Investopia Global Mediterannean

George Papanastasiou was appointed Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry on March 1st 2023. He is a mechanical engineer by profession, with an HND in Mechanical Engineering from the Higher Technical Institute of Cyprus, a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from City University London and an MSc in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning from Kings College London. He worked for 26 years at BP in Cyprus, the United Kingdom and other European countries, having held various managerial positions within the company, including Cyprus’ Head of Country. From 1st of October 2011 and until his appointment as Energy Minister, he was Managing Director and General Manager of VTT Vasiliko Ltd (VTTV), a subsidiary of Netherlands based VTTI B.V. Inter alia, during his tenure at VTTV he led a versatile team of professionals tasked with constructing and operating the oil storage terminal of the company at Vasilikos area. Over the course of his career, he has accumulated extensive experience in the oil and gas industry, specifically in the fields of Supply and Logistics, Health, Safety and Environment, Operations and Engineering, Sales and Marketing, Company Governance and Compliance.He has served as President of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Organisation for Standardisation (CYS) and the Cyprus Certification Company, President of the Cyprus – Netherlands Business Association operating under the auspices of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation. Mr. Papanastasiou was born in Nicosia on September 10th 1961. He is married to Glykeria Michailidou, they have a son, Ignatius, and reside in Nicosia.

Stavros Stavrou was born in Alambra (1959) and studied at The English School Nicosia and was subsequently awarded a First Class Honors Degree from Middlesex Polytechnic (London) (BA Accounting and Finance with Hons). Mr. Stavrou is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors of UK. He is also a holder of Diploma for Non-Executive Directors. He served in a number of operational positions including that of Group CFO from 1993-2003 and Managing Director from 2003-2008 in a multinational organization in the Oil and Gas industry. He served as a Member of The Board of Trustees of the International School of Monaco from 1998-2003. He served and/or continues to serve as Non-Executive Independent Director in a number of Boards in various industries including Banking, Insurance, Reinsurance, Mining, Software Development, Property Development, Construction, Shipping and others. He is currently the President of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

With extensive business experience in the hotel industry, Thanos Michaelides has been the owner and CEO of THANOS HOTELS And RESORTS Group since 1993. The group includes the internationally acclaimed five-star resorts Anassa, Annabelle, Almyra, Amyth Super Paradise, and Amyth Agios Stefanos Mykonos, as well as the Antasia Beach Club. Additionally, he is the owner and director of the branded fashion retail company KULT. He was the founder and CEO of the high-end travel services organisation The Mediterranean Experience Ltd, based in London. Since 2017, he has served as Chairman of the Paphos Regional Committee of Cyprus Hotel Association (CHA) and, since 2023, as Chairman of CHA. He holds an M.B.A. from the London Business School And Graduated With Honours From Brandeis University In The USA.

Dr. Waddah S. Ghanem Al Hashmi is a highly accomplished environmental engineer with over 28 years of experience in consulting and the energy industry, holding senior technical and executive roles. With dual master's degrees in science and business administration, he is a certified director and serves on multiple international boards. His research and professional focus have been on governance, leadership, and high-reliability organizations. He has chaired the Energy Institute in the Middle East since 2018 and currently serves as the Senior Director of Logistics and Marine Assurance at Emirates National Oil Company. Additionally, he is Vice Chair of the Oil Companies International Marine Forum and a board member of the Emirates Shipping Association, where he also leads the Sustainability and Leadership Committee. A prolific author with more than 12 international publications, including works with Routledge and Harvard Business Review Arabia, Dr. Waddah is also active in academia as visiting faculty and advisor at several universities across the UAE, Malaysia, and India.

Mark O'Neil is the President and CEO of Columbia Group. Previously an English Army Officer and then a maritime lawyer by profession, as a Partner with Stephenson Harwood LLP and Reed Smith LLP for 17 years, Mark headed up international law firm Reed Smith LLP's German Shipping Team, and also co-lead the firm's Offshore Department. His clients included Ship Owners, Charterers, Insurers, Management Companies, Banks, Oil Companies and Offshore Contractors worldwide with a particular focus on the German, Scandinavian, Greek, Dutch, South American and Cypriot markets. He therefore has an in-depth knowledge of the shipping, ship management, banking and offshore sectors. Mark chairs and/or speaks at numerous maritime and banking conferences and seminars worldwide.  He is a passionate advocate of performance optimisation, digitalisation, crew training and the Human Element within the shipping and ship management industry and regularly speaks on these matters. Mark was elected as President of InterManager from 2020 to 2024, and is also CEO of Schoeller Holdings.

Demetris Skourides is the Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation, and Technology of the Republic of Cyprus and Chairman of the National AI Taskforce. He holds a BSc in Computer Science from Arizona State University and an MBA from Henley Management College. Additionally, he has been trained in digital transformation, AI, data monetization, and sales through programs at Columbia, Stanford, MIT, and Harvard. With a career spanning Oracle and Amazon Web Services, he has held executive roles across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. At Oracle, where he worked since 2006, he played a key role in driving cloud and ISV solutions transformation. He later joined AWS as Industry Strategist for EMEA, focusing on financial services, retail, manufacturing, and energy. Demetris Skourides spearheaded the establishment of Cloud Partner Centres of Excellence in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, South Korea, Kenya, and South Africa, enabling innovation and new revenue streams. He also chairs the Board of Directors of the Research and Innovation Foundation (ex officio).

Kostas Koumis holds a degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Media and Communication. He is an experienced professional with 20 years of experience in different industries such as tourism, real estate, education, as well as the public sector. Serving these positions, he acquired extensive knowledge of the country’s public sector processes, including broad skills in national and regional development management. Also, he acquired skills in managing and/or coordinating teams of specialists of different industries. He served as the Vice Chairman of the Cyprus Tourism Organization during the period of 2014 - 2018 and as the Vice Chairman of the Cyprus Telecommunication Authority (CYTA) and President of the Audit Committee of CYTA between January 2019 to December 2020. He also worked as a visiting lecturer at University of Central Lancashire (UCLan Cyprus). From September 2020 until June 2021, he was the editor and presenter of a podcast program dedicated to the Tourism Sector. From July 2021 until February 2023, he was a member of the Public Service Commission.

Andreas Anastasiou is a Partner in the Strategy and Transactions team at EY Cyprus. With a professional experience of more than 20 years, Andreas has delivered a wealth of high-profile advisory services to both private clients and public institutions. He is particularly focused on the sectors of Government & Infrastructure, Real Estate, and Tourism & Hospitality. Andreas advised among others Ministries and other clients on lead advisory and M&As, due diligence exercises, feasibility and market studies, business plan preparations and independent business reviews for capital raising or investment appraisal purposes.

Ali Shehab is a maritime professional actively serving the maritime industry since the past 39years. He is an ex seagoing Marine Chief Engineer (UK) who started his carrier in the 1985 at South Tyneside College (UK) as marine engineer with Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, the National Maritime Transportation arm of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), and to become the company Acting CEO in 2018 and after 32 years of service. During the period, he served in various managerial positions of the Company, including 7+ years as Deputy Chief Executive Officer Fleet Operations where he oversaw KOTC’s Oil Tanker Fleet Operations, Marine Agency, and the main Gas Filling Branches that supply domestic and industrial LPG to the State of Kuwait. In Feb 2021, he completed almost 36 years of service with Kuwait oil Tanker Company, after which he retired from that position and the company.  Presently, he is the DNV Global Director of Special Projects & Services - Maritime, where his role to streamline the regional and global ongoing projects and services, as well as, development of market share and strengthen the position of DNV in the Maritime and Oil & Gas Industries. He is also Member of the Board of Trustees of Abu Dhabi Maritime Academy and Member of Industry Advisory Board for the Marine Engineering Technology Programme at Sharjah Maritime Academy, he is also an Independent Director on the Montfort Maritime Capital Board of Directors, and ISWAN  Ambassador - Gulf Region.

Invest Cyprus (Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency) is the investment promotion agency of the Government of Cyprus, dedicated to attract and facilitate foreign direct investment into the country. In close collaboration with all governmental authorities and public institutions, as well as the private sector and international experts, Invest Cyprus is the country’s lead agent in establishing Cyprus as a world class investment destination. Invest Cyprus’ mandate, is to raise awareness of Cyprus as a location certainty around all aspects of operating a business in Cyprus and supporting potential investors in developing their business case for investment into the country.

The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a private corporate body functioning under special law and is financially independent, free of any influence by the state. The Chamber is funded by its members’ subscription fees and through income generated from a number of services it provides. The CCCI is the union of Cypriot business people, the interests of whom it promotes by submitting to the government and the Parliament the members’ positions on matters in which they are involved, while, through its participation in tripartite bodies and committees, it conveys and promotes the views of the business community.

Altia, the fastest-growing real estate company in Cyprus, manages a diverse portfolio of more than 1,500 properties, offering a wide range of residential, agricultural, and commercial real estate options.The company consists of 70+ industry experts with extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of Cyprus’s real estate market. Altia’s team facilitates the entire transaction process, from property identification to final sale; including all the procedural and legal tasks that form part of the process. More info at com.cy

Since 2006, EnergyIntel has advanced the renewable energy sector, delivering innovative solutions for residential, commercial, and electric mobility. The company invests in large-scale photovoltaic and solar thermal parks, reinforcing its commitment to sustainability. At the heart of EnergyIntel is its Research & Development department, which pioneered Electron247, a groundbreaking energy storage solution. With 94 patents, the team drives innovation in thermal storage and energy conversion technologies, providing expert guidance.EnergyIntel’s mission is to accelerate the shift from fossil fuels, shaping a sustainable future for generations to come.

EY Cyprus, with over 90 years of practice, has been a trusted business advisor and auditor to a broad range of clients, from private individuals and entrepreneurial businesses to major public companies and large multinationals. We are part of EY EMEIA area, the largest multicounty region in the global EY organization. Cyprus is one of the 29 countries that comprise the Central, Eastern and South-eastern Europe, and Central Asia (CESA) region. In this Transformative Age, EY teams have to stay ahead of new trends. We need to help maintain and improve the quality through our four service lines (Assurance, Tax and Legal, Consulting and Strategy and Transactions), while making greater use of emerging technologies and different skills to create new and innovative offerings. Our industry specializations in Cyprus cover banking and capital markets, insurance, government and public sector, technology, shipping, telecommunications, consumer products and retail, automotive and transportation, hospitality, real estate, asset management, oil and gas, and power and utilities.

IMH is a leading Corporate Events, Media, Business Intelligence and Networking organisation with a large annual agenda of over 300 conferences, business forums, exhibitions, investment summits, client events and business awards ceremonies. Organised by IMH in Cyprus and abroad, these are considered to be Cyprus’ largest business and professional networking platforms. Our Business Media Department publishes Cyprus’ two most popular monthly business magazines– IN Business and GOLD –and two digital media platforms, IN Business News and CBN (Cyprus Business News) with their Daily Newsletters providing executives with news and updates on the local business and economic landscape, in Greek and English respectively. Our Consumer Media Department operates REPORTER, one of the country's most popular news portals, as well as SUPER FM, Cyprus’ Number 1 Greek music radio station. IMH also participates in Cyprus Government, EU and other international organisations’ projects and programmes www.imhbusiness.com

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