Dr. Dimitrios Vlachos

Professor Vlachos is the Director of the Laboratory of Statistics and Quantitative Analysis Methods, Logistics and Supply Chain Management (LASCM) of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), Greece.

He conducts research and consulting in the fields of supply chain management, logistics, applied operational research, combined transport systems management, business restructuring and strategy development. He has participated in more than 60 research projects (in 15 of them as a principal investigator) in the field of Supply Chain Management, and he has co-authored the respective technical reports.

He has published more than 200 papers in scientific journals, conference proceedings and book chapters. He has participated as a consultant or expert in numerous projects funded by public and private organizations. He is President of the Greek Association of Supply Chain Management (EELBE).

Dr. Phoebe Koundouri

She is a world-renowned environmental economics professor and global leader in sustainable development. She is widely recognized as a pioneer in innovative, human-centric, interdisciplinary systems for the sustainable interaction between nature, society, and the economy.

She is listed in the most-cited women economists in the world, with 15 published books and more than 450 published peer reviewed scientific papers, book chapters and reports. She is elected member of the World Academy of Art & Science, President-elect of the European Association of Environmental and Natural Resource Economists and she has received numerous international awards for academic excellence, including the prestigious European Research Council Synergy Grant (2020). With 100 European/Global research projects/initiatives and a team of 150 researchers, her work defines global policies and supports human well-being across the globe.

She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and has taught at Cambridge, UCL, LSE, Reading University. Since 2006 she is professor at the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB), founder/director of the ReSEES Research Laboratory (AUEB), the Sustainable Development Unit (ATHENA Informatics Research and Innovation Center) and the Climate-KIC HUB Greece of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology .

She chairs the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Europe, the International Center for Research ICRE8 and the SAB of European Forest Institute. She is a commissioner of the global COVID-19 Lancet Commission, member of the Pissaridis Commission (10 year Greek Development Plan) and of the National Climate Change Committee of Greece, and an advisor to the EU, the World Bank, the UN, NATO, the WHO and other international organizations and governments worldwide.

Dr Stathis Klonaris

Dr Klonaris, Professor of the Department of Agricultural Economy & Development of the Agricultural University of Athens. He has got a BSc in Agricultural Science with a specialization in Agricultural Economics from Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki (1990) and an MSc in Agricultural Economics and a PhD from the University of Reading (UK). He was Head of the Department of Agricultural Economy & Development (12/2017 to 08/2022) he is deputy dean of the Faculty of Applied Economics & Social Sciences (09/2019 to date), Director of the Laboratory of Agricultural Policy and Cooperatives and Director of the Postgraduate Program MBA Food and Agribusiness. In the past, he has been a national representative in the negotiation of the Common Agricultural Policy (2003). His research has been published in scientific journals including the Journal of Agricultural Economics, European Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Economics, Forest Policy, and Economics. He has also worked as a consultant for FAO and has many years of experience in managing European programs, having worked either as a coordinator or as a researcher in several research programs. Since January 2020, he has been scientifically responsible for preparing the strategic plan for the new CAP 2021-2027. His research interests are focused in food economics and food policy, consumer behavior, modeling of agricultural markets, the agricultural policy as well as issues related to the European CAP

Professor, Petteri Taalas

Professor Petteri Taalas is the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nation’s specialized agency on weather, climate, and water. A meteorologist by training, Professor Taalas advises the United Nations Secretary-General on climate change mitigation and adaptation. He is a leading advocate for increased investment in securing reliable data from all over the world for global, regional, and national forecasts

and climate projections. And he is spearheading a drive to ensure everyone on Earth is protected by early warning systems against increasingly extreme weather and climate change. Before joining WMO he was Director General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute

Mr. Giannis Balakakis

Giannis is a forward-thinking, inspirational and results-oriented executive focusing on generating growth, transforming organizations and achieving excellence across businesses, institutional and public sectors. In his career, he has served as a Planning, Product, General Manager and CEO of Greek and International firms.

Giannis has been the founder and currently serves as President of the BoD at Geo Routes Institute, Chair of the Organizing Committees at the Balkans & Black Sea Forum & AgriBusiness Forum also CEO to the leading event-destination management company Gnomon Performance.

He has repeatedly initiated and led large-scale and demanding intercontinental projects, he has served as BoD member of the Association of Chief Executive Officers, fm. VP of the Society of Incentive Travel Executives, member of the CEC European Managers, the Meeting Professionals International, the UN Global Compact and other relevant organizations.

Giannis has a financial background in banking management, he speaks Greek (mother tongue), English and French, while boasts excellent skills in cross-cultural and cross-sectoral negotiations, policy strategies, and BtL communication due to his extensive business experience in a number of countries around the globe.

Gianni’s carrier features cumulatively 17 years in hospitality, 20 years in events’ planning & comm., 10 years in the cultural sector, and 7 years in synergies between policy-business-research and academia for the benefit of people and the planet.

Ms. Tatiana Giemelou

Tatiana Giemelou is the head of Business Development at the National Bank of Greece.

Her career is dated back to 2002 at Citibank, holding positions in Credit-cards Management and Alternative Sales Networks.

She then joined Alpha Bank being assigned as Head of International Marketing for Albania, Cyprus, Serbia & Romania, and afterwards as Head of Merchandising.

She holds an MBA from Sunderland University.

Dr. Philip Papadopoulos

Dr. Philip Papadopoulos holds a PhD from London School of Economics and is currently the Director of the InoFA cluster Support Office. In addition, he is an external consultant to the University of Patras for the creation of an educational ecosystem in the agricultural sector in the region of Western Greece and a member of the Regional Council of Research and Innovation of Central Macedonia .

In the past, he has served as director of the Strategic Project Management Office of the American Farm School (AFS), academic director of IMESE and CMI, as well a visiting lecturer in universities in the UK and Serbia.

Building and managing multi-actor alliances between research institutes, civil society institutions and the real economy is one of his core activities.

His fields of interest include entrepreneurship and innovation, ecosystem creation, as well as new product and business development in the agrofood sector.

Dr. Konstantinos Aravossis

Professor Konstantinos Aravossis is Secretary General for Forestry at the Greek Ministry of 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 a Professor of “Planning, Management, and Assessment of Technological and Environmental Investments at the NTUA (National Technical University of Athens), Professor at the ATHENS MBA (NTUA-Athens University of Economics) since 1997. He is 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. He was the Environmental Advisor to the President of the Greek New Democracy political party and the current Prime Minister.

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 Center -Columbia University as well as visiting Professor at Imperial College-London. He was President of the Coordinating Committee of the Institute of Production and Operations Management / Hellenic Management Association.

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 (HSWMA) (now Hon. President) , President of the Ordinary Environmental Committee of the Technical Chamber of Greece and member of Evaluation Committees for Investment and Energy Projects of the Ministry of Development. Furthermore, he has been a member of the Board of the Organization of Labor Residencies (OEK).and General Manager of Environmental Companies. He has organized 11 Int. Conferences and has over 100 Publications / 30 research projects.

Dr. George Stylios

The Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food, Mr. George Stylios, holds a PhD in Informatics from the Department of Computer Engineering & Informatics of the Polytechnic School of the University of Patras, he holds an MSc degree in Information Systems from the City University of London, and he graduated from the department of Physics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

He is a faculty member at the Ionian University. He worked as a researcher at the University of Patras as well as in Greek and European development programs. He was the Head of the Department of Applications and Informatics in Administration and Economics at the TEI of the Ionian Islands.

He has been a Member of Parliament for Arta with New Democracy, since May 2012, as well as head of the Greek Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

He served as Deputy Minister of Education and Religions and Deputy Minister of Digital Governance. He has also been the Chairman of the Nutrition Committee for Educational Affairs of the Parliament, a member of the Finance Committee of the Parliament, the Government and Trade and the Special Monastery Committee of Bulgaria, as well as a Representative of the Parliament in the Parliamentary Assembly of Parliamentary Assembly of the Southeast Europe Cooperation Process.

Mr. Christos Yiannakakis

  • STUDIES: PANTEIOS UNIVERSITY  OF POLITICAL SCIENCES
  •  MEMBER OF BOARD  OF  “ELGA” GREEK  AGRICULTURAL INSURANCE ORGANIZATION
  • VICE PRESIDENT  OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION  OF AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES (ETHEAS)
  • PRESIDENT  OF THE  NATIONAL INTERPROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION OF STONEFRUITS
  • VICE PRESIDENT  OF THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIAL COOPERATIVE OF VERIA ‘VENUS GROWERS’