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Dr Ioannis N. Tzortzis

Dr Ioannis N. Tzortzis was born in Agios Nikolaos Crete. He is the Legal Counselor of the Steering Committee of the Just Transition Development Plan, Attorney at Law at the Supreme Court, Regulatory Authority for Energy and Associate Lecturer of the Law School of Democritus University of Thrace, specialized in Energy and Environmental Law, as well as Law of Public Procurement. He has been elected as a lifetime Member of the Board of Directors of the “Lilian Voudouri” Foundation.

He is the representative of the “Greek In-house Lawyers Association” to the “European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA)”. He studied Law, Culture Management and Photography in Greece, England and Belgium. He is a Graduate of the Athens Law School. He holds a Phd of the University of London, an LLM of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a DEA of the University of Brussels, an MA of Panteion University, Athens, and a Certificate on Regulation of Energy Utilities of the European University Institute, Florence. For many years, he has served as a General Secretary of “Hellenic Alumni Association of the LSE”. He has published numerus monographs and scientific articles in Greek and in English. He is the President of the Non Profit Organisation “Green Project” 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”. He has gained international awards for his photographs, which have been exhibited in Greece, England, France, Austria, China, Colombia, Uruguay, Australia, etc.

Mr. Yiannis Georgakellos

Yiannis Georgakellos, born in Athens, holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and an MBA from City University Business School of London. He works in Athenian Brewery since 1998, starting as and International Management Trainee. Since then he assumed several positions within the commercial organization of the company (Marketing, Trade Marketing & Sales), including an assignment at the operating company of Heineken in Bulgaria. As an executive of Athenian Brewery he has taken, among others, the positions of Customer Care Manager, Trade Marketing Manager, Marketing Manager Innovations, Media & Sponsorships, and Marketing Manager of Greek Brands. As of July 2019 he is the Communication & Corporate Affairs Director, as member of the Management Team of Athenian Brewery.

Dr. Panagiotis N. Skandamis

Dr. Panagiotis N. Skandamis is Assoc. Professor of Food Microbiology and Food Quality Control and Food Hygiene in the Agricultural University of Athens and member of the BIOHAZ panel of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). He received his Bachelor Degree on Food Science & Technology and a PhD on Food Microbiology by Agricultural University of Athens (AUA). He has worked as a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Animal Science of Colorado State University in USA. In 2004, he joined the Department of Food Science & Technology of AUA, teaching Food Microbiology and Food Quality Control and Hygiene. Dr. Skandamis has (co-) authored 135 original research papers in journals of SCI, 30 book chapters, edited 1 book, more than 200 oral or poster presentations in conferences and has a total number of 6280 citations (h-index 36).

His research is funded by 5th, 6th and 7th EU Framework Program, HORIZON 2020, multiple competitive Grants from Greek Research and Technology Funding Agency, Hellenic institute of Research and Innovation, as well as direct contracts with the Greek Food Industry in the following areas: (i) active antimicrobial and intelligent packaging of foods; (ii) assessment of microbial food spoilage; (iii) survival/growth of pathogens, with emphasis on the adaptive response to food-related stresses, (iv) biofilm formation and removal by chemical and natural disinfectants, (iii) predictive microbiology of foods and quantitative microbial risk assessment, (v) application of mild preservation technologies and antimicrobial interventions; (vi) detection, isolation and subtyping of foodborne pathogens from foods and food processing environments and (vii) ecology of mycotoxin-producing fungi. He has been Associate Editor in Food Research International (2012-2017). Currently he is serving as scientific co-editor in Journal of Food Protection and member of the Editorial Board in Applied and Environmental Microbiology and International Journal of Food Microbiology.

Dr. Skandamis is member of the scientific committee of International Conference in Predictive Microbiology in Foods (ICPMF) since 2008, member of the organizing committee of European symposium of International Association of Food Protection (IAFP) since 2015, and current co-President of the FoodMicro 2020. He is also Chair of the Professional Development Group of “Microbial Modelling and Risk Assessment” of IAFP.

Dr. Skandamis is the Head of “Department of Dietetics and Quality of Life” and co-ordinator of the WG “Food Safety” of the National Technological Platform “Food For Life”. He has been involved in the task force established by SEVT and the National Food Safety Authority for the development of guidance documents for Good Hygiene Practices against SARS-CoV-2 in the food processing and catering services, producing one document for risk profile and a Guide of Good Hygiene Practices against Covid-19 for personnel of the Food Industry.

Predictive Modeling software development: Dr. Skandamis has also developed a Predictive Modelling Software tool, entitled GroPIN, which constitutes a database of 714 kinetic and probabilistic models for pathogens and spoilage organisms in response to a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic foods parameters (e.g., T, pH, aw, preservatives, atmosphere, etc.). GroPIN is capable of simulating microbial growth and inactivation under static and dynamic processing and distribution conditions along the food chain, both deterministically and stochastically, via Monte Carlo simulation.

Mr. Dimitris Michaelides

Dimitris is publisher of the electronic newsletter AgroNea and associate journalist at AgrOrama (informal structure of farmers-producers of branded products), at Skywalker (Entrepreneurship Paths), at the newspapers STENTORAS, Agrenda, and RURAL expression.

He has experience in Management of Technical Projects, Procurement Management, HR Management, Training and Learning Management, Study Visit Management, and Public Relations Management. He has participated in expeditions for rural issues in 35 countries, and has worked as a consultant in local development projects, as Lifelong Learning projects manager, as an HR manager, as a College Teacher, and as a contractor of large technical projects for the private sector.

Today he is conducting large number of presentations in topics like: Local Community Growth, Rural Development, Social Economy, Social Cooperative Businesses, Entrepreneurship, Youth or Women Entrepreneurship, etc.

Dimitris is assisting voluntarily following organizations: Former Boy Scouts of Thermi, Network of Volunteer Organizations of Thessaloniki, Young Farmer’s Unions, Observatory of Civil Society Organizations, “PROSKALO” Cooperation Initiative for the Social and Solidarity Economy, Attika Livestock Breeder’s Association, and other Cooperatives.

Mr. Dimitris Skarmoutsos

Globe-trotter and communicative, classic but modern, visionary and innovator, Dimitris Skarmoutsos is the chef who manages well in both Mediterranean and French cuisines, but also in sushi and street food. In every type of meal or cuisine, the starting point of his work is to create tasty and filling food.

Rather associated with «experimental» Greek cuisine, the chef introduces modern recipes, with respect to the Greek tradition, and focus on local ingredients, which he promotes with passion. In his hands, humble dishes like spinach with rice or a pumpkin pie go to the next level. Traditional dishes like moussaka seem innovative, while baked eggplants with lentils add an unexpected surprise to every meal.

Everything started while living in USA, where Dimitris Skarmoutsos completed his studies in economics from UCLA, and continued studying in the Culinary Institute of America. On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, he apprenticed to world-class chefs, learned all the secrets for international cuisines and worked for top restaurants and hotels until 2000. In 2001, he returned back to Greece to focus on Greek cuisine. His move was faced with success considering the fact that while working as a chef in «Alatsi» he won the Golden Skoufos («Toques d’or») and Gourmet awards, leading to wider recognition.

His successful television career started in 2010, with prime time shows («Master Chef» and «Junior Master Chef», «Without Recipe», «Blind Taste»), establishing him as one of the most recognizable, familiar και popular personalities in Greek gastronomy.

Mr. Ruud Grim

Ruud Grim is senior advisor and coordinator at Netherlands Space Office. One of his main tasks is to facilitate and stimulate the use of satellite based information services for societal benefit areas, research and commercial businesses. He is currently managing the Geodata for Agriculture and Water Facility (G4AW) in which 25 public private partnerships (>100 involved organizations) in 15 countries are developing advisory and financial services for  millions of small holder farmers and pastoralists in Africa and South-East Asia, all demand driven and based on a business and financial model.

He is actively interacting with user communities, (inter)national organizations, Dutch service providers, NGO’s and research institutes. He is steering group member of the Netherlands Cooperation on Water & Climate Services, and advisor to the Geodata for Inclusive Finance & Food Initiative (G4IFF) by the Netherlands Platform for Inclusive Finance.

He is the Netherlands contact point for the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and has an advisory position towards to the ESA Programme Board Earth Observation from a user perspective. He further explores G2G, K2K and B2B cooperation in various countries.

Ms. Effie Kokoreli

Effie believes in the power of new ideas. Undertakes strategic projects and manages to successfully accomplish them in a way that fits the nature and the recourses of the organization. Persistent yet patient, Effie manages to effectively coordinate professionals from different areas towards a common goal. Identifies new ways of business, embracing change as the necessary element of an organization to move forward and meet the demands of the market.

INTERAMERICAN S.A, 1983 to present

  • Head of Agricultural and Bank Assurance
  • Develops annual business plans and ensure that align and fully support company’s strategic goals.
  • Participates in Product, IT and Sales committee of the organization
  • Maintains bancassurance partnerships of the organization and evolve new ways of business
  • Actively involves in the design of the Marketing plan to support the partnerships
  • Leads the Agricultural project
  • Responsible for the creation of Agricultural products
  • Establishes new partnerships with companies from the Agricultural sector and bank sector
  • Designs and performs training for the insurance intermediates for Agricultural sector

Head of Bank Assurance, 2008-20018

  • Develops annual business plans in cooperation with the banks and ensure for their timely and successful delivery
  • Participates in Product, IT and Sales committee of the organization
  • Maintains bancassurance partnerships of the organization and evolve new ways of business
  • Actively involves in the design of the Marketing plan to support the partnerships
  • Establishes new partnerships with banks
  • Responsible for the analysis of all customer segments’ product needs, as well as for the design, development and promotion of Bancassurance products
  • Successfully introduces Interamerican’s ‘Anytime’ offering to the Bank’s branches and customers. Achieved a 500% annual increase in Car Insurance production and 200% in health insurance production

Bank Assurance Account Manager, 2007-2008

  • Monitoring annual business plans and ensures that aligns and fully supports company’s strategic goals
  • Designs and performs training for the bank employees
  • Support bancassurance partnership
  • Actively involves in the design of the Marketing plan to support the bancassurance partnership
  • Participates in projects for increasing bancassurance volumes and business
  • Monitors sales performance

Corporate customers’ executive, 2005-2007

  • Responsible for managing the underwriting process
  • Customer service and after sales support
  • Manages the insurance intermediate of corporate customers

Education

  • Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers / CNAM – Bachelor, Banking & Insurance
  • Harvard Business Publishing – Stepping Up to Management
  • George College – Annual Public Relations Department

Mr. Nikolaos Doukas

Nikolaos Doukas was born in Agios Theodoros, Karditsa in 1972. He is married and father of three children. Physics graduate of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a holder of a MBA executive from the University of Sheffield. Since 1993 has been an active member in the field of education and in 2003 of the health sector where he has been an executive manager of multinational companies for over 10 years. 

He started his activity in the agricultural sector in 2012. He is the founder of the Hippophaes Hellas Producers Group Company in 2015 which has developed significant international branding. During his career he developed remarkable international activity. In the agricultural sector, managing to consolidate our country as an important and reliable factor of modern and efficient development. 

Since 2019, he is the Vice President of the Hellenic Agricultural Insurance Organization (ELGA).

Mr. Geert Wilms

Geert Wilms studied Horticulture at Wageningen University and Business Administration at Open University. For more than 20 years Geert has been director of Agricultural Innovation Brabant (LIB), and he is consultant at Royal Haskoning DHV.

LIB is a partnership of Province North-Brabant and farmers organization ZLTO. Each year more than 30 innovative projects are initiated and supported, with the participation of hundreds of (agricultural) businesses. Several workshops are organized and guided. Geert is directly accountable to the President of ZLTO and regional Minister of agriculture in North-Brabant. One project he started and is very proud of: “Smart irrigation in agriculture; 3.000 farmers participating with 60.000 hectares, and 25% gain of efficiency in water use”.

 Geert Wilms also is a speaker, discussion leader and initiator of cooperation in different regions in Europe. He is/was involved in more than 15 European funded projects, for example Water management, Water conservation, Agrispin, Eurodairy, EU-PIG and STRING.

Dr. George Zalidis

George Zalidis graduated from the Agronomy Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, with doctoral studies at the Department of Soil Science and postdoctoral studies in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering Department at the State University of Michigan US.

Today, he is the  Director of the Laboratory of Remote Sensing, Spectroscopy and Geographical Information Systems, and member of the Laboratory of Applied Soil Sciences at the Department of Agriculture of the School of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He is also the  Scientific Coordinator of Interbalkan Environment Center (i-BEC) since 2007.

His research focuses on issues of quality and restoration of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the use of Earth observation data (space and terrestrial) in the  Societal Benefit Areas, the OECD indicators of sustainable development and the use of spectral data in the monitoring of agricultural ecosystems and natural terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

 

CURRENT POSITION

  • Professor of Pollution and Soil Degradation, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Land Reclamation Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, Laboratory of Applied Soil Science.
  • Director of the Laboratory of Remote Sensing, Spectroscopy and G.I.S., Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Agriculture.
  • Member of the Laboratory of Applied Soil Science. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Agriculture.
  • Scientific Director, Interbalkan Environment Center (I-BEC)
  • Member, Hellenic Quality Assurance & Accreditation Agency (HQA) Council
  • Representative of the Hellenic Republic, Ministry of Rural Development and Food at the international Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring Initiative (GEOGLAM) of GEO.