Financial Education:​

Dr. Xidonas is Full Professor & Director of Research at ESSCA Grande École. He is also affiliated with Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, as Visiting Research Professor. Also, Dr. Xidonas is Chairman of the Investment Committee at the National Social Security Fund of Greece. Dr. Xidonas is holder of the Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (HDR), from the Université de Lille. Also, he holds a PhD in Operational Research, Information Systems & Portfolio Management from the National Technical University of Athens and a MSc in Mathematical Modelling in Modern Technologies & Economics from the same university. Finally, he holds a BSc in Physics from the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Nikos Papathanasis presently holds the office of the Alternate Minister at the Ministry of Economy and Finance and he was also elected, at the 2023 elections, as a member of the Parliament in the district of Athens North.

From August 2020 until May 2023 he held the office of Alternate Minister at the Ministry of Development and Investment with the responsibility of the portfolio of private and strategic investments, PPP’s and the Just Transition Fund. Also from July 2019 until August 2020 he held the office of the Deputy Minister at the same ministry with the responsibility of the portfolio of Industry, Commerce and Consumer’s Protection.

During his thirty five year career, he served as a C-level executive for large corporations with a successful track record in developing business plans, reorganizing and streamlining operations that led to significant positive economic outcome.

He received his B.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and his M.A.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Toronto, followed by a Masters in Management Science at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.

He commenced his career at the DeHavilland Aircraft Company (Bombardier Aerospace) in Toronto while later he served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) and executive Vice President of Olympic Aviation, a regional airline company. During his professional years, he worked mainly in the private sector while he reached high executive and C level managerial positions in companies in Greece and abroad.

He managed companies in the fields of construction, real estate development to public transportation as he served as CEO in the Athens Line 1 metro rail system and subsequently Chairman and CEO in the Athens Metro and Light rail system for a total of eight years. From 2008 to 2010 he served as a President- elect of the Greek branch of the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services (CEEP) which is a General Cross Industry social partner recognized by the EU Commission. From 2017 holds the Chair of the President of the Institute of Democracy “Konstantinos Karamanlis”, a scientific non-profit organization. He served from 2016 until the national elections of 2019 as Director General of the presently governing political Party of “Nea Democratia”.

A graduate of the Department of Mathematics, University of Athens, Katerina Spyrou also holds an MBA International from the Athens University of Economics & Business. She started her career as a math tutor and in November 1990 joined the Bank of Greece, initially working with the HR and IT Directorates, to become afterwards Director of the Communications Unit. As of May 2024, she is Director of the Centre for Culture, Research and Documentation of the Bank.

Edward Wingenbach became the eighth president of The American College of Greece in 2025. From 2019–2025 he served as president of Hampshire College, part of the Five College Consortium with Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts. At Hampshire, he led a turnaround: applications doubled and enrollment increased more than 50% after introducing a curriculum organized around solving contemporary challenges. He strengthened philanthropy and external partnerships, raising over $53 million in operational support, securing record gifts, and increasing alumni giving to 35%. Hampshire also became one of only fifteen U.S. colleges to achieve full carbon neutrality.

Wingenbach has held senior administrative and faculty roles at Ripon College, the University of Redlands, and the University of South Carolina. He earned his PhD in political science from the University of Notre Dame.

Ο Δρ. Ξυδώνας είναι Καθηγητής & Διευθυντής Έρευνας στην ESSCA Grande École. Είναι επίσης Επισκέπτης Καθηγητής Έρευνας στο Πανεπιστήμιο Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Επιπλέον, ο Δρ. Ξυδώνας είναι Πρόεδρος της Επενδυτικής Επιτροπής της ΑΕΔΑΚ Ασφαλιστικών Οργανισμών. Ο Δρ. Ξυδώνας είναι κάτοχος της Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (HDR) από το Πανεπιστήμιο της Λιλ. Επίσης, κατέχει διδακτορικό στην Επιχειρησιακή Έρευνα, τα Πληροφοριακά Συστήματα και τη Διαχείριση Χαρτοφυλακίου από το Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο, καθώς και μεταπτυχιακό (MSc) στη Μαθηματική Μοντελοποίηση σε Σύγχρονες Τεχνολογίες & στην Οικονομία από το ίδιο ίδρυμα. Τέλος, κατέχει πτυχίο Φυσικής από το Εθνικό & Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών.

Ο Νίκος Παπαθανάσης είναι Αναπληρωτής Υπουργός Εθνικής Οικονομίας και Οικονομικών και βουλευτής Β1 Βόρειου Τομέα Αθηνών με τη Νέα Δημοκρατία. Είναι μηχανολόγος μηχανικός, μέλος του ΤΕΕ και έχει λάβει μεταπτυχιακούς τίτλους σπουδών στη Διοίκηση Επιχειρήσεων και την Αεροναυπηγική. Ξεκίνησε τον εργασιακό του βίο το 1984 στον χώρο της αεροναυπηγικής βιομηχανίας ενώ έχει διατελέσει μέλος Διοικητικών Συμβουλίων εταιρειών του ιδιωτικού τομέα καθώς και εταιρειών δημοσίου ενδιαφέροντος όπως η Ελληνική Αεροπορική Βιομηχανία (ΕΑΒ), η Ολυμπιακή Αεροπλοΐα αλλά και εταιρειών αστικού σιδηροδρόμου όπως η Η.Σ.Α.Π και η ΣΤΑ.ΣΥ. Εργάσθηκε για εικοσιτέσσερα έτη σε ανώτερες και στη συνέχεια ανώτατες διοικητικές θέσεις εταιρειών του ιδιωτικού τομέα και οκτώ έτη σε ανώτατες διοικητικές θέσεις σε εταιρείες του ευρύτερου δημοσίου τομέα. Διετέλεσε Πρόεδρος του Κέντρου Ελληνικών Δημοσίων Επιχειρήσεων και Οργανισμών Δημοσίου Ενδιαφέροντος (ΚΕΔΕΟ) και είναι Πρόεδρος της επιστημονικής μη κερδοσκοπικής εταιρείας «Ινστιτούτο Δημοκρατίας Κωνσταντίνος Καραμανλής». Το 2016 ανέλαβε, με απόφαση του Προέδρου της Νέας Δημοκρατίας κ. Κυριάκου Μητσοτάκη, τη Γενική Διεύθυνση του κόμματος. Το 2019 ορίστηκε Υφυπουργός Ανάπτυξης και Επενδύσεων αρμόδιος για τη Βιομηχανία και το Εμπόριο, ενώ το 2020 ορίστηκε Αναπληρωτής Υπουργός Ανάπτυξης και Επενδύσεων αρμόδιος για τις Ιδιωτικές και Στρατηγικές Επενδύσεις καθώς και τις Συμπράξεις Δημοσίου και Ιδιωτικού Τομέα.

Απόφοιτος του Μαθηματικού Τμήματος του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών. Μεταπτυχιακές σπουδές στη Διοίκηση Επιχειρήσεων (MBA International) στο Οικονομικό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών. Ξεκίνησε την καριέρα της ως καθηγήτρια μαθηματικών και τον Νοέμβριο του 1990 εντάχθηκε στην Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος, όπου εργάστηκε αρχικά στις Διευθύνσεις Ανθρώπινου Δυναμικού και Πληροφορικής, ενώ κατόπιν διηύθυνε τη Μονάδα Επικοινωνίας. Από τον Μάιο του 2024 είναι Διευθύντρια του Κέντρου Πολιτισμού, Έρευνας και Τεκμηρίωσης της Τράπεζας.

Ioannis Bratakos has been President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) since December 2024. He was first elected to the Board of Directors in 2006, serving as Vice President from December 2017, where he oversaw matters related to innovation, new technologies, start-ups, investments, and the Greek start-up ecosystem.

He studied Production and Management and holds a postgraduate degree in Political Economy from the London School of Economics. Since 1995, he has been active in the field of Information Technology, and in 1999 he co-founded the company DD Synergy. He has served as a member and chairman on the boards of various companies and institutions and has actively contributed to the development of the Greek start-up landscape. From August 2022 to March 2024, he served as Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister.

Dr. Athanasios Kouloridas is Chairman of the Management Committee of the Greek Union of Listed Companies (ENEISET), Managing Partner of Athens Business Lawyers law firm and Assistant Professor of Corporate and Capital Markets Law in the Athens University of Economics and Business.

He is a member of the Board of the European organization “EuropeanIssuers”, Vice Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, member of the Stock Markets Steering Committee of Hellenic Exchanges Athens Stock Exchange SA and a member of various other expert and working groups and legislative committees. He has extensive experience in financial regulation, corporate and M&A, start-ups financing and fintech. He has various publications on financial markets regulation, company law and fintech.

Zefi Nikolaou is a senior expert and strategic advisor in Ethics, Compliance, and ESG, with extensive experience in the banking and financial services sector. She leads major Ethics & Compliance and ESG initiatives for large private companies and provides high-level advisory support as a Communications Strategist. She is Chair of the Board of the Association of Compliance Officers in Greece (ASCO Greece).

She is also an External Lecturer at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (MSc in Internal Audit, Risk Management & Compliance), teaching regulatory compliance, applied governance, and ESG/sustainability topics.

Her career includes senior management roles at the National Mortgage Bank of Greece and the National Bank of Greece, where she gained deep expertise in financial, credit, and compliance matters, including financial crime prevention.

Zefi holds degrees in Journalism, European Civilization, and Corporate Communication. She is a Certified Fraud Examiner, with additional certifications in AML, Compliance, and Customer Service Management.

She is a recognized speaker and expert educator on corporate governance, ESG strategy, integrity, and business ethics.

Michael G. Arghyrou is the Chief Economic Advisor of the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic. As from July 2023 he is a full member of the Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank. Between July 2019 and August 2025, he was the Head of the Council of Economic Advisors of the Minister of Finance of the Hellenic Republic. In this capacity, he represented Greece at the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), the Eurogroup Working Group (EWG) and the Board of Directors of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). He is also one of the five members of the Steering Committee which designed the Greek National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Greece 2.0.

He is a graduate of the Department of Economics of the Athens University of Economics and Business and holds a Master's and a PhD in Economics from the University of London (Queen Mary College). Since July 2019 he is a Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics of the University of Piraeus (currently on leave of absence for civil service). He was a Lecturer, Assistant and Associate Professor of Economics at Cardiff University (2005-2019) and a Lecturer in Economics at Brunel University (1998-2005).

Michael was born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1972. He is married with Kiriaki Mitrousi with whom they have a daughter, Sofia.

Dr. Christos P. Nounis, ΒοD Chairman, Hellenic Union of Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (H.U.I.O.R.P.) & ΒοD Chairman, Institution for Occupational Retirement Provision of the Ministry of Finance (I.O.R.P.-MoF)

Dr. Christos Nounis has extensive experience in the areas of capital markets, anti-money laundering, investment management, financial analysis, and private and occupational insurance. Since 2004, he has served as an executive at the Ministry of Finance, and since April 2015, he has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institution for Occupational Retirement Provision of the Ministry of Finance (I.O.R.P.-MoF). He previously worked in the private sector as a financial analyst, at the Hellenic Capital Market Commission as a member of the Directorate of Research, and at the Centre of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) as Head of the Directorate of Administration. In June 2018, Dr. Nounis was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the newly established Hellenic Union of Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (H.U.I.O.R.P.). Since 2019, he has also served as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Hellenic Financial Literacy Institute. In 2023, he became a member of the Occupational Insurance Research Unit of the Social Administration Research Lab at the University of West Attica. Since July 2023, he has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Pension Mutual Fund Management Company (HPMF) of e-EFKA, having previously served as a member of its Investment Committee from 2008 until June 2023. He brings significant administrative experience through his participation in boards, committees, and working groups both in Greece and abroad.

Dr. Nounis also has a long-standing academic background, having taught at various Greek universities. Among other roles, he served for many years as an adjunct faculty member at the postgraduate program "Banking" and the undergraduate program "Business Administration" of the Hellenic Open University (HOU). He has participated in numerous international finance conferences and has published extensively in renowned academic journals such as the Economic History Review Journal and the European Financial Management Journal. He also contributed to the academic book by Professor Nikolaos D. Philippas titled "Financial Literacy: Theory and Practice" (2023, Pedio Publications). In April 2024, his first monograph titled "The Ecosystem of Occupational Insurance in Greece: Challenges and Development Prospects of the 2nd Pillar of Insurance" was published by Papazisis Publications. It is the first comprehensive work in Greece dedicated exclusively to the institution of occupational insurance. He holds a BA in Economics, as well as a MSc and a PhD in Finance from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and possesses professional certifications from the Hellenic Capital Market Commission as a “Stock and Market Analyst” and a “Portfolio Management Officer.”

Dr. Aristeidis Samitas is the Vice-Rector for Finance and Development at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and a Professor of Finance in the Department of Business Administration and Organizations at the School of Economics and Political Sciences, NKUA. He is the Director of the MSc Program in "Financial Technology - FinTech" and the Director of the Investment Applications Laboratory at the Department of Business Administration and Organizations, School of Economics and Political Sciences, NKUA.

He has served as a professor in the Department of Business Administration at the University of the Aegean for 20 years. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, an MSc in Money, Banking, and Finance from the University of Birmingham, UK, and a PhD in Finance from the Department of Economics, NKUA. Additionally, he has conducted postdoctoral research in Finance at City University, London.

He has previously served as Chair of the Department of Finance at Zayed University, UAE, and as Director of the MBA and Executive MBA programs at the University of the Aegean for several years. He has taught at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at the Department of Economics, NKUA; the Department of Economics, University of Thessaly; the Hellenic Open University; and the corresponding economics departments at the University of Sheffield and City University, UK.

Dr. Samitas is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Finance and Economics, a member of scientific associations, and a reviewer for international journals. His research has been published in leading international academic journals and edited volumes, including the Journal of Econometrics, European Journal of Finance, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, International Review of Financial Analysis, Applied Financial Economics, International Journal of Finance and Economics, Small Business Economics, among others.

His research interests include Fintech Financial Analysis and Business Administration, Econometrics, Portfolio Management, Financial Crises, and Business Strategy.

Athena Vounatsou is a lawyer and member of the Athens Bar Association and is currently the Director of Tax, Investments and Market Operation Department of SEV Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, representing SEV at the executive committee of the Hellenic Corporate Governance Council (HCGC).

She has worked as a tax consultant at Deloitte Business Solutions, and she later served as a consultant to the General Secretary of Commerce of the Greek Ministry of Economy and Development and, from that position, as member of the Supervisory Board of the General Electronic Commercial Registry (G.E.MI). She has also worked as a competition expert for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development during the Competition assessment project for Greece.

She hods an LLB from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Law school and a Master of Laws from Queen Mary University in Corporate and Commercial Law.

I was born in 1962 in Athens. After I got my BSc degree in Accounting and Finance from the American College of Greece (DEREE COLLEGE) I continued my studies at the City University Business School (Bayes Business School) where I got my MSc degree in Shipping, Trade & Finance. My professional career started at Barclays Bank as a foreign exchange dealer. Then I moved into the shipping industry with Tsakos Shipping & Trading where I was employed in the tanker chartering department. In 1990 I established BETA Financial Advisors which in 1995 evolved into ΒΕΤΑ Securities. Today I am the Chairman, Managing Director and founding shareholder of BETA Securities. For the last nine years I am also the Secretary General of the Hellenic Association of Investment Firms. Finally since 2025 I am a board member of the Investor Compensation Fund.

Eleftheria Apostolidou, one of the first executives – members of the HCMC's Special Scientific Staff since 1997, has been the Director of the Research Directorate since 2017. She served as Head of the Office of the Chair and Vice-Chairs (November 2016 - April 2017), in charge of the HCMC's internal coordination for the implementation of the new MiFID II/MiFIR legislative framework. From April 2015 to October 2016, she worked at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (UK FCA), as ESMA Adviser - Internal Coordinator, responsible for managing the UK FCA’s corporate relations with ESMA.

Ms. Apostolidou has served as Director of the Directorate of International Relations at the HCMC for 12 years, from 2003, when the Directorate was established, until March 2015. She has anticipated in the work of the highest bodies of European and International Organizations of securities commissions, such as ESMA (Board of Supervisors) and IOSCO, and has coordinated many working groups at European level, such as ESMA-Pol Market Abuse Working Group, and many peer reviews, as a founding member of ESMA Supervisory Convergence Committee -Review Panel. She has also participated in the financial sector review team of Slovenia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Bulgaria, as EU accession countries, under the auspices of the European Commission, and in our country's negotiations with the IMF in the context of the assessment of Greece's financial sector in 2005. Finally, she has participated in numerous domestic and international Conferences/Workshops, as a speaker.

Dr. Nikos Daskalakis is an Associate Professor of Finance and Accounting at Panteion University. Before being elected to Panteion University, he taught for four years at the University of Brighton (UK) as an Assistant Professor of Finance, and he has also taught Finance and Accounting at several higher education institutions in Greece. His research interests focus on financial innovation (crowdfunding and blockchain applications in finance), SMEs’ access to finance, and behavioural finance. He is the author of two books in the field of financial technology and cryptoeconomics, as well as more than 30 scientific articles published in reputable high-impact international academic journals. His work has also received wide recognition, with more than 2,000 citations on Google Scholar.

Dr. Daskalakis serves as a member of the Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group (SMSG) of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). He has also served as a member of the Insurance and Reinsurance Stakeholder Group (IRSG) of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), the Banking Stakeholder Group (BSG) of the European Banking Authority (EBA), the Financial Services User Group (FSUG) of the European Commission (EC), and the European Crowdfunding Stakeholder Forum (ECSF). Finally, he worked for eight years at the Institute of Small Enterprises of the Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Merchants (IME-GSEVEE) as Head of the Department of Economic Analysis and Small Enterprises, and he continues to cooperate with the Confederation on issues related to SMEs’ access to finance.

Dr. Fay Makantasi is the Research Director at diaNEOsis, one of Greece's most distinguished think tanks. She holds extensive academic experience, having taught Microeconomic Theory and Game Theory at the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) and Principles of Economics at the Hellenic Open University (HOU). She completed her PhD at AUEB, focusing on a game-theoretic approach to international trade. As a Postdoctoral Fellow, her research focused on critical issues such as public sector reform in Greece, export performance, and the measurement of human capital. Her academic excellence has been recognized through prestigious grants and awards, including those from the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (IKY), the Bank of Cyprus, the Georgios and Victoria Karelia Foundation, and the European Research Funding Program “Heracleitus II.” Most recently, she received a research grant from the Hellenic Observatory of the London School of Economics (LSE) to conduct advanced research on intelligent modeling of e-Government initiatives in Greece. Her research has been published in international academic journals, and she has presented her research at prominent national and international conferences. She has also co-authored and edited significant socio-economic studies, focusing on Greece's path to recovery from the economic crisis and its broader modernization efforts. Her contributions to applied research and policy analysis continue to influence critical debates on Greece’s development trajectory and institutional reform.

Anna Rokofyllou is a lawyer and member of the Athens Bar Association, with extensive experience at the intersection of law, public administration, and local governance. She holds a Law degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and a Master’s Degree in Community Law from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and the University of Paris-Sud 11 (Sceaux).

She began her career as a freelance lawyer and went on to serve for over a decade (1994–2006) as a legal advisor at the Special Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gaining significant expertise in public and international legal affairs.

With a long-standing and active presence in local government since 1994, she has been elected four times as Municipal Councillor in the Municipality of Athens and twice as Regional Councillor of Attica, demonstrating sustained public trust and political engagement.

She has held key leadership roles within the Municipality of Athens, including Chair of the Organisation for Culture, Sports and Youth (2019–2021) and Deputy Mayor for Equality, Anti-Discrimination Policies and the Prevention of Interracial Violence (2021–2023), where she advanced initiatives promoting inclusion and social cohesion.

Since January 2023, she has been serving as President of the Youth and Lifelong Learning Foundation, leading strategic initiatives in youth empowerment and lifelong education. Since June 2024, she has also been a Non-Executive Member of the Board of Directors of Helleniq Energy.

Dr Panayotis Alexakis is professor emeritus (since Sep.2021) of Managerial Economics and Markets at the Department of Business Administration, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). He has been a scholar of the “Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation”. He has taught managerial economics, finance and money and capital markets, at the Departments of Economics/ Business Administration/Port and Ship Management of NKUA, at the Department of Business Administration of the University of the Aegean, the Executive MBA program of the Economic University of Athens and the Hellenic and Cyprus Open Universities. He has also held various academic administrative posts – Chairman of Departments and Member of NKUA Senate. He has published on the above scientific subjects, in scientific journals while his work has been recognized worldwide. He has worked as financial consultant and has held management posts in various companies, investment funds and organisations. Further, he has been responsible chairman – CEO for the organization and operation of the organized Greek derivatives market, 1998-2004 (Athens Derivatives Exchange and Athens Derivatives Clearing House S.A.). He was appointed chairman - CEO of the Athens Stock Exchange S.A. as well as of the listed company Hellenic Exchanges S.A (2000-2004). He has been a BoD member of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (2000-2004), member of the Scientific Council of the Hellenic Banks Association (1994-2004), Member of the Corporate Advisory Committee of the Cyprus Stock Exchange (2004-2007). He is currently advisor and BoD member for various companies and funds of the financial and non financial sector.

Theoni Alampasi holds the position of the Secretary General for Financial Sector & Private Debt Management at the Hellenic Ministry of Economy and Finance since January 2023. She has served as Chair of the National Coordinating Committee for Financial Literacy since October 2024 and was appointed National Financial Literacy Ambassador in January 2026. She is a lawyer, with a master’s degree in Commercial Law from National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. In October 2022, she joined the "INSOL/World Bank Group Legislative & Regulatory Colloquium" Committee, a global standards setter for the design and implementation of insolvency frameworks.

Ms Alampasi is a member of the BoD of the Deposit & Investment Guarantee Fund and has actively participated in the drafting of legislation (L.4738/2020, Bridge Programs, L.4469/2017, L.3869/2010, etc.), as well as in law-making committees. She has a long-standing career in Public Administration, holding positions of responsibility and positions as an advisor to government officials, especially in insolvency and private debt management policies, while she has prior experience in the private sector. She speaks English, French, and Italian.

Makis Drakopoulos is Director of Programmes and Institutional Fundraising at ActionAid Hellas, where he leads the organization’s programmatic work in Greece, including two Community Centers in Athens and Thessaloniki and nationwide educational initiatives. Since 2019, he has led the design and implementation of financial education programmes in Greece and Cyprus and represents ActionAid Hellas in the “OECD International Network on Financial Education”, as well as in the Thematic Committee on Primary and Secondary Education of Greece’s National Financial Literacy Strategy. Over the past 14 years, he has designed, implemented, and evaluated social programmes focusing on inclusion, poverty and social exclusion. He has also contributed to the development and review of social strategies in Greece, providing technical expertise to government institutions as a social development consultant. His expertise includes EU funding instruments and mechanisms related to social programming. Previously, he worked as a researcher on social and economic affairs at Gold Mercury International, a London-based think tank. He studied Sociology at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences and Université Paris 5, and holds an MSc in Culture and Society from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Commissioner of CONSOB (Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa) since February 2022. Appointed by decree of the President of the Republic of January 25, 2022.

Carlo Comporti is Consob Commissioner since 7th February 2022.

From 2011 to 2022 he holds the position of CEO of Promontory Italy and COO of Promontory Europe (Business Unit of IBM Consulting), after having been Director General of Promontory France.

In 2011 Acting Secretary General and Senior Advisor to the President at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in Paris. From 2003 to 2010 at the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) in Paris, holding the functions of Secretary General and, previously, Deputy Secretary General.

In 2002 he was seconded to the European Commission, DG Internal Market, in Brussels. In 2001 he was seconded to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.

From 1994 to 1997 he joined Consob at the Intermediaries Division in Milan and the International Relations Office in Rome.

From 1999 to 2007 contract lecturer for the annual commercial law course at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Siena.

He graduated from the University of Siena in 1991 and in 1995 obtained a Ph.D. in Banking and Financial Market Law at the University of Siena.

Édouard Gomet is Policy Officer and International Relations Officer in the Financial Education Directorate in Banque de France since October 2024. Between May 2021 and September 2024, he was Policy Officer in the Financial Sector and Access to Finance unit in DG REFORM within the European Commission. He mainly dealt with technical assistance projects in banking supervision, Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT), financial literacy and sustainable finance to the benefit of various EU Member States. He was previously on-site banking supervisor in the ACPR between 2017 and 2021. He graduated from HEC Paris and the University of Paris-Dauphine.

Nikos Vettas is the General Director of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research - IOBE since 2013 and Professor of Economics at the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) since 2003, where he has also served as the Chairman of the Economics Department and a member of the University Council. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, and has been an Associate Professor at Duke University, USA, and a visiting Professor at INSEAD in France and Singapore. He serves as Associate Editor of the International Journal of Industrial Organization, a Research Fellow at CEPR, UK, and a member of the Executive Committee of the European Association for Research in Industrial Economics. He has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of the European Economic Association and the Journal of Industrial Economics, a member of the Hellenic Competition Commission and the Economic Advisory Group for Competition Policy at the European Commission. He is a co-organizer of the annual Conference for Research on Economic Theory and Econometrics, since 2002. His research has been published in leading journals such as the International Economic Review, European Economic Review, Rand Journal of Economics, and the Review of Economic Studies. Co-editor of Beyond Austerity: Reforming the Greek Economy (MIT Press, 2017). Vice-Chairman of the Growth Plan Committee of the Hellenic Republic for the Greek Economy, 2020.

Vassiliki Nika is a Laboratory Teaching Staff member of the Department of Primary Education at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). Her field of expertise is that of educational material. Her doctoral thesis, submitted to the Department of Psychology at Panteion University, dealt with the subject of Media Education. She obtained her Master's degree in 2000 from the Department of French Language and Literature at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

She is a lecturer in her field of expertise, delivering undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the Department of Primary Education (NKUA), as well as the MSc in Education Sciences.

She has contributed to the field through her publication of articles in pedagogical journals and presentation of research at conferences. In addition to her scholarly contributions, she is the author of books and educational materials. She has been a member of the organising committee of national and international conferences.

She has served as President of IBBY Greece (2015-2024) and is a member of the Pedagogical Society of Greece.

Her research interests focus on pedagogy, with a particular emphasis on the design of educational materials for reading and literacy, communication, and children's literature.

Economist, Composer, Researcher.Founding member and President of the Hellenic Investors Association (SED), since 2000. He studied economics at the University of Piraeus and Music at the Piraeus Conservatory and the National Conservatory. He holds the titles of Federal Master and FIDE Master in chess Pioneer of «Shareholder Activism» in our country, which he introduced to the Greek Capital Market in 2004.He has strived hard for the effective implementation of Corporate Governance by listed companies and many of his proposals have been submitted to the supervisory authorities, after elaboration by the Board of SED and have been incorporated in both the Corporate Governance Law and the Greek Corporate Governance Code. He is the initiator of the «Investment & Stock Exchange Conference», which has been organized with great success by SED, continuously since 2002. He is also the initiator of the «Investment Education & Training Program», which he presented for the first time in 2013, at the 11th Conference of the SED under the name «Monitoring Program General Meetings of Listed Companies». Its implementation began in 2015, in collaboration with many universities of Greece and Cyprus. The Program was recognized as a «Global Originality» at an international Conference organized in 2018 in Rome.

Marianna Nathanail is the Head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group Office in Greece, where she engages with the public and private sectors, academia, civil society, and EU institutions to expand the EIB’s support for investments in the green transition, digitalisation and innovation, affordable housing, cohesion policy, agriculture and the bioeconomy, as well as security and defence.

With 25 years of experience in banking, finance, and law, she has served at the EIB headquarters in Luxembourg in Capital Markets and Risk Management. Prior to joining the EIB, she worked at the European Commission (DG FISMA and DG MARKT), served as legal counsel for the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission, and previously as legal counsel in the energy and shipping sectors.

She holds a Law degree from the University of Athens, an LL.M. in Shipping Law, and an MSc in Banking and Finance.

Chris Aesopos is the Chairman of The Hellenic Fund & Asset Management Association, and Chief Executive Officer of ALPHA TRUST, with over 30 years professional experience in Asset Management. He also serves as Vice Chairman, Independent, of Trade Estates REIC.

Holds an MSc in Shipping, Trade and Finance from Bayes Business School (University of London), an MSc in Economics from Birkbeck College (University of London) and a BSc in Economics from London School of Economics (University of London).

Nikolaos D. Philippas is a Professor of Finance in the Department of Business Administration at the University of Piraeus, with academic expertise in Financial Management and specialization in Stock Market Investments, Mutual Funds, Behavioural Finance, and Financial Literacy. In the past, he served twice as a member of the University Senate. On April 1, 2013, he was appointed to the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors and Scientific Director of the Centre of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE). In 2016, he founded the Hellenic Financial Literacy Institute (HFLI), the first non-profit organization in Greece dedicated to combating financial illiteracy.

He has published approximately 300 articles in nearly all major Greek economic journals and financial newspapers, including To Vima, Kathimerini, Euro2day, CNN Greece, Fortune Greece, Capital, among others.

His research work has appeared in leading peer-reviewed international academic journals in the field, including Economics Letters (2023), International Review of Financial Analysis (2013), Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money (2011, 2020), European Journal of Finance (2008, 2019), Energy Economics (2022), Journal of Multinational Financial Management (2009), Applied Mathematics & Computation (2012), Applied Economics (1988, 2018), Applied Financial Economics (2004, 2013), Applied Financial Economics Letters (2007), Applied Economics Letters (2004), Review of Development Economics (2016), International Review of Economics and Business (1987, 1998), Research in International Business and Finance (2012, 2015), Economics Bulletin (2008), Multinational Finance Journal (2013), among others.

His work has received international recognition and has been cited in leading global academic journals in finance, such as Financial Management, Journal of Empirical Finance, Quantitative Finance, International Review of Financial Analysis, Multinational Finance Journal, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, and European Journal of Finance, among others.

He is the author of seven original academic books, the most recent being Financial Literacy: Theory and Practice (2023). In addition, he has published six books aimed at promoting financial literacy among children and young people. Notable titles include Money Does Not Grow on Trees (2019), in collaboration with Interamerican, as well as The ABC of Economics for Children up to 12 Years Old (2022) and The ABC of Economics for Teenagers (2024), published in collaboration with the Bank of Greece.

Jean-Paul Servais is the Chairman of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). He was elected in October 2022 and re-elected in May 2024 for another term of 2 years. IOSCO is the membership organization composed of the world’s financial markets regulators involved in the supervision of 95 % of the financial sector at international level. He is also the Chairman of the IOSCO European Regional Committee.

Jean-Paul Servais is the first Belgian to be elected Chairman of IOSCO. His election was partly in recognition of his efforts and the quality of his work during the six years in which he was already vice-chairman of IOSCO. Under his leadership as IOSCO Chairman, IOSCO reached several important milestones in recent years that contributed to enhancing investor protection, market integrity and financial stability. He contributed to active communication, strong visibility of the organization's work and activities, and the smooth functioning of the Board.

Between 2017 and 2023, Mr. Servais chaired the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board, which consists of global financial regulators and provides oversight to the IFRS Foundation. In parallel, he was the co-chair of the Monitoring Group (2021-2023), a group of international financial institutions and regulatory bodies committed to advancing the public interest in areas related to international audit standard setting and audit quality. Within IOSCO, Jean-Paul also led the SPAC network, which successfully delivered a final report in May 2023.

He has also been elected in 2024 as Chair of the OECD Corporate Governance Committee.

Besides his international responsibilities, Mr Servais is the Chairman of the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA). In this capacity, he is a board member of other international supervisory bodies for the financial sector such as the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB). Besides, he sits on a number of supervisory colleges that coordinate the (cross-border) supervision of financial institutions and infrastructures.

Through these experiences Jean-Paul has accrued a unique blend of supervisory expertise and regulatory acumen in the field of international financial services. Jean-Paul is known for his commitment towards investor protection. Beyond his thorough understanding on the functioning of traditional financial services and markets, Jean-Paul is an engaged and influential figure on sustainable finance and digital regulatory agendas.

Also based on his experiences as a supervisor and from his passion for education, Jean-Paul Servais had become imbued with the importance of financial education. He therefore requested and obtained from the Belgian legislator the power for the FSMA to contribute to the financial education of the population. Under his impetus, the FSMA launched in 2013 the now very successful Wikifin financial education programme. And in 2020, the Wikifin Lab opened in Brussels. This unique centre for financial education has since welcomed thousands of Belgian students and has become a reference at international level.

Jean-Paul teaches at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB, University of Brussels), where he is part-time professor in International Business Law and in the specialised Master in Tax Law. He is author or co-author of more than 500 contributions, mostly engaging on European and international systems of financial supervision and regulation issues.

Gerry Cross is Director for Capital Markets and Funds at the Central Bank of Ireland. He joined the Central Bank as Director of Policy and Risk in May 2015. He is a Member of the ESMA Board of Supervisors and was up until recently a Member of the Board of Supervisors of the EBA where he co-chaired the EBA’s Regulatory Policy Standing Committee. He was also a Member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and chaired the ESAs Joint Committee Sub-Committee on DORA implementation.

Konstantinos Vlasis was born in 1975 in Tripoli, Arcadia. He graduated from the Medical School of the University of Athens and specialized in Orthopedic Surgery at Laiko General Hospital. In 2004–2005, he attended the National School of Public Health, where he obtained a Master’s degree in the Organization and Management of Health Services.

In 2005, he was awarded a PhD by the Medical School of the University of Athens. Two years later, in 2007, he was elected Lecturer at the same School. He was subsequently promoted to Assistant Professor in 2012, Associate Professor in 2016, and Professor in 2020.

He speaks English and French fluently.

Konstantinos Vlasis was first elected Member of Parliament with the New Democracy Party representing Arcadia in the January and September 2015 elections, and was re-elected in 2019 and 2023.

From December 2019 to September 2021, he served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, responsible for Diaspora Greeks. In March 2025, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports.

During his parliamentary service, he has served as Alternate Secretary of the New Democracy Parliamentary Group and as a member of numerous parliamentary committees, including the Standing Committee on National Defense and Foreign Affairs, the Standing Committee on Educational Affairs, the Special Standing Committee on European Affairs, and the Special Permanent Committee on Research and Technology.

He has also served as Head of the Greek Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

He is married to Dr. Chrysa Saldari, a biopathologist, and they have a daughter and a son.

Andrea Grifoni is a Policy Advisor in the Financial Consumer Protection, Education and Inclusion Unit of the Capital Markets and Financial Institutions Division at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He serves on the Secretariat of the OECD International Network on Financial Education (INFE), where he leads work on digital financial literacy and supports the development of INFE activities across Latin America and the Caribbean. He also provides strategic advice to European Union governments on the design and implementation of national financial literacy policies.

Within the OECD, he has contributed to policy work on financial consumer protection supervision through FinCoNet, public sector modernisation, and the accession process of Colombia to the Organisation.

Prior to joining the OECD, he worked in London on the analysis of EU capital markets regulation and in Brussels on EU Common Security and Defence Policy.

He holds an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Bologna and Sciences Po Paris.

(1) Christos Gortsos is Professor of Public Economic Law at the Law School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and, as of 1 September 2025, Guest Professor at the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance (FDEF) of the University of Luxembourg.

(2) He studied, at undergraduate and graduate level, law, economics, finance, as well as international history and politics at the NKUA and the Universities of Zürich, Pennsylvania (Wharton Business School) and Geneva (Graduate Institute of International Studies), where he also obtained his PhD degree in international banking regulation.

(3) His key research fields are international and EU monetary and financial law, banking regulation and supervision, bank crisis management, central banking law, economic constitutional law, and institutional economics. His publications on these research fields are reflected in several books and articles; his papers at SSRN can be accessed at: https://ssrn.com/author=1808375. His most recent books are titled:

“The European Banking Regulation Handbook, Volume I: Theory of Banking Regulation, International Standards, Evolution and Institutional Aspects of EU Banking Law” (2023, Palgrave Macmillan),

“The Eurosystem at 25 (1999-2023): Legal Aspects of the Single Monetary Policy in the Euro Area – From the Establishment of the Eurosystem to the Current Inflation Crisis” (2024, University of Zürich, EIZ Publishing), and

“The European Banking Regulation Handbook, Volume II: Substantive Aspects of European Banking Law and Regulation” (2025, Palgrave Macmillan).

(4) Currently, and inter alia, he is also:

• Visiting Professor at the Europa Institut of the University of Zürich, the Europa Institut of the University of Saarland and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management;
• President of the Academic Board of the European Banking Institute (EBI);
• Member of the Board of Appeal of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs);
• Member of the European Parliament’s and of the European Court of Auditors’ expert groups on banking resolution; and
• Academic Director of the EBI LLM Program in “EU Banking and Financial Regulation”, jointly offered by the EBI and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.

(5) Inter alia as well, he has served as:

• Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow at the Law Department of the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence (winter semester of Academic Year 2017-2018);
• Academic Visitor at St Antony’s College (Oxford University), affiliated to the Political Economy of Financial Markets Research Center (winter semester of Academic Year 2018-2019);
• Visiting Scholar at the Faculty of Law of the University of Zürich (UZH) (Academic Year 2022-2023 and summer semester of Academic Year 2024-2025);
• Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Law of the UZH (winter semester of Academic Year 2023-2024); and
• Visiting Professor at the Law School of the University of Vienna (December 2024).

Vassiliki Lazarakou is Chair of HCMC. She is also a Member of the Board of Supervisors and she was a member of the Management Board of ESMA until December 2025.

Vassiliki is a member of the IOSCO Board and Chair of the IOSCO Diversity Network.

She has also been appointed as a member of the Bureau of the OECD Corporate Governance Committee for 2025 (for a third consecutive year).

She has been elected Vice Chair of the Mediterranean Partnership of Securities Commission for 2025 and 2026.

She has been also appointed as a Member of Women Climate Leaders Network (WCLN) of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group)

She has a Doctorate in Law (JSD) and an LL.M. from New York University School of Law, U.S.A. as well as a Bachelor in Law from the Athens University. She is a lawyer admitted at the Athens Bar and the New York Bar Association. She has worked for more than 20 years as a Partner at law firms and head of the Banking and Finance Departments.

Christina Papaconstantinou is Deputy Governor of the Bank of Greece since 2021 and a Member of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank since January 2024. Currently, she is a Member of the Economic and Financial Committee of the European Union (EFC), Alternate Member of the Financial Stability Board Regional Consultative Group for Europe (FSB) and representative of the Bank of Greece in the Eurosystem’s Appia High-Level Advisory Group providing guidance on the use of new technologies for settlement in central bank money. She is the President of the BoD at DIAS ΙNTERBANKING SYSTEMS S.A., Board Member of the Athens Concert Hall Organization and the Public Debt Management Agency, Member of the National Financial Literacy Steering Committee and of the Private Insurance against Natural Disasters Council. Before her appointment, she was the Chair of the BoD of PQH Single Special Liquidation S.A. and BoD Member of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (2019-2021). She also worked as Advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office, as external consultant on matters of state aid, fiscal management, EU company and competition law and as expert in IMF missions. From 2012 to 2014, she served as Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance and as Secretary General of Fiscal Policy at the General Accounting Office of the Hellenic Republic. She holds a Law degree from the University of Athens and a master’s degree (LLM) in European Community Law from the University of London.

Eva Polyzogopoulou is a senior professional with extensive experience in the non-profit and charitable foundations sector, both in Greece and internationally. She currently serves as Managing Director of ActionAid Hellas, an organization that works with vulnerable populations and young people in Greece and across 17 other countries.

Previously, she served as Co-Deputy Chief Programs Officer at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), where she was responsible for the design and implementation of several major strategic initiatives, as well as for the evaluation of grant applications. In this capacity, she collaborated with hundreds of non-profit organizations worldwide across a broad range of fields.

Her professional experience also includes positions in both public and private institutions.

Eva specializes in strategic planning, grant-making, and organizational development. She is a member of the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Network, a member of the Advisory Council of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, a member of the Advisory Board of New Agriculture New Generation, and a Board Member at WHEN.

She holds a degree in Business Administration from the American College of Greece, has studied Library Management and Information Systems at the University of West Attica, and holds a Master’s degree in Cultural and Creative Industries from King’s College London.

Dr. George Theocharides (BΕng (Hons), MBA, PhD) is the Chairman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). He is also the Chairman of the Risk Standing Committee (RSC). The RSC is part of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the successor of Committee for the Economic and Markets Analysis (CEMA), for which Dr. Theocharides served also as Chairman, between March and December 2022.

He served as CySEC’s Vice Chairman from July 2020 to September 2021 and was previously a CySEC Board member. He has extensive experience working in the wider financial sector. From September 2010 until July 2020, he held the position of Associate Finance Professor at the Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM) and Director of the MSc in Financial Services Programme.

Prior to joining CIIM, he worked as an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Sungkyunkwan University of South Korea from 2006 to 2010. In 2006, he also worked as an International Faculty Fellow at the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In the past, he served as a member of the Interim Board of Bank of Cyprus and Chairman of the Board of the Cyprus Blockchain Technologies Ltd, among others.