2nd Cyprus Blockchain Summit

Director Communications, Innovation & Digital

Democratic Rally and Vice President Research & Innovation Foundation

Stavriana Kofteros is the Director of Communication, Innovation & Digital at the Democratic Rally, Vice President of the Board of the national Research & Innovation Foundation, a member of the Investment Committee High Level Expert Jury of the European Innovation Council and an angel investor and Deal Leader. Stavriana is known and highly connected in the international startup ecosystem; she is Cofounder and Chair of Startup Cyprus, a member of the European Digital Leaders Network of the World Economic Forum, and member of the Innovation Advisory Board of the Biosense Institute in Serbia. She is Cofounder of the European Startup Network and has served as Vice President. Her professional experience is in technology, telecoms, innovation and startups and has been in acceleration and startup support for nearly two decades.

Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, retraced, Cyprus

Peter Merkert is one of top 400 blockchain experts in europe. He is an engineer by heart and a true magician when it comes to bridging the gap between tech and real world. He breathes blockchain since 2016 and was part of the development of the most wide spread Cryptocurrency Payment Terminal in Europe. Since beginning 2019, he co-founded a company for a blockchain based platform to connect fashion companies to track sustainability and source responsible. With this expertise, he knows exactly where blockchain is useful - and where it is not!

Creative Director, Harmony Protocol, Netherlands

Robin Schmidt spent twenty years as a commercials director working for brands as diverse as Shell, Oakley, Philips, Monocle and Mini. Honing his skills as a storyteller and all-round creative he has also worked extensively in film and television in the service of entertainment. This background set him up perfectly for a pivot into the world of blockchain where storytelling is an integral part of community building and product awareness. Since joining Harmony he has worked on building an audience through videos and looking for ways to articulate the complex socio-economic principles behind blockchain

Founder and Principal, Logos Global Advisors, Member of EU Blockchain Observatory & Forum, Advisor to IFC/World Bank Group, France

Marina Niforos has 25+ years C-Suite experience in strategy, policy and emerging technologies in the public and private sectors. She advised the International Finance Corporation on disruptive technologies and is lead author of the report Blockchain: Opportunities for Private Enterprises in Emerging Markets. She is a member of the EU Blockchain Observatory and serves on a number of boards, (Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations, Sechè Environnement, European Network of Women in Leadership). In the past, she was the CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in France, Executive Director for the Diversity Center at INSEAD, held senior posts in the Pechiney Group in corporate strategy and served with the World Bank Group in Latin America. Ms Niforos earned an MBA from INSEAD, a Masters from the University of Pennsylvania and from SAIS-Johns Hopkins University. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University.

Head of Operations, Government Blockchain Association, UK

Priya Guliani is a computer science engineer by background and did a leadership course from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a blockchain strategy course from Oxford University. She has over 10+ years of IT consulting experience working with multiple teams across the US, India, and the UK in various domains i.e. supply chain, manufacturing, etc. Priya is passionate about inclusion, sustainability, and climate impact and is working towards fostering sustainable aquaculture practices. She is a technology entrepreneur and heads Operations in the UK for Government Blockchain Association (GBA), a global non-profit organization that brings together governments around the world facilitating efficient, ethical & rational adoption of blockchain technology for powerful and meaningful innovations.

Product Owner DLT Mobility, Robert Bosch Group, Germany

Peter Busch works in Strategic Mobility Technology of Bosch. He is working on the future Connectivity strategies for the Mobility Business Units of the Bosch Group and as consultant for the Executive Board. He has 25+ years of experience in international project management, coaching and training in SW/HW development. He received his degree in computer science and business administration from the University of Mannheim and worked for his own SW Startup, JP Morgan, Sun Microsystems and the BOSCH Group. His current interests are all IoT technologies (i.e. Distributed Ledger Technologies) and their respective business models.

Group Chief Operating Officer, CFI Financial Group, UAE & Founding Member & Secretary, Cyprus Blockchain Association, Cyprus

Dr Demetrios Zamboglou is a top-level fintech and financial services manager with an extensive background in leading enterprises and a focused expertise in FX, digital assets and banking. An alumnus of the Cambridge Advance Leadership Management program, Dr Zamboglou has been recognised as a leader by Google, the European Union and the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

Ecosystem Manager, VeChain, Cyprus

Dimitrios Neocleous graduated from the University of Nicosia with a Bachelor’s degree in Law. Dimitrios has a strong background in legal consulting, mergers and acquisitions, corporate and commercial law, and he also provided legal and compliance advices to blockchain companies in Europe. Dimitrios joined VeChain in January 2019, and he facilitates the adoption of VeChain enterprise solutions in Europe and supplements his legal expertise in VeChain’s collaborations.

Partner, Emilianides Katsaros and Dean of School of Law, University of Nicosia

Achilles C. Emilianides is a Professor of Law, Dean of the School of Law at the University of Nicosia, and a practicing advocate with Emilianides, Katsaros. He has been elected as a Founding Member, and first Secretary-General, of the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts, as an Ordinary Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and as a member of ALLEA. He holds an LLB, LLM and PhD in Law from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and an LLM from Leicester University. He has handled high-profile litigation, has been co-ordinator in several funded projects and is a member of the BoD of various academic organisations. He is also Chair of the Royal Commonwealth Society Cyprus Branch and a member of the ad-hoc committee for the introduction of a blockchain regulatory framework in the Republic of Cyprus.

Head of Unit, Digital Innovation and Blockchain, European Commission, Belgium

Pēteris Zilgalvis is the Head of Unit for Digital Innovation and Blockchain in the Digital Single Market Directorate in DG CONNECT and is the Co-Chair of the European Commission FinTech Task Force. He was the Visiting EU Fellow at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford for 2013-14, where was an Associate of the Political Economy of Financial Markets Programme. From 1997 to 2005, he was Deputy Head of the Bioethics Department of the Council of Europe, in its Directorate General of Legal Affairs. In addition, he has held various positions in the Latvian civil service (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Environment). He was Senior Environmental Law Advisor to the World Bank/Russian Federation Environmental Management Project and was Regional Environmental Specialist or the Baltic Countries at the World Bank. He has been a member of the California State Bar since 1991, completed his J.D. at the University of Southern California, his B.A. in Political Science Cum Laude at UCLA, the High Potentials Leadership Program at Harvard Business School, and Computer Science for Lawyers at Harvard Law School. A recent publication of his is “The Need for an Innovation Principle in Regulatory Impact Assessment: The Case of Finance and Innovation in Europe” in Policy & Internet. An upcoming publication is “The Law and Political Economy of Decentralised Digital Ecosystems.

The Cyprus Blockchain Technologies (CBT) Ltd. is a non-profit organisation established as a collaboration among academic institutions, local regulators, financial institutions and other technology associations and companies. The basic aim to conduct cutting-edge research in the fields of Blockchain and Distributed Applications as well as organise transfer of knowledge sessions, roundtable discussions and executive education seminars on Blockchain/DTLs. Our Members are: UCL CBT, CIIM, University of Nicosia, Bank of Cyprus, Hellenic Bank, JCC Payment Systems, KPMG Cyprus, Grant Thornton, EY Cyprus, Kinanis Law Firm, KMG CAPITAL MARKETS, PumaPay, Oracle Cyprus and many others.

Established in 2018, the Cyprus Blockchain Association (CBA) is a non-profit organisation that promotes blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, as well as a wide range of use cases in the public and private sectors in Cyprus. The Association works closely with policymakers, regulators, innovation teams, industry leaders, organisations and individuals to promote research, innovation and development around blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, and secure Cyprus as a blockchain hub. The CBA participates in EU and international bodies and is a founding member of the European Blocktech Federation (www.EBTF.eu) of 13 European Associations from 18 countries, and maintains a valuable networks with more than 23 countries globally, incubators, accelerators, blockchain startups and projects, international companies, investors, funds and venture capital. Members of the association participate as national delegates in international organisations (ISO, ITU), actively do research and publications, are evaluators in academic journals and generate trainings for professionals and regulators. Cyprus Blockchain Association aims to be the unified voice of the island's blockchain industry.

The Cyprus Computer Society (CCS) is the ICT professional association of Cyprus. It is a not-for-profit private association which represents the ICT professionals in Cyprus. Established in 1984 and government by a 7-member Board, the CCS has around 1200 members and is active in the areas of professional training, research and development, European projects/collaborations and ICT skills certification (National Licensee of the ECDL in Cyprus).

GOLD magazine was founded in 2011 as the first English-language business monthly in Cyprus. Today, it is not only synonymous with the promotion of good business practices but it has a unique and valuable readership of High-Net-Worth Individuals, international company executives, English-speaking Cypriot and non-Cypriot businessmen and women. GOLD provides a comprehensive and informed overview of the local business scene, the economy and the market and has gained a reputation for its in-depth articles and revealing interviews with key local and international personalities. www.goldnews.com.cy

IN Business magazine has a monthly readership of over 89,000. It is the only monthly business magazine in Cyprus that provides a comprehensive overview of all segments of the economy, from retail to services, as well as reporting on new deals, presenting new faces and, generally, looking at everything that’s happening on the local business scene. IN Business has always been a pioneer in local business journalism, thanks to its in-depth analysis and research, often backed by previously unpublished facts and figures. www.inbusinessnews.com