuel substitution, carbon pricing, and environmental policy evaluation.

He holds a PhD in Energy Economics and MSc in Economics and Business Administration from the Norwegian School of Economics, MSc in Business Economics and Management from the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, and BA in Economics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. In the course of his studies, he has visited Linnæus University, Sweden and the University of Calgary, Canada.

He has published his research in international field journals such as Energy Policy, Research in International Business and Finance and The Energy Journal and acted as a referee for numerous journals in the field of Energy Economics. Besides his research work, he has taught courses in Energy Economics and Econometric Techniques at the Helsinki Graduate School of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and University of Calgary and performed policy work for the Ministry of Finance, Finland, with the aim of accelerating the clean energy transition.

Michael Jefferson is Adjunct Professor at ESCP Europe Business School (Paris), based in London. He was Shell’s first Chief Economist, and held various senior planning, oil trading, and oil price roles. After leaving Shell he spent ten years as Deputy Secretary-General of the World Energy Council. Since 2007 he has been an academic. He is a former senior editor of the journal Energy Policy. His recently published papers include: “Whither Plastics?”, Energy Research & Social Science; “Debating priorities and facts on “Whither Plastics”, Energy Research & Social Science; “Why Do So Many Economists Underplay the Psychological and Biophysical Aspects of Life on Earth?”, BioPhysical Economics and Resource Quality; “Use and Abuse of Energy and Climate Scenarios”, Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, Vol. 9, no. 1; “Scenario planning: Evidence to counter ‘Black box’ claims”, Technological Forecasting & Social Change”; “A crude future? COVID-19s challenges for oil demand, supply and prices”, Energy Research & Social Science; “COVID-19: The Lessons We Should Have Learned from Existing Literature”, BioPhysical Economics and Sustainability (in Press).

Konstantinos is working as Special Advisor on Circular Economy at the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy. Konstantinos has been working as a Senior Sustainability Consultant in Climate Change and Sustainability Services department of EY Greece, delivering primarily Sustainability Strategy and Assurance services. Previously worked as a Sustainability Consultant at KKS Advisors, under the Sustainability Strategy and Corporate Reporting service lines, while he has also worked as a Management Consultant on Human Re-engineering, Productivity Management and Business Process Mapping for companies in the service and industry sector.

Konstantinos started his career as a Research Assistant at the Technical University of Crete, conducting environmental and feasibility studies addressing several environmental and sustainability issues. He holds an Environmental Engineer Diploma from TUC and he holds MSc’s on Environmental Engineering from TUC and UCL.

Panos Mitrou has been with LR for more than 14 years and currently holds the position of Global Gas Segment Manager, based in Piraeus. His primary focus is on areas like the seaborne gas supply chain, LNG and other gas as fuel,as well as gas floating solutions, delivering an enhanced service portfolio to shipping community. He has held commercial and technology positions since 2012 and has been deeply involved in the setup and materialization of several funded projects related to alternative fuels and innovation in the maritime sector. Since 2013, he has initiated Poseidon Med, a key cross-border European project, introducing LNG bunkering in Easter Mediterranean marine transportation.

During his seven year service with Lloyd’s Register Piraeus Technical Support Office, he has dealt with series of statutory and other reviews, ranging from BWM to MARPOL and the IBC and IGC Codes. In this context he has supported and lead the implementation of several pieces of new legislation. Since 2007 he has represented Lloyd’s Register in a number of international forums, conferences and projects.

Panos holds a Naval Architect and Marine Engineer Diploma from NTUA and an MBA in Shipping from ALBA Business School. He is currently a PhD candidate in Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering, at University of Strathclyde with focus on optimizing the shipping decarbonization pathway.

In September 2012, Naji Abi-Aad started acting as COO to Petroleb, an oil company based in Beirut and active in petroleum exploration offshore the East Mediterranean and the Gulf. In the meantime, Naji had been engaged with the US Tellurian as Senior Advisor for the Middle East from December 2016 to March 2020.

Prior to his move to Lebanon, Dr Abi-Aad was serving for eight years in Qatar, first as Research Advisor for Qatar Petroleum (QP) and its Board of Directors Department, and as Media and Research Strategist in the Office of HE Qatar’s Deputy Premier, Minister of Energy & Industry, before being appointed to top positions in Qatar Petroleum International (QPI).

Dr Abi-Aad studied in Beirut at the American University and Universite St Joseph before been awarded a Ph.D. degree in Energy Economics from Grenoble University in France. During his 35 years of experience, he has been involved in extensive consultations, conferences and studies, particularly on oil and gas in the Middle East, their resources and supply prospects. He has authored over 100 reports and studies on Middle East energy issues, as well as a book on security of petroleum supply from the region (“Instability & Conflict in the Middle East: People Petroleum & Security Threats, Macmillan, London 1997”).

Miguel Palacios is a Professor of Management at ESCP Business School, as well as the Executive Education Associate Academic Dean at the Madrid Campus. He also coordinates several research projects on innovation and family business and is the PI of ESCP Business School at the EU recognized Digital Innovation Hub in Artificial Intelligence & Robotics for Sustainable Development Goals (DIH - AIR4S).

He has supervised several PhD thesis in Spain and Sweden and is also currently the PhD Advisor of two students at Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM). His areas of research and publications are Business Models, Innovation and Family Business across industries and more specialized in the energy sector. He regularly serves as evaluator of European projects and advisor of start up companies.
In 1992, he graduated from Ecole Centrale Paris, then, in 1994, from Universidad  Politecnica de Madrid, Master in Electrical Engineering. He followed the Master in Business Administration in MIT Sloan School of Management and obtained the MBA in 1999. He also holds a PhD in Business Administration since 2005, with a discussion on “Critical Success Factors for Businesses Plan Competitions. Development of a Model for the case of the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid.”In the course of his career, he worked at Alcatel from 1993 to 1997 as a Development Engineer in the R&D Department, Industrial Electronics production facility, then as a Project Manager, Operations Department. From 1999 to 2001, he worked as a Management consulting manager at Cluster (now Oliver Wyman), in the areas of Strategy, Marketing and Start-up development, of Product management and of team management. From end of 2001 until September 2012 he was a faculty member at UPM where he  taught Marketing, Strategy and  Entrepreneurship, managed the Business Administration Faculty Unit and several international programs. He has been taken part in the area of Business Planning in the European Commission funded project Eureca and coordinated the participation of ESCP in the EU funded project STARS4ALL.

He studied at the Physics Department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the University of Athens, but turned early to journalism. Today he is the Director of the specialized portal www.energypress.gr and covers the energy report at www.news247.gr.

Among other things, he has worked as the editor-in-chief of financial reports in the newspaper "EPENDYTIS" and in the newspapers "ETHNOS" and "AGORA", while for three years he presented the weekly TV show Energy Week on the financial channel SBC.

In addition to his purely journalistic work, he has directed communication campaigns, edited financial book publications and participated in dozens of journalistic missions in Greece and abroad.

Dr. Spiros Papaefthimiou received his bachelor diploma in Physics (1995), MSc in Environmental Sciences (1997) and PhD specializing in smart energy saving devices for buildings (2001), all from Department of Physics at the University of Patras. He is currently Associate Professor in Energy Management Systems and Energy Efficiency Technologies, in the School of Production Engineering and Management at the Technical University of Crete in Greece. He is specialized in energy efficiency issues, energy saving applications and renewables’ technologies. His research interests include experimental preparation and characterization of energy saving devices, technology of “smart” materials for energy applications, study of advanced solar collectors, study of photovoltaics, energy characterization of building structural elements, environmental analysis of systems, maritime emissions modeling, Life Cycle Assessment & Eco-Efficiency analysis. He has published more than 40 papers in international journals and has presented papers to numerous international energy conferences and acted as referee for international journals in the area of Renewables and Energy efficiency applications. He is the President of the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics and member in various professional and academic associations.

Dimitrios Pefanis is the General manager of insider.gr, the award winning financial website, which was launched in December 2015 and attracts more than 1,3m unique users on a monthly basis. He is the former director of in.gr, the leading Greek website as well as a financial Reporter at TA NEA Newspaper and editor of N-Digital Technical Supplement. He studied Communications and Mass Media at Panteion University (BA) and New Media Journalism (ΜΑ) at Emerson College in Boston, MA. In 2013 he received the Citi Journalistic Excellence Award in Greece for financial reporting and is experienced in banking, bonds, stocks and general financials. He is also a Lecturer, teaching Social Media Marketing and Content Marketing at Hellenic American Union and has attended numerous conferences in Europe on New Media, Online Business Development.

Dr Mamdouh G. Salameh is an international oil economist. He is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading experts on oil. He is also a visiting professor of energy economics at the ESCP Europe Business School in London. Dr Salameh holds a PhD in Economics specializing in the economics & geopolitics of oil and energy.

Dr Salameh has given 101 papers so far at numerous international energy conferences on the economics and geopolitics of oil and energy and has been frequently invited to lecture on these topics at universities around the world.

He has written four books on oil: “Is a Third Oil Crisis Inevitable?” (Published in London in April 1990), “Jordan’s Energy Prospects & Needs to the Year 2010: The Economic Viability of Extracting Oil from Shale” (Published in London in October 1998), “Over a Barrel” (Published in the UK in June 2004) and “What is Behind the Steep Decline in the Crude Oil Prices: Glut or Geopolitics?” (Published by the Arab Centre for Research & Policy Studies in Qatar in June 2015) as well as 56 research papers published in international Oil and Energy Journals.  Dr Salameh has undertaken research assignments for the US Department of Energy, the Institute of Energy Economics in Japan, the Indian Government, OPEC, the Canadian Energy Research Institute, Boston University in the United States working on the Encyclopedia of Energy and also the Handbook of Energy and the government of Jordan among others.  He regularly appears on TV to discuss oil prices and other developments in the global oil market.

Dr Salameh is a member of many International Institutes and Associations including the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) in the US, the British Institute of Energy Economics, the International Energy Foundation in Canada and the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow of energy economics at the Trends Research & Advisory in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Katerina Sokou is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Future Europe Initiative of the Atlantic Council and Washington DC correspondent for SKAI TV and Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini, where she is also a columnist. She was a visiting scholar at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, where she conducted research on the U.S. role in the Greek debt crisis, and a member of the editorial board at the Washington-based European Institute. Katerina studied History (First Class Honors) at the University of Ioannina and holds postgraduate degrees in International Studies from the University of Warwick and in Journalism from Columbia University, where she was a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economics and Business Journalism. She started her career as a financial reporter at To Vima, covering Greece and the Eurozone, and was International Financial News editor at Kathimerini during the global financial crisis. She has covered extensively the Greek financial crisis from Athens and Washington DC, providing commentary for news media in the US and Europe. Katerina is a PhD candidate at the University of Piraeus, a director at The Hellenic Initiative Canada and a member of the Hellenic American Women’s Council.

Thanos Zarogiannis has significant experience in the field of e-mobility. Currently he holds the role of Advisor to the Secretary General of Energy at the Greek Ministry of Environment & Energy. From this position, he led and worked on achieving key milestones such the creation of the first e-mobility bill and the first subsidy scheme for the purchase of electric vehicles, in Greece. Previously, he has worked as Innovation Project Lead at UK Power Networks, where he led the electric vehicle readiness program of the company. He has also worked in the product development team of a leading UK based electric vehicle charge point manufacturer and operator, being part of a team that grew from 30 to 160 people in 3 years. He holds a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from National Technical University of Athens and an MSc in Sustainable Energy from Technical University of Denmark, with specialization in Electric Vehicles.