Mr. Dimitris Papagiannidis

Mr. Dimitris Papagiannidis was born in 1959, at Orini (in the highlands of) Nafpaktia. He studied Civil Engineering at the Democritus University of Thrace (D.U.Th.). He continued his postgraduate studies from 1985-86 in France on the subject of «Metal constructions and underground works», while he also earned a Postgraduate Specialization Diploma at the National Technical University of Athens in the INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES 2011-2012 “Environment and

Development” with a grade of Excellent.

In the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he was honored in 2021 with the responsibility of the General Secretariat of Union Resources and Infrastructure, which was re-established at the Ministry of Rural Development and Food. Since 2017 he has been/holds the position of the General Manager at the MINISTRY OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT in GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF STRATEGIC

TRANSPORT PLANNING AND ROAD SAFETY. Under his responsibility were the EU programs of the Ministry; the approval and monitoring of the National Strategic Transport Plan 2019-2037 (ESSM); the ESS; (the program?) Road Safety 2021-2030; the sectors of “Intelligent Transport Systems-ITS” of Logistics; Air Transport (Waterways etc.); and the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans.

For many years he was/serviced as Director and Executive in the Special Service for Public Works of Hydraulic Infrastructure Construction. He was mainly involved in the management of Large National Projects of National/nationwide Level Plumbing and Road Construction with a budget of over 2 billion €. Ιndicatively: the Acheloos Diversion Projects, Athens Water supply from the river Evinos, Water Supply Patras, Thessaloniki and Fyrlia Island of Paxron L, Straw Dam, Irrigation Networks of Amvrakia-Amfilochia, land improvement works in the area of Valtos, Aetoloakarnania, Anti-flooding works in the riparian zone of the Stream of Eschatia, Attica, and the construction of tunnels in Karpenisi, Agios Ilias Aitolo.

He was President of the Association of Civil Engineers of Greece in the period 2004-2009, and General Secretary in 1998-2004. He was President for 3 terms of DKM and is elected in the Central Delegation of Technical Chamber of Greece and in various sections of Engineers from 1990 until today. During the government of Costas Karamanlis, he was in charge of the Special Secretariat for Community Resources and Infrastructure at the Ministry of Rural Development and Food in the period 2004-2009.

He remapped the Special Services of the RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, while he also increased the staff with increased qualifications from the MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION UNIT OF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. Furthermore, he expanded the Services and suggested to the political leadership the establishment and operation of 3 new Special Units, these of a) Coordination, b) Infrastructure and c) Implementation of Co-financed Actions of the 3rd EU-funded programs and in 2007 of the Operational Program for Fisheries and Sea 2007-2013.

Mr. Dionysios Stamenitis

Dionysis Stamenitis was born in Giannitsa in 1968. He studied civil engineering in the Polytechnic School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with postgraduate studies in “Environmental Policy, Education and Communication” in the Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources of Democritus University of Thrace, specializing in the Energy Policy and Development.

Since 1995 he is a regular member of the Technical Chamber of Greece and since 1999 a civil engineer as a freelancer, specializing in Administration building Works and in Structural and Functional Rehabilitation of listed buildings. He was also a scientific committee member of the Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering and a member of the permanent committee of private works and building activity of the Technical Chamber of Greece.

On the 6th of May in 2012 he was elected for the first time member of Parliament in the constituency of Pella in the general elections on behalf of Nea Demokratia and he was reelected in the elections on the 17th of June in 2012, on July 7th 2019, on May 21st 2023 and June 25th 2023. On the 27th of June in 2023, he assumed duties as Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Rural Development and Food upon the decision of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Dr. Ioannis Tzortzis

Dr Ioannis N. Tzortzis is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Waste and Water (RAAEY, www.raaey.gr), the President of the Legal Experts Committee of the Just Transition Development Plan (JTDP, www.sdam.gr), the Legal Counselor of the JTD Special Authority (EYDAM, www.eydam.gr), Associate Lecturer of the Law School of Democritus University of Thrace, and the Law School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, specialized in Energy Law, Just Transition Law and Circular Economy Law. He holds a PhD in Law of the Queen Mary College, University of London, an LLM in Law of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a DEA in European Law of the University of Brussels, an MA on Culture Management of Panteion University, Athens, and a Certificate on Regulation of Energy Utilities of the European University Institute, Florence. He is an Attorney at Law at the Supreme Court. He has been elected as a lifetime Member of the Board of Directors of the “Lilian Voudouri” Foundation. He is a Member of the “Council of Energy and Tax Reform” of the “Elliniki Etairia of Environment and Culture”. He is the representative of the “Greek In-house Lawyers Association” to the “European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA)”. For many years, he has served as a General Secretary of “Hellenic Alumni Association of the LSE”. He is the President of the Non Profit Organisation “GREEN PROJECT” (www.green-project.org) for raising environmental conscience via the so called “green photo journeys”, which are being held under the auspices of the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO. He is a Member of the “Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain”.

Mr. Alex Athanassoulas

Alex Athanassoulas is the President of the Sustainable Building Council of Greece (WGBC Chapter) and the founder and CEO of STIRIXIS Group, the globally awarded architectural consultancy firm. He holds a Masters in Civil Engineering (MCivEng) from Aristotelian University and a MBA with distinction, from Adam Smith Business School of Glasgow University, UK. He has been certified in Project management from IPMA and Prince2, in Strategy and Innovation from the International Customer Service Association and is an eminent public speaker on Future Trends, Strategic Foresight, Systems Thinking and Sustainability.

Alex is also the Vice President of CEO Clubs Greece and the President of the Hellenic Alumni Association of the University of Glasgow. He has been recognized as the “Best European CEO in Retail Development” from European CEO Awards (2015), as the “Best European CEO” from Al Global Excellence Awards (2018), as an “International Game-changer” by the ACQS Awards (2019), one of the “Most Inspiring Business Leaders to Follow in 2023” by The Inc Magazine (2023), and has been awarded for his Postgraduate Leadership by the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards (2024).

Mr. Nikos Kokkalakis

Nikos K. Kokkalakis holds a doctorate degree from the National Technical University of Athens (ΕΜΠ), an MBA from the University of Washington and is the Principal of consulting firm STRATEGY TECHNICS. He has worked as an executive in the areas of financial, commercial and general management at significant multinational and Greek companies like Friesland, Diageo, Shelman, and Grundfos. He focuses on helping empower Management Teams and on supporting them in the development and implementation of effective business strategies.

Ms. Theodora Antonakaki

Theodora Antonakaki, Director of Bank of Greece’s Climate Change and Sustainability Centre (CCSC), is coordinating BoG’s work on climate, sustainability and research at the Climate Change Impacts Study Committee (CCISC) and representing BoG at the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) and at the newly established Eurosystem Climate Change Forum, where she has been appointed Chair for a two-year term (2025-2026).

She is a member of Hellenic Ministry of Finance’s working group for Sustainable Finance and Green Economy Transition and she has been an advisor on issues of sustainability and socioeconomic impact in a wide range of projects, in planning, urban and architectural design. Ηer work has gained awards from Europa Nostra and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, while she has been honored, by the French Republic, with the title of Knight of the French National Order of Merit (Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite), as an acknowledgment for her contributions to climate and sustainability issues. She is a graduate of the Polytechnic School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of London, where she was an Honorary Research Fellow. She has lectured at the Syracuse University, the University of Stirling, the School of Nordic Urban Design and has taught at the Hellenic Open University. Her work has been published at peer reviewed journals and she has written book chapters in edited books.

Mr. Thrassivoulos Pagoulatos

Holding more than 20 years of experience in the food retail industry, I have extensive expertise in purchasing management, business process development, strategic negotiations and leading teams to achieve significant results.

The retail industry has a unique feature: there are no dead ends in commercial transactions. Impasses arise from the choices and approaches of the people involved, not from the object of the transaction. To solve seemingly unresolved problems, someone must realize that it requires creativity and innovative thinking. Skills which I consider fundamental towards success.

Additionally, I follow closely the technological development in our industry, as new technologies are expected to play a decisive role in the coming years. I believe that understanding and proper use of these tools will be instrumental in making informed decisions. However, human judgment will remain irreplaceable and decisive for effective strategic thinking. As Purchasing Director, I lead initiatives that enhance efficiency, innovation and business growth with the responsibility of closely monitoring sales and market shares, ensuring that purchasing strategies contribute to the profitability of the business.

Mr. Thymis Efthymiadis

Thymis was born in Thessaloniki on 24/08/1970. In 1988 he graduated from the “German School of Thessaloniki” and in 1992 from the University of UMIST (University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology), England, with a Master’s Degree in “Engineering Manufacture & Management”.

He possesses excellent knowledge of English (Proficiency) and very good knowledge of German (Abitur), as well good understanding of French and Spanish.

He is the CEO of the company “Redestos – Efthymiadis Agrotechnology Group”, as well as the CEO or President of the BoD of various companies of the Efthymiadis Group, which for more than 85 years now has been actively involved in the agrotechnology and agrifood sectors (production and distribution of crop protection & plant nutrition products, plant propagation material, laboratory analyzes in food / feed / water and environmental quality, production and marketing of fresh agricultural products of high value added through contract farming. Since several years, the activities of the Group have expanded beyond the borders of Greece, extending throughout the whole Balkan region, as well as many other countries, mainly to the east of Greece.

Since 1999, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of SEPY (Greek Seed Trade Association), where from 2016 to 2022 he held the position of President. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Greek Industries (S.V.E.) since 2005, while for more than 12 years (2010-2022) he was part of its 7-member Executive Committee.

Finally, since October 2016, he is a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Farm School of Thessaloniki (AFS) and from 2022 Chairman of the Committee for Primary and Secondary Education in AFS.

He is married to Katerina Gratziou, an active lawyer, they have two sons and live in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Dr. Constantinos Cartalis

Constantinos Cartalis is Professor of Environmental and Climate Physics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Acting member of the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change as well as of the respective Scientific Committee in Greece; Principal Investigator of the European Space Agency and member of the professorship network of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East – Climate and Atmosphere Research (EMME-CARE). Has acted as UNDP Technical Expert on Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation, member of the United Nations Subsidiary Body for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement, member of the Task Force of the European Union “Strengthening cultural heritage resilience for climate change”. Has served as member of the Parliament of Greece (2007-2012) and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for the Environment. Has published over 250 papers in international scientific journals (110) and Conferences.

Mr. Efthimios Foteinos

Efthimios Foteinos was born in Adendro, Thessaloniki in 1970. He is active in the agricultural business sector. Since 2007, he has been vice president of the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Thessaloniki “EAS Thessaloniki.” He has served as President and participated in the Administration of an Agricultural Cooperative and has been a member of the Administrations of OPEKEPE, PASEGES, and SASOEE. Since 2016, he has been a continuous presence in the DOV as an alternate member, while since 2021, he has been President.

He is married and father of two children.