11th HAEE Energy Transition Symposium

Political science, English language and literature, and Arabic language and literature graduate

Previously held positions

2020-2023    Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France in Bucharest 

2017-2020    Director of culture, education, research and networks at the Ministry of                       

                           Europe and foreign affairs

2016-2017  Deputy director of the European Union

2013-2016  Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France in Skopje

2010-2013  Secretary general at the French Institute in Paris

2006-2010  Director of the French Institute in the United Kingdom

2003-2006  Deputy spokesperson in the Office of the President of the Republic

2002-2003  Adviser in the office of the Minister 

2000-2002  Deputy spokesperson of the Ministry of foreign affairs 

1999-2000  Spokesperson at the European Commission 

1995-1999  Administrator for the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, DG Relex 

1991-1995  Adviser at the Permanent Representation of France in Brussels

1988-1991  Adviser at the Permanent Representation of France in Brussels

1985-1988  Environmental adviser (Ministry of foreign affairs)

Honors

Knight of the French Legion of Honor

Officer of the National Order of Merit

Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters

Date and place of Birth: 25 September 1971, Muscat, Oman

Marital Status: Married, 3 children

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Education

1989 High School (VWO) Rijnlands Lyceum, Oegstgeest

1996 Master of Business Administration, University of Groningen

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Professional experience

Ambassador van Hellemond joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1998 as a diplomatic
trainee after working at ABN Bank in Tokio, Japan. Her first assignment as a junior policy
officer was in the multilateral division at the Ministry in The Hague. Her first posting abroad
as a diplomat was in the field of development assistance and trade in Jakarta, Indonesia.

She then had the following assignments:

2005 - 2009 Senior Policy advisor in the Economic and Development Assistance
division in Cairo, Egypt

2009 - 2013 Coordinating Policy Advisor in the Financial and Budgetary division at
the Ministry in The Hague

2013 - 2017 Head of recruitment and Human Resources division at the Ministry in
The Hague

2017 - 2021 Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, based in Harare,
Zimbabwe

2021 - 2025 Director-General NL Diplomatic Missions at the Ministry in The
Hague

2025 – current Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic

His Majesty’s Ambassador Matthew Lodge received his appointment to the Hellenic Republic in August 2021.

Matthew has a BA (Hons) in Modern Languages (French and Russian) from the University of Birmingham. He was an officer in the Royal Marines from 1986-1996.

He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1996. Matthew’s first posting was to the British Embassy in Athens. He also worked on the Balkans, served in Georgia and Armenia, and had postings to Paris and the UK Permanent Representation to the EU. He later served as Private Secretary to the Permanent Under Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy Baghdad, Head of the FCO’s Afghanistan Group, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Finland, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the State of Kuwait, and Minister at the British Embassy Paris, serving concurrently as Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO.

He was appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic in August 2021.

Matthew is married to Alexia and they have twin boys.

Mrs. Carmen-Ileana Mihalcescu has been serving as the Ambassador of Romania to the Hellenic Republic since November 2024. Previously, she was the Consul general of Romania in Romania in Thessaloniki. She is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at the Lucian Blaga University in Sibiu and of the National Defense College "Carol I". She also holds a Master's degree in Political Management from the Social-Democratic Institute "O. Șincai" and a certificate of graduation from the Romanian Diplomatic Institute.

Starting with 2000, she has served several successive terms as Member of the Romanian Parliament holding successively several high-level position such as Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament, Vice-President of the Committee for Foreign Policy, President of the Committee for the Environment and Ecological Balance, President of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on the situation of missing children as well as member of numerous parliamentary friendship groups with countries from Europe, Middle East and Africa.

She is fluent in English and French. She is married and has one son.

Oskaras Alšauskas is an Energy Modeller at the International Energy Agency (IEA), an autonomous intergovernmental organisation focused on energy security. He works in the IEA’s World Energy Outlook team, where for the past four years he has specialised in global energy demand modelling and analysis, with a particular focus on the transport sector. His work includes projections of global demand for oil, electric vehicles, batteries, and other fuels and technologies. Prior to joining the IEA, Oskaras worked for energy companies in Lithuania and Sweden. He holds a Master’s degree in International Energy from Institut d’études politiques de Paris.

Theodora Antonakaki, Director of Bank of Greece’s Climate Change and Sustainability Centre, is
coordinating BoG's work on climate, sustainability and research at the Climate Change Impacts
Study Committee and representing BoG at the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for
Greening the Financial System (NGFS) and at the Eurosystem Climate Change Forum, where she
has been appointed Chair for a two-year term (2025-2026).
She is a graduate of the Polytechnic School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the
University of London, where she was an Honorary Research Fellow. During her career, she has
also been an advisor on issues of sustainability and socioeconomic impact, in a wide range of
projects. She has lectured at the Syracuse University, the University of Stirling, the Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki and the Hellenic Open University. She has written book chapters in
edited books and published at peer reviewed journals.
Ηer work has gained awards from Europa Nostra and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark,
while she has been honored, by the French Republic, with the title of Knight of the French National
Order of Merit (Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite), as an acknowledgment for her
contributions to climate and sustainability issues.

KOSTAS AXARLOGLOU, Dean, Alba Association, and Professor of International
Business and Strategy (Alba Graduate Business School, The American College of
Greece; 2016-present), Visiting Professor (Shanghai University; 2015-present), Associate
Professor of International Business (Democritus University of Thrace; 2002-2016),
Michael Gerrits Term Chair Assistant Professor of Economics (Babson College; 1994
2002), Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics (Fuqua School of Business, Duke
University; 1993-1994), Instructor (University of Michigan; 1990-1993).
B.A. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, M.A. University of Michigan, Ph.D.
University of Michigan.
Dr. Axarloglou is doing research and consulting work in the areas of International
Business Strategy, Strategic Leadership, Strategic Agility and Adaptability and Blue
Ocean Strategy. His research has been published in leading management and economics
journals such as Management Science, the Journal of Business, the Journal of the
European Economic Association, World Economy and Managerial and Decision
Economics. He has received several research grants and also participated in numerous
international conferences. Recently, he completed a study for the Athens Academy of
Science on “FDI Flows in Greece”. Dr. Axarloglou serves in various company Boards in
Greece and abroad, and has done extensive training and consulting work in numerous
multinational corporations such as Eurobank, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen-Cilag, Novo
Nordisk, Sunlight, PepsiCo, Quest, Titan, Viohalco and Vodafone.
Dr. Axarloglou, a recipient of the Fulbright scholarship, has extensive teaching
experience in all levels of business education and has also received several teaching
awards.
He is a member of the American Economic Association.

Eleni Bairami is the owner and Managing Director of ECO Hellas, one of the fastest-growing companies in the Renewable Energy Sector in Greece.

Focusing on solar energy, biogas, gasification and circular economy, Eleni has developed, constructed, operated more than 2 GW of renewable energy projects with over 280 million of investment value. Currently she is collaborating with multinational RES conglomerates in a series of projects in Greece and in the Region of Southeastern Europe.

Eleni studied Physics majors and Mathematics in Wolfgang - Goethe University Frankfurt / Main Germany, while she started her career in the German Bank sector in Frankfurt/Main.  She continued her career in the RES private sector by working in executive positions in the biggest German biogas and biomethane construction company MT Energie/ MT Biomethan (today HITACHI ZOSEN INOVA) where she gained experience in ​projects in several countries such as Germany, France, UK, South and North America, South Korea, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Latvia, and Greece. Eleni focuses on constantly following recent developments in the sector, thus maintaining cutting-edge knowledge of the developments and challenges in the Renewable Energy industry.

Given her academic background in physics and mathematics, she has the ability to function seamlessly in a highly technical environment, while maintaining the required business perspective, thus providing a 360^ο approach to complex issues regarding the energy sector.​ And at the same time, she can communicate specific details related to the operation and management of projects, thus approaching a broad range of audiences and​ business partners.

Nikolaos Bakatselos is President & CEO of Pyramis Metallourgia A.E. and Pyramis Deutschland GmbH.

He has served as Member of the Board of Directors and Deputy Managing Director of Northern Greece Publishing S.A. He has also held the position of Managing Director of Imperium AEEX and served as Member of the Board of Directors of Egnatia Bank Securities S.A. Additionally, he was a Member of the Board of Directors of Attica Bank from February 2014 to June 2016.

Nikolaos Bakatselos was a Member of the Steering Committee of the International Hellenic University from 2006 to January 2014. He also served as Member of the Board and President of the Northern Greece Committee of EEDE. He is a Member of the Support Committee of CERTH, Trustee of Anatolia College, Member of the Board of Directors of SVE, Member of the Board of Directors of IOBE, and Honorary Consul of Belgium for Northern Greece.

He has also been a Member of the Board of Directors of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce for many years. In 2010, he was elected Vice President and Chairman of the Northern Greece Committee. He served as President of AmCham Greece from June 2019 to July 2025, during which time he was a founding member of AmChamGR-US in Washington, D.C.

Nikolaos Bakatselos is a Founding Member and Member of the Board of the Council of Competitiveness of Greece.

From October 2019 to February 2022, he served as President of HEDNO, following his election by the General Assembly of the association.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Reading and an MSc in Shipping, Trade and Finance from City University Business School, London.

Current Affiliations:

• Honorary President, French Association for Energy Economics (F-AEE)
• Council Member, International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE)
• Program Director, Paris School of Economics
• Professor, Centrale Supelec, Paris-Saclay University
• Past President, International Association for Energy Economics

Education:

• M.Sc in General Engineering from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers, Paris, France, and MBA in Petroleum Economics and Management from the Center for Economics and Management, IFP School

Former Affiliations:

• President, F-AEE, (2009-2015) ;
• Vice President, Economics & Prospective, ENEDIS (2014-2021) ;
• Vice President, Energy Policy, AREVA, Group.Head of the Economics Department (2000-2012) ;
• NUSYS consulting company, Paris (1998-2000) ;
• Forecasts and Planning Manager, Cogema (1989-1999) ;
• Project-consultant, Shell (1987-1989) ;
• Research Assistant, Economic and Industrial Research Division, University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (1986-1987)

Additional Memberships/Affiliations:

• Awarded the Knighthood of the National Order of Merit.
  Co-Chair, G20 Energy Task Force, energy, water and food nexus

Matthew Bryza is a former White House and senior State Department official, and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Bryza’s 23-year diplomatic career included assignments as Ambassador to Azerbaijan; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Director on the National Security Council Staff at the White House for Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus; US mediator of the Nagorno Karabakh, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Cyprus conflicts; and Deputy Advisor to the President and Secretary of State on Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy. Additionally, as the Cold War was ending, Matthew was a Political Officer in the U.S. Missions to Poland and to Russia.

Based in Istanbul, Matthew is Managing Director of Straife, a U.S. corporate strategy and investment firm, as well as a Partner at Abbert Capital, a Houston-based venture capital fund. He also serves on the Boards of energy companies operating from the Greater Caspian Region to Turkey and Texas.

Additionally, Ambassador Bryza is a Board Member of the Jamestown Foundation, a geopolitical research organization headquartered in Washington, DC. He was previously Director of the International Centre for Defence and Security in Tallinn, Estonia, founding the institute’s cyber security and energy security programs.

Matthew is a frequent commentator in global and regional media outlets including the BBC, CNN International, Al Jazeera, the Financial Times, and Bloomberg.

He is the recipient of Estonia’s Cross of Terra Mariana and Georgia’s Order of St. George.

Ambassador Bryza received his bachelor’s degree in international relations from Stanford University and his master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Professor Pantelis Capros holds the title of Professor Emeritus in Energy Economics and Operations Research within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). Since 1988, he has been engaged in teaching courses related to energy economics, mathematical programming, and economic analysis at NTUA. He is also the founder of the E3MLab, which specialises in modelling the interactions between energy, economy, and environment. Professor Capros has developed several esteemed models, including PRIMES, PRIMES-TREMOVE, Prometheus, and GEM-E3. These models are recognised for their official application in the impact assessment studies conducted by the European Commission and play a pivotal role in supporting the European Commission's Reference Energy and Transport Outlook publications, which have been released biennially since the 1990s. Additionally, these models are employed by various governments and utility organisations for public policy formulation and investment assessments.

Professor Capros possesses an engineering degree from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), in addition to three Master's degrees in the fields of Economics, Computer Science, and Operations Research. He has also attained a Doctorat d'Etat (PhD) in Mathematical Economics from the University of Paris, France. Furthermore, he has authored several scholarly books and has published over 200 papers with prestigious international publishers.

Prof. Capros served as the first Chairman of the Regulatory Authority for Energy in Greece from 2000 to 2005, and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Power Corporation for several years. He held an academic position as a Professor at the University of Paris I Sorbonne until the year 2000. Additionally, he assumed the role of interim Minister of Energy and Environment in Greece from May to June 2023. He is currently serving as the President of E3Modelling SA, which is part of the RICARDO PLC group.

Anne-Sophie Corbeau is a Global Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy. She leads the Center’s research on hydrogen and natural gas. Anne-Sophie has around 25 years of experience in the energy industry, and is a recognized expert on natural gas and hydrogen. She is the author of many publications focusing on gas, LNG markets, hydrogen, Asia, China, India and Africa, including the book “LNG markets in transition: the great reconfiguration”. She is also the co-chair of Gastech's governing body.

Prior to joining the Center, Mrs. Corbeau was head of gas analysis at BP where she was responsible for advising the Leadership Team on gas market developments and long-term pricing assumptions. She served as a member of BP France’s Comex (board). She also worked at KAPSARC, the International Energy Agency and IHS CERA.

She began her career as an engineer working on fuel cells and hydrogen at Peugeot and Debis Systemhaus. Anne-Sophie holds two MSc from the Ecole Centrale Paris and the University of Stuttgart. 

Athanasios Dagoumas is an Associate Professor in Energy and Resource Economics at the University of Piraeus. He holds a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, where he completed his PhD in Energy Economics. He has over 20 years of work and research experience in energy-related issues. He was the President of the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Waste, and Water in Greece. He also worked as a Senior Researcher at the University of Cambridge, as a Member of the Board of the Cambridge Trust for New Thinking in Economics, as a Senior Energy Analyst at the Transmission System Operator, and at the Electricity Market Operator in Greece. Moreover, he was enrolled as a Special Advisor to the Ministry of Environment, Energy, and Climate Change in Greece. His extensive experience enhances his capacity for in-depth understanding of multidisciplinary aspects of the global energy sector: economic, engineering, environmental, and policy. He is keen on developing models for the real energy markets, the energy systems, and the economic-energy-environment (E3) systems.

Prof. Samuel Furfari is a chemical engineer with a PhD in energy from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. After obtaining his doctorate, he worked for 36 years as a senior European official in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, eventually becoming Advisor to the Director-General. Throughout his career, he contributed to the development of nearly all areas of energy policy and technology, including strategy, hydrogen, environment, climate change, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.

From 2003 to 2021, he taught energy policy and geopolitics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, where he is now Professor Emeritus. Currently, he teaches Energy Geopolitics at ESCP London Business School and is an honorary professor at the Polytechnic School of the University of Madrid.

He is a member of the World Federation of Scientists’ Permanent Monitoring Panel on Energy and served as President of the European Society of Engineers and Industrialists from 2019 to 2022. He is the author of more than 20 books. His most recent works are "Energy Insecurity: The Organised Destruction of the EU’s Competitiveness" , "The Truth About COPs: Thirty Years of Illusions" and "Azerbaïdjan. Géopolitique de l’énergie d’une Eurasie en mutation.

Dr. Panagiotis Grammelis is Director of Research at the Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute of CERTH (CERTH/CPERI). He has 25 years of experience in energy production and environmental issues, specializing in the utilization of alternative fuels and low carbon energy technologies. He is leading the Laboratory of Environmental and Energy Transition Technologies and has been the scientific responsible in 178 research projects with a total budget of 64 million euros, funded by the European Commission, the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (GSRI), Regional Authorities and international industries. He manages the erection and operation of the first H2 technology part in Ptolemais – Western Macedonia, funded by the Greek Just Transition Fund. He participates in the coordination committee of ETIP-Bioenergy, the Biomass Panel of the RHC-ETP Platform (Chairman) and the Committees of the GSRI for the Environment and Decarbonisation. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the international journals IJER, IJGW & Energies Journal / Fuels and the scientific committees of international conferences (GCGW, EUBCE, WSED). He is co-author in 438 papers in scientific journals, international conferences, workshops and books, with 5714 citations and h-Index 42 according to Scopus.

Mr. Christos Iliopoulos is Chief Structured Finance Officer at CrediaBank. He is a banking professional with more than 18 years of experience, specializing in financing large-scale energy and infrastructure projects as well as SMEs across diverse sectors.

He has served as Senior Director at Piraeus Bank, managing high-value portfolios and leading teams in structuring complex financing transactions and development initiatives. He brings strong expertise in credit risk analysis, transaction structuring and project sustainability assessment, with a focus on delivering socio-economic impact.

He holds an MSc in International Banking and Finance from the University of Reading.

Professor Dr. Emmanouil Kakaras is Senior Advisor at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries EMEA. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President, GX Solutions. Prior to this, he led the MHI EMEA Dusseldorf branch and held the role of Senior Vice President for New Products and Energy Solutions at Mitsubishi Power Europe. His R&D focuses on flexible operation of thermal plants, fuel cells, electrolyzers, and large-scale energy storage. Since 1991, he has been a Professor at the National Technical University of Athens and lectures at the University of Duisburg-Essen. He participates in various European Commission working groups and advisory committees.

Ioannis Kaltsas holds a Ph.D. in Economics and an MSc in Applied Economics from Virginia Tech (USA),
an MA in Industrial Economics from the University of East Anglia (UK) as well as a bachelor’s degree in
Agricultural Science from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece).
He is Head of the Investment Team for Greece & Cyprus at the European Investment Bank (ΕΙΒ). Prior
to that, he worked in various managerial positions within the EIB and as a Senior Advisor to the EIB’s
Management Committee, as well as an expert for the evaluation of industrial and agricultural projects
financed by the Bank. Before joining the EIB, he worked as an Economist in a UN Commodity Board
and the World Bank, as well as an engineer in the champagne industry in France. His academic
publications include papers in urban land values, futures markets as well as technical efficiency. He
speaks fluently Greek, English, French and Spanish.

George Kremlis is the Chairman of the Greek Initiative at UN level on protecting cultural and natural heritage from climate change impacts. He is a member of the Board of the European Public Law Organisation and the Director of its climate and circular economy Institute. He is as well the Ambassador of the EPLO to Bulgaria. He was until 2023 a member of the environmental and social advisory council of the EBRD and is also currently the Chair of the Bureau of the Espoo Convention and of the SEA Protocol, Chair of the MoPs in 2019,  elected Chair for the MoPs in December 2020 and re-elected Chair for the period 2021-2023 and the period up to 2027. He is the Chairman of the AmCham circular economy committee. George Kremlis is Honorary Director of the European Commission, where he has spent the major part of his career as Advisor in the Legal Service and Head of various legal and policy Units in DGENV. 

He was until 2023 special Advisor to the Greek Prime Minister on energy, climate, environment and circular economy issues. He is doctor honoris causa of the Varna Free University, member of the Advisory Board of the Balkan Economic Forum, and the founder and president of the Circular Gaia Symposium. 

Gürkan Kumbaroğlu holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Türkiye. He is Professor of Industrial Engineering and Director of the Energy Policy Research Center at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Türkiye. He is President of the Turkish Association for Energy Economics, Eurasian Leader and Past President of the International Association for Energy Economics IAEE.

Dr. Kumbaroğlu worked as a post-doc researcher at the Center for Energy Policy and Economics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich during 07/2001–09/2002. He continued his post-doc in the United States at UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory during 10/2002–12/2002. He joined Boğaziçi University as assistant professor in January 2003, became associate professor in 2006 and full professor in 2013. He was vice rector of Boğaziçi University during 02/2021-09/2025.

Professor Kumbaroğlu held visiting positions at RWTH Aachen University, Germany; the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing; the University of Campinas, Brazil; the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria; China University of Geosciences, Beijing; Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus and George Washington University, USA.

Professor Kumbaroğlu is Advisory Board member of the Helleniq Energy Center for Sustainability and Energy at Alba Graduate Business School. He is Editorial Board member of The Energy Journal, IAEE’s flagship publication. He was awarded the Energy Oscar Award for Scientific Contribution to Energy Markets at the 17th ICCI Conference in 2011. He has received the Senior International Scientist Award from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2012.

Personal Information:
Mechanical Engineer with many years of experience in project management, mainly in the production and
supply chain sectors.

Career:
Mrs. Paliarouta has served as head of the design, development, and implementation of projects within a
Strategic Portfolio of 11 pillars in one of the country’s largest industries, developing expertise in Negotiation,
Change, Team, and Resource Management. She has also worked as Operations Manager at Amazon UK
distribution centers.
Combining her professional experience with her passion for entrepreneurship, she founded her own
business in the medical sector.
Mrs. Paliarouta has served as a project manager in the design, development and implementation of an 11
pillar Strategic Portfolio in one of the largest Industries in the country, developing skills in Negotiation,
Change Management, Teams and Resources. Combining her work experience and her love for
"entrepreneurship", she started her own business, which operates in the Medical sector.
She previously held the position of Secretary General for Transport at the Ministry of Infrastructure and
Transport, overseeing, among other areas, urban transport, electromobility, road safety, transport
interconnectivity, and sustainable and safe mobility.
Effective July 2025, she assumed the position of Secretary General for Energy and Mineral Resources at
the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

Education:
Mrs. Paliarouta completed her studies at the National Technical University of Athens in 2011. She holds a
Master's degree from Imperial College London as well as an MBA from the Athens University of Economics.

Other:

• Languages: Greek, English
• She is married and has two children

Apostolos Panos is Chief Commercial Officer in Principia since March 2024. His previous role was Head of Energy Management in Enel Green Power Hellas. Also held various positions as an engineer in the O&M Department of the company.

Recently, he was elected President of the Hellenic Association of Energy Storage Systems (H.A.E.S.S.).

He is a graduate of the Department of Electrical Engineering of the University of Patras and holds a Master's Degree entitled "Energy: Strategy, Law & Economics" of the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Piraeus.

Papastamatiou Panagiotis holds Diploma in Electrical Engineering from NTU of Athens with PhD in
Operational Research and Energy Policy & Planning and postgraduate lessons in Economics and
Management in Athens University of Economics and Business. Since 1995 he has been active in the
wind energy sector and the rest Renewable energy Sources in Greece and abroad.
He is Chief Executive Officer of the Hellenic Wind Energy Association, ELETAEN, an elected member of
the Board of Directors of the Greek Association of RES Electricity Producers, GAREP, and elected
member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Electricity Association, H.EL.AS.
P. Papastamatiou is also Director of ENTEKA Group. He directs the development and financial sectors
of the Group, which since 1984 deals almost exclusively with wind energy projects, development,
ownership and operation of wind farms.

Thalia Valkouma with more than two decades of experience in the infrastructure & renewable energy sector, is a passionate and experienced leader who combines environmental engineering, project and strategic management, sustainability and ESG expertise.

Running a PhD in Environmental Engineering Technology, she also holds an MBA in Business and Project Management, a Master’s in Science (MSc) in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development, a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Biology. She has been trained in the College of Europe on EU energy policy and Governance, Goals and Challenges of the EU Energy Market. She has several certifications in energy, sustainability, management, quality assurance and ESG & CSR.

She has worked for several years as Environmental Project Manager and Strategic Planning Director in the private and public sector and has also acted as advisor and consultant of the Greek Government/Ministries and other international bodies on environment, energy and sustainability. She has delivered various presentations and speeches in different international conferences, forums and trainings.

Since 2016 she is co-founder and owner of Faria Group and Faria Thess S.A, companies focused on investment, development, construction and operation of renewable energy projects.

As President and CEO of FARIA Renewables S.A. since March 2023, she leads a joint corporate formation between FARIA Group and Capenergie 5 Fund managed by OMNES Capital, with the vision to create a leading independent power producer using renewable energy sources [offshore & onshore wind, photovoltaics, hybrid & storage projects, green hydrogen, and innovative solutions] and with the mission to drive green innovation and sustainability, foster strategic partnerships and collaborations, and deliver high-quality and impactful results for stakeholders, partners, and the environment.

Dr Petros Varelidis is Secretary General Natural Environment and Waters in the Ministry of
Environment and Energy since February 2022.
He has studied Chemical Engineering in the National Technical University of Athens and has
a PhD on composite materials and recycling.
He has also graduated from the department of business administration of the Athens
University of Economics and Business.
Since 2009, he has served as a policy advisor of the political leadership in the ministry of
Environment.
Since December of 2019, is representing Greece on the Bureau of the European Environment
Agency.
From 2016 to 2021 he held the position of Director of the Organisation of Natural Environment
and Climate Change (formerly named National Centre for Environment and Sustainable
Development).
During 2005-2009 and 2013-2015 he served as an environment attache in the Permanent
representation of Greece in the ΕU.
From 2012 to 2013, during the preparation of and the presidency of Cyprus of Council of the
EU, he served as environment attache in the Permanent representation of Cyprus in EU.

Professor Dr. Kostas Andriosopoulos is the Academic Director of the HELLENiQ Energy Center for Sustainability and Energy at ALBA Graduate Business School, The American College of Greece, and an Affiliate Professor of Finance and Energy Management. He previously held academic positions at Audencia Business School (France) as a Full Professor and Founding Director of the Energy Transition & Sustainability Center, as well as at ESCP Business School, where he served as Academic Director of the energy management program.

He has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals such as Energy Economics, the Journal of Banking and Finance, and Energy Policy, and he is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Energy Markets. Kostas chairs the Energy Committee of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and serves on the boards of the Global Gas Center (World Energy Council) and the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics (HAEE), which he founded. He has organized major international energy fora, including the flagship Energy Transition Symposium in Greece and the Southeast Europe Energy Forum.

He has served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of DEPA (2014–2015, 2019–2021), Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Environment & Energy, and Head of the Decarbonization Fund for the Greek Islands. He contributed to shaping national e-mobility legislation and represented Greece in climate diplomacy at COP28 and COP29.

In the business sector, he is the CEO of Akuo Energy in Greece (recently acquired by Ardian) and the Co-founder & CEO of Deeprunner.ai, an artificial intelligence solutions company headquartered in Silicon Valley.

He studied Physics in the Physics School of the University of Athens.

He has worked in newspapers, magazines and television, while also being chief editor of the newspaper "Ependytis".
Today he is the director of the specialized portal www.energypress.gr, while also supervising and presenting the weekly television show "Plug in to Green" for OPEN.

Apart from his work as a journalist, he has run several communication campaigns, organized more than 15 conferences, edited economic book publications and he has taken part in tens of business missions in Greece and abroad.

Spiros is a Professor at the School of Production Engineering and Management at the Technical University of Crete and Director of the Laboratory of Industrial, Energy and Environmental Systems. He is also an Affiliate Professor at ESCP Business School, London.

He specializes in Renewable Energy Sources, energy efficiency, and energy-saving applications. His research interests include various aspects of Renewable Energy Sources (assessment and advanced applications of technologies, particularly photovoltaic and solar thermal systems; implementation of national policies related to Renewable Energy Sources; heating and cooling applications using Renewable Energy Sources; Life Cycle Assessment and environmental impact analysis of large-scale technologies), sustainability and circular economy, energy-saving systems, smart materials technologies for energy-related applications, and energy performance of building components.

As part of his academic work, he has published more than 70 papers in peer-reviewed international journals and has been cited more than 3,500 times, with a current h-index of 35. In addition, he has actively participated in more than 60 research projects. He has presented papers at numerous international energy conferences and has served as a reviewer for international journals in the fields of Renewable Energy Sources, Energy Efficiency, and Energy Policy. He has also been a member of various professional and academic associations, including the International Association for Energy Economics and the International Solar Energy Society. Furthermore, he has delivered lectures and supervised postgraduate theses at various academic institutions, including ESCP London, EADA Spain, and Montpellier Business School.

Spiros is the President of the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics and has been ranked among the top 2% of scientists worldwide for 2022–2025 in the field of Energy, according to the “World’s Top 2% Scientists” ranking published by Stanford University.

Dimitrios Pefanis is the Manager of CNN Greece, folowing a media career that spans over 25 years in Greece and the United States. He studied Communication and Mass Media at Panteion University and obtained his Master’s Degree in New Media Journalism from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. He has worked as a journalist in Greece and the United States, covering the fields of technology, finance and new media and for the last 15 years he holds administrative positions in Greece’s largest news-sites. In 2012 he received Citigroup’s Journalistic Excellence Award and for the last 15 years has been teaching Digital Marketing.

I have been working as a journalist since 1995, covering financial and economic issues, the energy market, as well as strategic and private investments. In the course of my career, I have worked for the «TA NEA» newspaper, then as a director at Liberal.gr and I currently work for Euro2day.gr  and Energypress.gr covering the energy sector and its geopolitical impact. I am a graduate of La Sapienza University School of Architecture, I speak English, and Italian. I am married and father of two children.