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Mr. Konstantinos Tsililis

Mr. Tsililis is born in 1960 in Fotino, a small village of Kalabaka where his parents were also born and raised. Having completed his school studies in Trikala, he obtained a degree in Physics at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 1983.

Having worked as a physics teacher in Trikala for small period, he then moved to Athens where he worked as salesman in “BRAVO” company. In 1989 he returned to Trikala and established “K.Tsililis” company. Located in Raxa, main activity of the company is the production and bottling of Tsipouro; this way his beloved hobby becomes his main professional occupation.

The outcome is the first bottled Tsipouro of Thessaly with geographical indication, named “Tsilili”, and released on the market in 1990. His love and passion for the family vineyard and distillates, contributed to the promotion and establishment of Tsipouro in the Greek market.

He is president and CEO of “K.TSILILIS S.A.”, a company he successfully manages and grows since establishment. Konstantinos Tsililis is married to Konstantina Mouzaki and proud father of two sons.

Mr. Athanasios Markinos

Markinos Athanasios was born in 10/10/1974 in Karditsa, where he permanently resides.

He is professionally engaged in primary production, especially in arable crops, with emphasis on applying intelligent farming methods.

He is President of the Local Organization of Irrigation – TOEV Tavropou in Karditsa (the organization is responsible for the irrigation of 12.000 hectares in the plain of Karditsa, with water derived from Plastiras Lake).

He is a physicist (Bsc) with a master’s degree in Electronics (Msc) and Information Systems (Msc). He is also a researcher in precision farming at the University of Thessaly. Ηe has worked at Ιntracom (2 years) and at TEI of Larisa – IT and Communications Department (10 years) as a temporary professor. He served as a Deputy Mayor of Rural Development, Entrepreneurship and Renewable Energy Sources (2010 to 2014). Furthermore he was a Municipal Councilor, and also served as the City Council Vice – President, in the Municipality of Karditsa (2014-2019).

Mr. Kostas Theocharidis

Kostas Theocharidis  was born in Thessaloniki in June 1966.  He is a graduate of the Faculty of the University of Catania Italy (1991) and oversees markets in raw materials of Barilla Hellas. He developed the program growing durum wheat contract in Greece and participated in the working group of YATT for the national strategy on cereals.

His work included activities such as: ” Markets forecasting procurement for ” Financial instruments markets for commodities ” Cost saving generation ” Negotiations ” Effective ” Risk Management ” Purchasing ” Vendor assurance HACCP management coordination in stored products and to the standard ISO 14001:2004. Finally, in the context of the development of the Barilla program for the sustainable wheat production, he is responsible for the coordination of research and the promotion of new sustainable cultivation methods in Greece.

He speaks Italian and English

Mr. Vassilis Giagiakos

Vasileios Giagiakos was born, raised and currently resides in Trikala. He has a Geology degree from the University of Bologna and excellent command of the Italian language.

Since 1986 he has been active in research and constructions in his field of expertise. Since 1990 he has been professionally involved with the construction company «GEOKAT G.P.» and the company «ILIACTIDA S.A. (car dealership, agricultural supplies and solar energy production). Since 1997 he has been an elected member of the Chamber of Trikala, holding the position of President from 2004 onwards. From 2007 onwards, he has been the President of the Development company of the Chamber of Trikala «ANAPTYXIS S.A.».

With the support of the Chambers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he took the initiative for the Networking of Chambers for Greek expatriate entrepreneurs. Since 2014 he has been a member of the board of the Hellenic – Chinese Chamber. Since 2015 he has been a member of the board of the Italian – Hellenic Chamber of Thessaloniki. He represents the Chambers of Thessaly at the Regional Development Fund of Thessaly. Since 2016 he has been the Greek representative in «The Mirabilia Network of European Chambers with UNESCO World Heritage Sites». Since 2017 he has been the President of the Destination Management Organization of the Regional Unit of Trikala. In 2001 he was elected Vice President of the Central Union of Greek Chambers. He also served as President of the Corporate and Technological Development Centre of Thessaly.

In 2005 he founded «Taste of Trikala S.A.» which formed the brand name “METEORISIMO” for the promotion local products and gastronomy. The variety of actions he has taken for the involvement of the business community in all sectors of the economy has greatly improved the possibilities of development for the Chamber member – companies. More specifically, during his presidency at the Chamber of Trikala, he has taken initiatives and actualized a set of actions to promote the relative benefits of the region in the fields of tourism, primary production and processing as well as in e-commerce.

He was pro-active in establishing the Agricultural Division of the Chamber of Trikala (which is the only one of its kind in Greece) based on his firm belief that the agrifood sector is essential for the economic development of Greece.

Vasileios Giagiakos is married to Maria Athanasiou, biopathologist – microbiologist, and they have three children

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.

Dr. Philip Papadopoulos

Dr. Philip Papadopoulos holds a PhD from London School of Economics and is currently the Director of the Strategic Project Management Office of the American Farm School (AFS). In this capacity he is responsible for the Agrifood Entrepreneurship Centres run by AFS in the cities of Thessaloniki and Kalamata, and oversees training and consultancy projects in over thirty locations throughout Greece. 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 Consumer Behavior related to the Mediterranean Diet, Alternative Tourism, Food Anthropology, Entrepreneurship, E-commerce, Organizational Culture & Climate, Leadership and Management, including motivation and performance management.

Dr. Eleni Maloupa

Dr. Eleni Maloupa (BSc Agronomy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, MSc & PhD in Plant Biology and Physiology, “Pierre et Marie Curie” University of Paris) is Director of the Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Head of the Laboratory for the Conservation and Evaluation of Native and Floricultural Species (LabCENFS) and Curator of the Balkan Botanic Garden Kroussia.

Her research fields focuses on protection, conservation, propagation and utilization of native Greek plant species (mainly aromatic-medicinal). She has teaching experience in graduate and postgraduate level (Universities, MAICH). She participated in the MSc program “The biodiversity and sustainable exploitation of native plants” (School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) and supervise MSc and PhD thesis in school of Pharmacy and Athens Agronomy University. Her research work has been published in more than 60 international and Greek journals. She has also participated in the publication of 3 book chapters.

She has implemented major research programs in collaboration with internationally renowned researchers. She has organized and materialized educational programs and seminars addressed to farmers, enterprises and interested civilians on the above-mentioned subjects. She has educational certification for adult training from the National Organization for the Certification of Qualifications & Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP).

 

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.

Ms. Marina Tosheska

Marina Tosheska, a licensed doctor of veterinary medicine, is a founder of the digital platform Domasno.mk, primarily focused on the promotion, marketing and sale of agricultural products, by connecting local women producers with national and international markets.  The platform not only promotes their food, but also regional literature, art, tourist attractions, sites, tours and adventures, as well as gastronomic entities from the Pelagonija region. Domasno.mk aims to build more economically sustainable rural community, and acts as a pillar of support for the rural women.

Now also a president of the Union of Associations for Rural Development – Network of LAGs in North Macedonia, Marina focuses on staying globally connected in supporting women entrepreneurs in agribusiness sector and promoting agribusiness as a force for good that generate transformational economic impact.

As a manager in the civil society organization Local Action Group AGRO LIDER, she centres her work on educational and professional support to women in rural areas in implementing community-led initiatives. Her involvement in civic activism has particularly focused on rural women’s rights, gender equality and women entrepreneurship.