Technical University Of Crete

Dr. Spiros Papaefthimiou received his bachelor diploma in Physics (1995), MSc in Environmental Sciences (1997) and PhD specializing in smart energy saving devices for buildings (2001), all from Department of Physics at the University of Patras. He is currently Associate Professor in Energy Management Systems and Energy Efficiency Technologies, in the School of Production Engineering and Management at the Technical University of Crete in Greece. He is specialized in energy efficiency issues, energy saving applications and renewables’ technologies. His research interests include experimental preparation and characterization of energy saving devices, technology of “smart” materials for energy applications, study of advanced solar collectors, study of photovoltaics, energy characterization of building structural elements, environmental analysis of systems, maritime emissions modeling, Life Cycle Assessment & Eco-Efficiency analysis. He has published more than 40 papers in international journals and has presented papers to numerous international energy conferences and acted as referee for international journals in the area of Renewables and Energy efficiency applications. He is the Vice President of the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics and member in various professional and academic associations.

Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki

Kyriaki Kosmidou is Full Professor in Banking Finance at the Department of Economics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, Director of the Postgraduate Studies in Master in Business Administration-MBA and Director of the Division of Business Administration of the Department of Economics of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Prof. Kosmidou holds a PhD in Banking Management from the Department of Production Engineering and Management from Technical University of Crete, Greece, MSc in Finance and Economics from the University of Montreal, Canada and BSc in Mathematics from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

She has served as visiting professor, both in graduate and postgraduate studies at the Technical University of Crete (Department of Production Engineering and Management, Department of Mineral Resources Engineering, 2003-2006), University of Crete (Department of Economics, 2003-2006) and Athens University of Economics and Business-AUEB (Department of International and European Economic Studies, 2006-2007, Department of Accounting and Finance, 2007-2009).

Since 2010, she is visiting professor in the postgraduate program MSc in Banking and Finance at International Hellenic University. From 2006, she also teaches at the postgraduate program “Banking” at the Hellenic Open University. She has been keynote speaker in many training seminars dealing with banking finance, portfolio management and financial risk management.

She has published more than seven books as well as many research papers in issues relevant to banking management, financial risk management, banking performance evaluation, investment evaluation, portfolio management and energy economics in well-known refereed academic journals such as Journal of Banking and Finance,Journal of Financial Stability, Research in International Business and Finance International Review of Financial Analysis, European Journal of Operational Research, Οmega, Optimization Letters, Applied Financial Economics, Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Managerial Finance, European Journal of Finance, The Energy Journal and Energy Policy She has refereed for several scientific journals such as European Journal of Operational Research, Operational Research: An International Journal, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Applied Financial Economics, Journal of Banking and Finance etc.

She is the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Association of Energy Economics and member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Finance and Accounting Association and the Financial Engineering and Banking Society. She is an active member of European Financial Management Association, Multinational Finance Association, Euro Working Group on Financial Modelling, Euro Working Group on Multicriteria Aid for Decisions, Hellenic Operational Research Society. Among others Prof. Kosmidou has organized national and international conferences and has participated in various scientific committees. She has presented various topics in banking finance and risk management to over 60 national and international conferences.

University Of Western Macedonia

Mr. Manolis Souliotis is Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental Engineering at the University of Western Macedonia, Greece. In 1996 he received his bachelor in Physics from the University of Patras, in 1999 his Master degree and in 2003 his PhD from the University of Patras, Greece. For more than 15 years, he is actively involved in research in the area of Renewable Energy.

Audencia Business School

Emilios Galariotis is full Professor of Finance at Audencia Business School (EQUIS, AMBA, AACSB), France. He is also the Founder and Director of the institute of Finance and Head of the Finance Department, while he has served as Head of the Research Axis "Finance, Risk and Accounting Performance" and Joint Head of the Department of Accounting and Finance in the past. He also founded and directed the Centre for Financial and Risk Management (CFRM). Prior to serving in his present position, Dr. Galariotis was a faculty member at Durham University Business School (EQUIS, AMBA, AACSB), UK, where he was also Director of the MSc programme in finance.

Emilos Galariotis was born in 1973 in Patras, Greece and was raised up in Nigeria. Returning to Greece he attended the 2nd Gymnasium and the 3rd Lyceum of Patras and the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences graduating with a four-year BA degree in Political Sciences and International Relations in 1997. He went on to successfully pursue a Diploma in Business Economics and a Masters in Money Banking and Finance from Middlesex University Business School with distinction, and a PhD in Financial Economics at Durham University. He received his Doctorate in 2003, two years after his wedding in 2001 with Nikolitsa Zenteli. In 2006 their daughter Irini was born and in 2007 their son Vasileios followed, both in Durham UK, while Dr Galariotis was serving as a lecturer and senior lecturer at Durham University. In 2013, Professor Galariotis obtained his « Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches Sciences Economiques » from the University of Nantes in France, “the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit” Wikipedia

He serves on the boards of various journals including the Review of Behavioral Finance and is Associate Editor of IJFERM, while he is also a member of the board of Directors of the Financial Engineering and Banking Society and founding member of the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics. He has acted as reviewer for governments and institutions for projects and programmes (examples, ESRC, HQA, Russell Group etc.), while he has successfully led research bids above a million Euro. He has organised international conferences, round tables, and has chaired/participated in various scientific committees and reviewed for various journals. His research has received best paper awards and funding, several SSRN top10 download positions (ranked top 5% for downloads). His work has been published in more than 35 articles in journals such as the: European Journal of Operational Research; Energy Economics; Technological Forecasting and Social Change; Journal of Banking and Finance; Journal of Financial stability; Annals of Operations Research; European Financial Management; Journal of Business Finance and Accounting; International Review of Financial Analysis; Journal of Development Studies; European Journal of Finance; International Review of Financial Analysis; Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money etc. He has edited a Book in the Frank J. Fabozzi Series and written in Wiley Encyclopaedia of Management among other contributions.

In 2015 he was invited by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership on behalf of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to talk on sustainability and the future of finance teaching. In 2008 he was honoured as a new decision maker in the west of France by the “Centre de Communication de l’Ouest”, while he has received publicity in various countries from outlets such as the Times, Les Echos, Le Figaro étudiant, L’EXPRESS, Kommersant, the World Finance Magazine, Le Journal des Grandes Ecoles, Biz Ed (AACSB’s magazine), Kathimerini, to Vima, Naytemporiki, International Finance News (China) etc.

VATT Institute for Economic Research

Evangelos Kyritsis is a Senior Researcher in Environment, Energy and Climate Policy at the VATT Institute for Economic Research, Helsinki, Finland, and Research Fellow at the Center for Energy, Natural Resources and the Environment at the Norwegian School of Economics, Norway. His research addresses challenges pertaining to the low-carbon energy transition, including power system flexibility, energy security, interfuel substitution, carbon pricing, and environmental policy evaluation.

He holds a PhD in Energy Economics and MSc in Economics and Business Administration from the Norwegian School of Economics, MSc in Business Economics and Management from the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, and BA in Economics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. In the course of his studies, he has visited Linnæus University, Sweden and the University of Calgary, Canada.

He has published his research in international field journals such as Energy Policy, Research in International Business and Finance and The Energy Journal and acted as a referee for numerous journals in the field of Energy Economics. Besides his research work, he has taught courses in Energy Economics and Econometric Techniques at the Helsinki Graduate School of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and University of Calgary and performed policy work for the Ministry of Finance, Finland, with the aim of accelerating the clean energy transition.

Dr Nick Frydas is a Chartered Electrical Power Engineer and Energy Economist, and has more than 28 years of professional experience with emphasis in the design and regulation of energy markets, sector structural reforms and energy policy. He is a recognized authority in the design of Power Markets, and his seminal study as main Author, on “cross-border integration of Balancing Markets” is quoted in the website of the EC and ENTSO-E as one of the basis for the Electricity Balancing Code:

(https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/20130610_eu_balancing_master.pdf)

In his career, Nick has served as Director of Regulatory Affairs with two major European Energy Trading firms based in London, while in the period 2004-2007 he was appointed by the United Nations as Chairman of the Energy Regulatory Office of Kosovo. He is currently one of the leaders of the International Finance Corporation’s (World Bank Group) efforts, to promote private sector investments in the power sector of its “Europe and Central Asia” region based in Belgrade.

Dr Frydas is also a visiting Lecturer at the “ECSP Europe Business School” in their London and Paris campuses, teaching on Electricity Markets - https://www.rcem.eu/about/experts/international-research-associates/frydas/.

He is a Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (MIEE) in the UK, member of the Technical Chamber of Greece and as member of IAEE he heads the “Electricity Markets Committee” at HAEE -  https://www.haee.gr/about/board-and-committees/.

Ο Γιώργος Κρεμλής είναι στέλεχος από το 1981 της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής. Διετέλεσε Νομικός Σύμβουλος στην κεντρική Νομική Υπηρεσία της ΕΕ καθώς και Προϊστάμενος Διοικητικών Μονάδων της Γενικής Διεύθυνσης Περιβάλλοντος, όπως της "Νομικής Υπηρεσίας", της "Περιβαλλοντικής Διακυβέρνησης", της "Πολιτικής Συνοχής και Εκτίμησης Περιβαλλοντικών Επιπτώσεων" καθώς και της "Εφαρμογής της Κοινοτικής Νομοθεσίας, της Πολιτικής Συνοχής και του Ευρωπαϊκού Εξαμήνου". Επίσης διετέλεσε Διευθυντής adinterim της Διεύθυνσης "Εφαρμογής της Ευρωενωσιακής νομοθεσίας, Διακυβέρνησης και Ευρωπαϊκού Εξαμήνου" καθώς και Εκτελών χρέη Διευθυντής της Διεύθυνσης "Νομικών Υποθέσεων και Συνοχής". Στην τελευταία, τρέχουσα, θέση του είναι υπεύθυνος για την συμμόρφωση και εφαρμογή του περιβαλλοντικού κεκτημένου, τη διασφάλιση της ενσωμάτωσης των περιβαλλοντικών απαιτήσεων στο σύνολο των πολιτικών της ΕΕ, ιδίως στο Ευρωπαϊκό Εξάμηνο και την αξιολόγηση των συγχρηματοδοτούμενων έργων της ΕΕ καθώς και την εφαρμογή των οδηγιών EIA/SEA (Environmental Impact Assessment/Strategic Environmental Assessment) για την εκτίμηση των περιβαλλοντικών επιπτώσεων, τη Σύμβαση Espoo, το Πρωτόκολλο SEA. Παράλληλα έχει την ευθύνη για την περιβαλλοντική ενσωμάτωση στα Διευρωπαϊκά Δίκτυα Ενέργειας και Μεταφορών.

Είναι Πρόεδρος των Δικτύων κρατικών εμπειρογνωμόνων: ΕΝΕΑ MA(European Network of Environmental andManagingAuthorities) και EIA/SEA. Πρόσφατα εξελέγη Πρόεδρος στο Bureau της Espoo Convention.

Διετέλεσε Συμπρόεδρος (Co-president) του διακρατικού ευρωπαϊκού δικτύου περιβάλλοντος IMPEL (Implementation network: Environmental Law), Εκπρόσωπος της ΕΕ στο Παγκόσμιο δίκτυο περιβάλλοντος INECE και Μέλος του ΔΣ του ΕΚΠΠΑ (Εθνικό Κέντρο Περιβάλλοντος και Αειφόρου Ανάπτυξης). Είναι Επίτιμος Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Εταιρίας Δικαίου του Περιβάλλοντος, της οποίας διετέλεσε και ιδρυτικός Πρόεδρος.  

Διετέλεσε επίσης μέλος της Ρυθμιστικής Αρχής Ενέργειας.

Είναι μέλος του Δικηγορικού Συλλόγου Αθηνών και δικηγόρος στον Άρειο Πάγο από το 1995. Έχει διατελέσει Επιστημονικός ερευνητής του Κέντρου Διεθνούς & Ευρωπαϊκού Οικονομικού Δικαίου στη Θεσσαλονίκη και, κατά την περίοδο μεταξύ 1991 και 1993, στην Ελλάδα, διετέλεσε Σύμβουλος του Υπουργού Εθνικής Οικονομίας, Εθνικός Συντονιστής σε θέματα εσωτερικής αγοράς, Μέλος της Επιτροπής ανταγωνισμού, Συντονιστής της Επιτροπής για θέματα ΕΟΚ παρά τω Πρωθυπουργώ καθώς και Γενικός Γραμματέας σχέσεων με Ευρωπαϊκές Κοινότητες και Διεθνείς Οργανισμούς στο ΥΠΕΘΟ.

Έχει κατά καιρούς διδάξει σε διάφορα Πανεπιστήμια στην Ελλάδα και στο εξωτερικό, σε μεταπτυχιακά κυρίως προγράμματα.

Είναι συγγραφέας βιβλίων (στα ελληνικά, αγγλικά και γαλλικά) καθώς επίσης και πολυάριθμων άρθρων και μελετών σε ελληνικά και ξενόγλωσσα περιοδικά. 

Ioannis is an experienced investment management and advisory professional with more than 15 years of combined involvement in real estate and energy efficiency projects. He has originated and structured a series of value-add real estate, development and energy efficiency investments. He has also advised on sustainable value generation strategies and the creation of benchmarking databases in commercial property portfolios. In his current capacity, Ioannis is predominantly advising on energy efficiency investments, funding structures and capital retrofit programmes.

In 2015, he became a Commercial and Corporate Finance Advisor to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in the United Kingdom. After its merge into the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Ioannis was asked to act as a Commercial Advisory Lead and oversee commercial advice on energy efficiency funding, energy business transformation and clean growth acceleration matters. Ioannis is also a Sounding Board Expert in the Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG). He seats in the Management and Advisory Board of Energy Deck and is a Director of Green Value Associates.

In the past, Ioannis worked for Europa Capital in London, where he oversaw European real estate development investments valued more than €200m in Austria, Germany, France, Hungary, Slovakia, Spain and UK. He also worked for Deloitte in London, where he undertook advisory roles focusing on corporate and public real estate management strategies and capital programmes. Ioannis has also conducted consulting work for Citigroup in Rome.

Ioannis has a Civil Engineering background and holds an MBA from ESCP Europe in Paris and an MSc from University College London.

Alexia Timotheou holds a diploma in Planning and Regional Development from the Engineering School in Volos, University of Thessaly, as well as, an MSc. in Environment and Sustainable Development from the Bartlett, Development Planning Unit, UCL.

She has worked as a researcher in the University Institute of Urban Environment and Human Resources of the Panteion University (Athens) (2005-2008), where she was involved in European research programs in the sectors of spatial policy and planning, environmental policy, sustainable development, local government and governance (FP6, FP7, INTERREG). Since 2008 she has been working as a freelancer in studies and projects in the fields of good governance, environmental policy, local government and regional policies for the private and the public sector, while in 2010 she started cooperating with the International Centre for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS) as an Environment and Sustainable Development Expert, participating in research projects of different disciplines (planning, environment and energy, social policy, science, technology and innovation) and with different partners (Black Sea, Eastern Mediterranean, Central Asian, Eastern and Western European countries). In March 2019 she joined HAEE’s team as a Project Manager of research projects.  

Main Specialties:

Energy Management, Energy Project Management, Energy Economics & Business Development, Operations Management, Logistics,
Management Systems, People Management, Production Planning & Optimization, Crisis Management.

Honours & Awards:

- 1st in the trading game simulation, organised by SmartGlobal at ESCP Europe London, on February 2016.
- DEPA scholarship for attending the Master in Energy Management at ESCP Europe London, September 2015.
- IKY scholarship for achieving the best grade in the 1st year of my studies at the Technical University of Crete, 2000.
- Minoan Lines scholarship for achieving the best grade in the exams for entering at the Technical University of Crete.

Track Record & Main Achievements:

Samaras & Associates Consulting Engineers S.A.: Consultancy Athens, Greece (Sep 2016 – until now)
Energy Analyst in the fields of Natural Gas and Electricity. Participation in various projects concerning:
- CNG Business Development
- Electricity Retail Market Penetration
- Natural Gas Infrastructure assessment
- Energy regulatory advising and policy making
- Feasibility Studies on Big Energy Projects

3H PARTNERS: Consultancy London, United Kingdom (Feb – Jun 2016)
- Strategic Consulting
- Market Analysis

Karailias Marbles Ltd.: Head of Production, Logistics and Procurement departments Drama, Greece (May 2012 – Feb 2015)
Headcount of 20 subordinates
Production Planning. Optimisation of the production procedures. Inventories Control. Optimisation of packaging, storage
and product distribution. Quality Control. Cost evaluation. Negotiation with suppliers and subcontractors.
Main Achievement: Instigator of the idea that the company should invest large proportion of its financial resources to the
acquisition of a quarry and therefore its own raw material. Successful accomplishment of the project which brought the
company in a privileged position in the global market as it grew its production capacity, and reduced its costs. The company
could build its own commercial policy and trade with favourable conditions. The profit margin rose by 30%.

Kouvidis Ltd.: Head of Production and Logistics departments Heraklion, Greece (Jan 2010 – Apr 2012)
Headcount of 15 subordinates
Production Planning. Optimisation of the production procedures. Warehouse design and management. Inventories control.
Optimisation of packaging, storage and product distribution.
Main Achievement: Inventories levels fell by 20% at the first year and another 10% at the second year, keeping the service
and product quality at the highest standards.

Yellow Pages: Development of the sales net in the region of Crete Heraklion, Greece (Oct 2008 – Jan 2010)
Main Achievement: Maintenance of the market of the region during a period of national economic recession.

GMV: European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service. Madrid, Spain (Aug 2006 – Jan 2007)
The project is developed for ESA as a subproject for the EU Navigation System “GALILEO. Programming under Java and C++.

PLASTIKA KRITIS S.A. Heraklion, Greece (Summer 2000, 2002)
Internship: Quality control and supervision of quality management system “ISO 9001”

Education:

MSc in Energy Management: ESCP Europe, SEP 2016, London – Paris (Sep 2015 until Present)
(Ranked 7th in the world for its Master in Management programmes according to Financial Times).
Risk Management, Energy Commodity Trading, Electricity Markets, Shipping, Energy Project Finance, Oil & Gas Business,
Energy Policy, M&A.
Diploma Thesis: “European Gas Markets & Power Generation - The 2 Pool Model”


MSc Business & Administration, Technical University of Crete, Greece (2005 - 2009)
Production management, Information technology, Marketing, Total Quality Management (TQM), Multicriteria analysis in
the financial sector, Decision systems.
Diploma Thesis: “Comparative Evaluation of Innovation and Competitiveness within the countries of European Union“


BSc: Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete, Greece (Grade:7.53/10, Degree: 2:1) (1999 - 2004)
Diploma Thesis: “Order acceptance control in production lines, through inventory control based on production surplus “
Personal Skills:
Languages Greek: Native, English: Fluent, German: Intermediate, Spanish: Basic
Computer Skills Excellent command of Microsoft Office tools (Excel, VBA, Access, Word, PPT), STATA, Modelling, internet tools and programming
languages (C, C++, Java)

ESCP Europe Business School

Professor Dr. Kostas Andriosopoulos is the Executive Director of the Research Centre for Energy Management at ESCP Europe Business School where he holds the position of full Professor in Finance and Energy Economics. He is also the Academic Director of the full-time (MEM) and the Executive (EMEM) Masters in Energy Management.

Kostas holds a PhD in Finance (Cass Business School, City University London), where he has been the recipient of the prestigious Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation’s scholarship. He also holds an MBA and MSc in Finance (Northeastern University, Boston, USA), and a bachelor’s degree in Production Engineering and Management (Technical University of Crete, Greece).  

In addition to his academic profile he has an extensive professional experience in the business world. Kostas was from June 2014 to November 2015 the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Greek Public Gas Corporation (DEPA). He is also a senior advisor of 3H Partners, a management consultancy, since July 2013. Kostas has served as an advisor for a number of international clients from the energy, food, manufacturing, web & software, commodity trading and shipping industries. In addition to his consultancy role, Kostas co-founded in 2009 Symmetria Web Solutions, a web-based software company. He is also member of the board of Symmetria Ltd., a family owned commodities brokerage and trading firm. He has also worked for the British Bankers’ Association reporting directly to the senior Director for Retail Banking and the CEO (2007).

Kostas is a member in various professional and academic associations. He is the founder and current Chairman of the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics (a think-tank focusing on issues related to energy, the environment and the economy), he is a board member of the Global Gas Center of the World Energy Council as a Gas and LNG markets expert, and he also sits at the board of the International Association for Energy Economics as a Vice President for Publications. He is also a founding board member of the Financial Engineering and Banking Society, and a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece. Moreover, he was a member of the Energy Commission of the Industry and Parliament Trust in the UK (2012-13). He is also a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honour society, which recognizes outstanding academic achievements of students enrolled in collegiate business and management programs. Since March 2019 he is the Chairman of the Energy Committee of American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce.

Kostas’ current interests include energy-related geopolitical issues, gas and LNG market dynamics, price modelling, financial engineering and the application of operational research tools on risk management and investment techniques in energy, shipping and agricultural commodity markets. His work has been published in international finance- and commodity-related Journals, and has been presented in recognized conferences world-wide. He is the Associate Editor for the International Journal of Financial Engineering and Risk Management, he has edited special issues in recognised journals, acts as a reviewer for a number of academic journals, and has organised numerous international conferences. 

Consultant; HAEE, Head of Energy Strategy & Planning

Dr. Tasos Garis has 35 years experience in management gained initially as an executive with major international companies such as Shell and McKinsey based in London with global exposure. More recently he served as the CEO of PPC Renewables and as the Chairman/CEO of LAGIE, the Greek energy exchange, based in Athens. Currently he holds non-executive positions with several companies, he is a visiting professor at the ESCP university in London/Paris, and is the vice chairman of HAEE. He is a major advocate of strategic change, especially managing the transition to decarbonisation.

Dr. Garis holds a BSc in Engineering, an MBA and a Doctorate all from UK Universities.

Technical University Of Crete

Dr. Spiros Papaefthimiou received his bachelor diploma in Physics (1995), MSc in Environmental Sciences (1997) and PhD specializing in smart energy saving devices for buildings (2001), all from Department of Physics at the University of Patras. He is currently Associate Professor in Energy Management Systems and Energy Efficiency Technologies, in the School of Production Engineering and Management at the Technical University of Crete in Greece. He is specialized in energy efficiency issues, energy saving applications and renewables’ technologies. His research interests include experimental preparation and characterization of energy saving devices, technology of “smart” materials for energy applications, study of advanced solar collectors, study of photovoltaics, energy characterization of building structural elements, environmental analysis of systems, maritime emissions modeling, Life Cycle Assessment & Eco-Efficiency analysis. He has published more than 40 papers in international journals and has presented papers to numerous international energy conferences and acted as referee for international journals in the area of Renewables and Energy efficiency applications. He is the Vice President of the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics and member in various professional and academic associations.

Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki

Dr. Kyriaki Kosmidou is Associate Professor in Banking Finance at the Department of Economics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Prof. Kosmidou holds a PhD in Banking Management, MSc in Finance and Economics and BSc in Mathematics. She is visiting professor at the Hellenic Open University, International Hellenic University and she has cooperation with the Training and Development Centre of Alpha Bank. She has published more than seven books as well as many papers in issues relevant to banking management, financial risk management and banking performance evaluation, in well-known journals such as Journal of Banking and Finance, International Review of Financial Analysis, European Journal of Operational Research, Οmega, Optimization Letters, Applied Financial Economics, Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Managerial Finance. She is member of the board of Directors of the Financial Engineering and Banking Society and founding member of the Hellenic Association of Energy Economics. She is an active member of European Financial Management Association, Multinational Finance Association, Euro Working Group on Financial Modelling, Euro Working Group on Multicriteria Aid for Decisions, Hellenic Finance and Accounting Association, Hellenic Operational Research Society. Among others Prof. Kosmidou has organized national and international and conferences and has participated in various scientific committees. She has presented various topics in banking finance and risk management to over 50 national and international conferences.

University Of Western Macedonia

Mr. Manolis Souliotis is Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental Engineering at the University of Western Macedonia, Greece. In 1996 he received his bachelor in Physics from the University of Patras, in 1999 his Master degree and in 2003 his PhD from the University of Patras, Greece. For more than 15 years, he is actively involved in research in the area of Renewable Energy.

University of Nicosia; HAEE, Head of Geopolitics of energy

Dr. Theodoros Tsakiris is an Assistant Professor of Geopolitics and Energy Policy at the University of Nicosia’s Business School and a Visiting Assistant Professor (Spring 2018) at the ESCP Europe Business School in Paris. Dr. Tsakiris is an international Research Associate of ESCP’s London-based Research Center for Energy Management and has been, since 2011, the director of the Energy & Geopolitics Program at Greece’s seminal Foreign Policy think-tank ELIAMEP. In this capacity he participates in the Horizon 2020 research program FEUTURE (2016-2019) that studies the prospects of EU-Turkish relations (http://www.eliamep.gr/en/category/security-regional-developments/feuture/)

Between 2014-2015 he was an Associate of the Southeast Europe Program at the LSE where he published a study on the role of Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean (http://www.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/publications/ reports/SU14_7.aspx). Dr. Tsakiris has served in several high-level policy-making positions in Greece and Cyprus, including that of the Director for International Policy Planning for the Greek Minister of Energy. Dr. Tsakiris has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the national oil & gas company of Cyprus, CHC, as well as an adviser to the CEO of the Greek Natural Gas TSO, DESFA and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) consortium.

At UNIC Dr. Tsakiris teaches courses on the (geo)politics, economics and markets of oil & gas. Since September 2017 he is the Coordinator of all energy and hydrocarbons related study programs in the Business School. He is also seconded to the Department of Engineering and the Department of International & European Relations. He is a research associate of the Center for European and International Affairs of the UNIC as well as a member of the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics (HAEE) and the Head of its Energy Geopolitics Committee.

In September 2014, Dr. Tsakiris was appointed by the President of Republic of Cyprus as a non-partisan expert member of the Council for Geostrategic Studies, a body that consults the President on issues of Foreign and Security Policy. He resigned from this position in June 2015. From September 2010 to December 2011 Dr. Tsakiris was the Director of the Observatory for European Energy Policy at the Hellenic Centre for European Studies (EKEM) which was attached to the office of the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs. From January to June 2010 Dr. Tsakiris worked with the Office of the Deputy Minister for Energy of Greece as a special scientific advisor focusing on international oil & gas projects.

In 2008-2009 he served as the Head of the Policy Making Unit at the Special Secretariat for International Energy Policy of the Hellenic Ministry of Development. In this capacity he participated in over one dozen official missions abroad and represented the Greek Minister of Energy and Development at the Governing Board of the International Energy Agency (I.E.A.).

Dr. Tsakiris has also worked (2004-2007) for the Greek Parliament’s Foreign Affairs & National Defense Committee as a scientific advisor to a Senior M.P. and was also (2004-2007) a Research Fellow at the Defense Analysis Institute, the in-house think-tank of the Hellenic Ministry of National Defense. In 2013 and 2014 Dr. Tsakiris taught the course of Energy Diplomacy at the Diplomatic Academy of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Following his Ph.D in 2008 Dr. Tsakiris authored 1 books, 10 monographs, 14 book chapters and 13 peer reviewed articles published in English, Spanish, Arabic and Greek including inter alia journals such as Comparative Strategy, Perceptions, Journal of Energy Security, Journal for Southeastern Europe & Black Sea Studies, Mediterranean Quarterly and the Journal of Transnational Management.

Dr. Tsakiris' work has been cited in academic publications prepared for and published by, George Washington University, King's College London, the Geopolitics of Energy Project of the Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs of Harvard University and the Energy Initiative Programme of MIT.

He is a regular commentator on energy and foreign policy issues for Greek and Cypriot electronic media and has also been interviewed by or written op-eds on issues of international energy for Le Monde, Deutsche Welle, El Mundo, Kathimerini and Gazprom’s bi-monthly publication Blue Fuel. He has been a regular contributor on the Greek energy portal www.energypress.grand the Sunday edition of Cyprus' biggest daily newspaper Fileleftheros www.philnews.com

Audencia Business School

Emilios Galariotis is full Professor of Finance at Audencia Business School (EQUIS, AMBA, AACSB), France. He is also the Founder and Director of the institute of Finance and Head of the Finance Department, while he has served as Head of the Research Axis "Finance, Risk and Accounting Performance" and Joint Head of the Department of Accounting and Finance in the past. He also founded and directed the Centre for Financial and Risk Management (CFRM). Prior to serving in his present position, Dr. Galariotis was a faculty member at Durham University Business School (EQUIS, AMBA, AACSB), UK, where he was also Director of the MSc programme in finance.

Emilos Galariotis was born in 1973 in Patras, Greece and was raised up in Nigeria. Returning to Greece he attended the 2nd Gymnasium and the 3rd Lyceum of Patras and the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences graduating with a four-year BA degree in Political Sciences and International Relations in 1997. He went on to successfully pursue a Diploma in Business Economics and a Masters in Money Banking and Finance from Middlesex University Business School with distinction, and a PhD in Financial Economics at Durham University. He received his Doctorate in 2003, two years after his wedding in 2001 with Nikolitsa Zenteli. In 2006 their daughter Irini was born and in 2007 their son Vasileios followed, both in Durham UK, while Dr Galariotis was serving as a lecturer and senior lecturer at Durham University. In 2013, Professor Galariotis obtained his « Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches Sciences Economiques » from the University of Nantes in France, “the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit” Wikipedia

He serves on the boards of various journals including the Review of Behavioral Finance and is Associate Editor of IJFERM, while he is also a member of the board of Directors of the Financial Engineering and Banking Society and founding member of the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics. He has acted as reviewer for governments and institutions for projects and programmes (examples, ESRC, HQA, Russell Group etc.), while he has successfully led research bids above a million Euro. He has organised international conferences, round tables, and has chaired/participated in various scientific committees and reviewed for various journals. His research has received best paper awards and funding, several SSRN top10 download positions (ranked top 5% for downloads). His work has been published in more than 35 articles in journals such as the: European Journal of Operational Research; Energy Economics; Technological Forecasting and Social Change; Journal of Banking and Finance; Journal of Financial stability; Annals of Operations Research; European Financial Management; Journal of Business Finance and Accounting; International Review of Financial Analysis; Journal of Development Studies; European Journal of Finance; International Review of Financial Analysis; Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money etc. He has edited a Book in the Frank J. Fabozzi Series and written in Wiley Encyclopaedia of Management among other contributions.

In 2015 he was invited by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership on behalf of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to talk on sustainability and the future of finance teaching. In 2008 he was honoured as a new decision maker in the west of France by the “Centre de Communication de l’Ouest”, while he has received publicity in various countries from outlets such as the Times, Les Echos, Le Figaro étudiant, L’EXPRESS, Kommersant, the World Finance Magazine, Le Journal des Grandes Ecoles, Biz Ed (AACSB’s magazine), Kathimerini, to Vima, Naytemporiki, International Finance News (China) etc.

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Sofia Kalatha is a PhD Candidate in Energy Economics at the Division of Business Administration, Department of Economics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She holds a MSc in Business Administration (MBA) with two scholarships from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and she has attended MSc in Economics at the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki. She also holds a BA in Economics from University of Macedonia.

She has worked as an Export Manager at ‘’Regina Food Industry’’ in Thessaloniki. She has, also, worked as a trainee at Attica Bank of Thessaloniki.

Leonidas Ourgantzidis is an economist holding a bachelor degree with honors from university of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Leonidas' academic interests focus on the topics of Environmental and Energy Economics and he currently works as a  for Hellenic Association for Energy Economics.