Dr. Nikolaos Thomaidis

Nikolaos S. Thomaidis is Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the Chemistry Department of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He leads a dedicated scientific group (TrAMS group), with constant research activity over the last 25 years. Prof. Thomaidis’ research interests focus on the development of cutting-edge HRMS methodologies for the thorough characterization of foods, but also of environmental and clinical samples, by applying both targeted and untargeted screening workflows.

Sophisticated chemometric tools have been developed, supporting data process and reliable evaluation of the results. Prof. Thomaidis lab has also established an accredited service laboratory according to ISO 17025, performing food analysis in line with European and International standards. His overall research activity is summed up to >250 articles, >8000 citations and a 50-h-index (Scopus ID: 6701846377). As principal investigator he has participated in several research projects, highly contributing to developing new methods and protocols in challenging authenticity and safety issues.

Mr. Patroklos Georgiadis

Patroklos Georgiadis was born in 1966. He obtained a BA in Theology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and attended post graduate studies in History (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and in Crisis Management (Harokopio University). He speaks English.

Private Sector Employment

  • From 1993 to 2004, he worked as a Journalist, as a Supplement Editor for “Eleftheros Tipos” newspaper and as an Assistant Producer at “Athens 9,84” radio station.
  • From 2009 to 2010, he worked as Business Director in “MASS A.E” advertising company and as Business Consultant in “COMM GROUP A.E.” public relations company.
  • From 2010 to July 2012 period, he was the Business Development Manager in KPMG Hellas.
  • At the same time, he was an associate/Independent Expert for the European Public Law Organization (E.P.L.O.) and also worked as a Consulting Editor for the “Epikera” magazine in Livanis Publications Co.
  • From March 2015 to July 2019, he worked as an Independent Expert for the European Public Law Organization (E.P.L.O.) and as a Consultant for migration-relevant management issues.

Positions of Public Appointment

From 2004 to 2006, he was appointed Special Secretary in the National Printing Organization.

From 2006 he undertakes duties in the Ministry of Interior as General Secretary in charge of Regional and Local Authorities Organizations, Migration Policy, Citizenship and Social Cohesion Schemes, until September 2009.

From July 2012 until September 2014, he assumed the duties of General Secretary of Civil Protection in the Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection. During that term, he acted as the Head of the Greek Presidency of E.U (2014) responsible for all issues pertaining to the jurisdiction of the Ministry. He was also in charge of the Migration Policy and the relevant departments and services.

From October 2014 until March 2015, he served as General Secretary in the Ministry of Development and Competition, acting as: a) Representative of the Greek Public Sector in the Board of Directors of ETVA Industrial Zones S.A and of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), b)General Commissioner of Greece in EXPO 2015 International Fair in Milan, Italy and c) Member of the Board for the Hellenic-Indian Chamber of Commerce and Economy.

Since August 1st, 2019, he is serving as General Secretary of Migration Policy, Admission and Asylum in the Ministry of Citizen Protection.

Following the establishment of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum in February 2020, he has been in charge of the migration policy as General Secretary.

Dr. Christos Dimas

Dr Christos Dimas is the Deputy Minister for Development and Investments in charge of Research and Innovation. He is a lawyer and Member of the Hellenic Parliament representing New Democracy in the district of Korinthia.

Before entering politics, he worked in the private sector as a business consultant for The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

He was born on the 29th of May 1980. He graduated from the Law School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Queen Mary University in London.

He completed his Master Degree in Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He then finished his PhD in European Political Economy from the LSE, with a scholarship from the Alexander Onassis Foundation.

Parallel to his studies, he worked as a correspondent in London for Apogevmatini newspaper while also practicing journalism at the BBC.

At the age of 25 he was a teaching assistant at the LSE while teaching at ICON College in the University of Leicester and was a research fellow at the Jean Monnet European Center of Excellence.

He was elected as an MP in the district of Korinthia, with New Democracy in the May 2012 elections and has been re-elected ever since.

In his spare time he enjoys playing football and basketball and reading history books.

He is married to the lawyer Nicoleta Syrengela and they have one daughter and a son.

Dr. Sotiris Bantas

Sotiris Bantas is passionately leading Centaur’s journey for supply-chain sustainability, waste reduction, and traceable quality with the Internet-of-Crops®. An Electrical Engineer and Ph.D. from NTUA, Sotiris is experienced in bringing disruptive technologies to market, as he did for his previous company, Helic, a semiconductor design software company powering the smartphone boom which was acquired by ANSYS. A prolific inventor, Sotiris holds several patents in areas ranging sensors, machine learning and computational techniques and has several more pending.

Ms. Christina F. Legaki

She was born in Athens in 1960 and she has 4 daughters. She graduated from Arsakeio Psychikon high school and she holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Athens University of Economics. She continued with a masters degree (MBA), in USA, from Virginia Darden School of Business.

She has a long professional journey in the area of Business Administration with senior responsibility positions in multinational corporations. Her expertise, lies on management of companies that promote innovation, on all stages of agricultural economy. She is the Country Leader for CORTEVA AGRISCIENCE HELLAS, a leading company in the field of agriculture which came into life out of the mingle of expertise and know how of companies such as DuPont Crop Protection, Pioneer and Dow Chemicals. She is also Business Leader for Israel & Cyprus at CORTEVA AGRISCIENCE and President of the board and CEO of DuPont Hellas S.A.

Her prior management position was President of the board and CEO of PIONEER HI-BRED HELLAS S.A., a multinational seed production and commercial company. Christina Legaki is also shareholder in HELLAFARM S.A., GAIA WINEMAKING S.A., THODORIS PANAS – DANCING SCHOOL OF ATHENS.

She speaks fluently English and French.

Mr. Hubert Cottogni

Hubert Cottogni is the Head of the Mandate Management Department, as well as a Director for the EIF. He is responsible for originating and managing national/regional and centralised Mandates from EU Member States, the European Commission and European Investment Bank. Hubert also structures and manages Funds of Funds throughout Europe and beyond, aiming to leverage public funding with private resources. In parallel, Hubert serves on the Board of several regulated funds such as EFSE, GGF, ENEF and TII.  Prior to this position, he was a Director of Telekom Austria in Vienna, where he spent over 6 years as Head of Strategy and Business Development and later as Director of Mergers and Acquisitions.  He also spent more than 12 years working as a Senior Banker in institutions such as EIB and Creditanstalt AG.  Hubert holds an MBA degree from the University of Innsbruck and an executive degree from INSEAD.

Mr. Nikos Papathanasis

Nikos Papathanasis is a Mechanical Engineer and member of the Technical Chamber of Greece. He received his B.A.Sc. from the University of Toronto and he continued his education by receiving two post-graduate degrees, Master in Management and Aerospace Engineering.

He commenced work in 1984 at the De Havilland Aircraft Company (now Bombardier Aerospace) in Toronto. He served as a member of the board of the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) and as a member of the board and executive vice president of the Olympic Aviation. He worked for twenty four years as a senior and C level executive at private and public companies in Greece and abroad.

His work experience includes the management of State interest companies as in public transportation companies, namely, CEO of ISAP S.A. (Urban Rail) and President and CEO of Urban Rail Transport S.A. From 2008 to 2010 he was President – elect of the National section of the European Center of Employers and Enterprises (CEEP).
Throughout his thirty five years work experience, he has demonstrated his ability in developing business action reform plans, maturing investments, restructuring and streamlining of companies that led to a significant improvement of their balance sheets.

In July 2019 he was appointed by Prime Minister, K. Mitsotakis, as Deputy Minister of Development and Investments responsible for Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection. In August 2020 he was appointed as Alternate Minister of Development and Investments responsible for Private Investments and PPPs.

Dr. Antonis Zampelas

Professor Antonis Zampelas is President of the Management Board of the Hellenic Food Authority, Professor in Human Nutrition in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece and Honorary Professor in the Division of Medical Sciences, University College London Greece.

He obtained his BSc in Food Science and Technology from the Agricultural University of Athens, Greece, his MSc degree in Food Science from the University of Reading, UK and his PhD in Human Nutrition from the University of Surrey, UK.

He worked as Research Fellow at the University of Surrey, Senior Scientific Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, UK, Assistant Professor at the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Harokopio University, Athens, and Professor at the Nutrition and Health Department, UAEU.

He has been involved in numerous trials and projects related to the effects of diet on parameters influencing the development of cardiovascular diseases. He is the Principal Investigator of the Hellenic Nutrition and Health Examination Survey and of the GRECO Study.

Professor Zampelas co-authored 20 text-book chapters and contributed to 170 peer reviewed publications in international scientific journals.