Judges
Our judges bring real-world experience to the table, from executives and entrepreneurs to researchers and industry leaders. They’re here not just to evaluate, but to challenge teams to think bigger, build better, and push their solutions further.
Alexandros Georgakakis
Director of Operations
Alexandros Georgakakis is the Director of Operations at Kathimerini Group
and a seasoned professional with extensive experience in operations and technology management. He has held key roles, including Director of Operations at Sleed S.A. and Chief Technology Officer at DPG Group, leading innovative projects across various industries. Alex specializes in utilizing advanced technologies, such as AI-driven systems and collaborative tools, to streamline processes and enhance decision-making. Passionate about driving impactful results, he actively mentors and collaborates on initiatives that merge technology with business strategy.
Andreas Petropoulos
CEO
Andreas is the CEO of iKnowHealth, steering the company toward
becoming a global player in healthtech. With over 20 years of experience scaling technology businesses, Andreas has held leadership roles in high-growth companies across diverse tech sectors. As COO of Upstream, he helped scale a MarTech business with operations spanning 45 countries. He then served as COO of Softomotive, a leader in Robotic Process Automation, which was later acquired by Microsoft. Subsequently, he led Convert Group as CEO, expanding the RetailTech company into 13 countries. Guided by the words of Nelson Mandela, “It always seems impossible until it’s done,” Andreas approaches challenges with determination and a results-driven mindset. Outside of work, Andreas enjoys traveling and spending quality time with his wife and two daughters, who continually inspire his drive for innovation. He holds a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, an MSc in Mobile and Satellite Communications, and an MBA.
Demetris Iakovides
Partner, Brain Gain Fund
Demetris is an active investor in the Greek tech ecosystem,
ex-Principal at Big Pi Ventures and angel investor. His background is in finance and strategy at Deloitte Greece, PwC UK, and Genesis Pharma. He is very passionate about early-stage, high-tech ventures. He holds degrees in Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology (UCL, Imperial), Social Sciences (LSE), and Management (Grenoble EM).
Dimitra Spathoula
Senior Innovation Consultant
Dimitra Spathoula is a business transformation and growth professional with
extensive experience in the banking and financial services sector, spanning both commercial and innovation-driven roles. She currently serves as a Senior Innovation Consultant at Eurobank Greece, where she focuses on innovation strategy, digital transformation, financial technology, and the development of new products and services. She leads and contributes to the design and delivery of innovation initiatives and pilot projects, collaborating with startups, technology providers, and R&D centers. Her work includes the evaluation and implementation of emerging technologies, with a strong focus on Artificial Intelligence and on translating innovation into measurable business value. In parallel, she acts as an Operational Risk Partner, supporting the alignment of innovation and AI solutions with operational risk management and regulatory compliance frameworks. Beyond her corporate responsibilities, Dimitra is actively involved as a mentor and judge in hackathons, accelerators, innovation programs, and is an engaged member of innovation communities and entrepreneurial ecosystems. She holds academic qualifications in Educational Psychology and Business Administration, along with executive education in Corporate Entrepreneurship, FinTech & Digital Transformation, Services Globalization and Innovation Management.
Dimitris Kollias
Technology Senior Director
Technology and Digital Transformation Executive with 15+ years of leadership
experience driving digital transformation across diverse industries including Real Estate, Heavy Industry, FMCG, Shipping, and Retail. A trusted advisor, with a strategic mindset and proven ability to align Tech investments with core business goals. Currently serving as Senior Director of Technology at LAMDA Development, leading technology strategy and innovation for The Ellinikon — Europe’s largest urban development project, LAMDA Malls, LAMDA Marins and LAMDA Development Corporate. Known for building and mentoring high-performance teams, managing complex programs, and delivering scalable, secure, and smart technology ecosystems.
Elias Manousos
Managing Director
Elias brings 27+ years of experience in marketing research and
insights-based consulting. He has been with Kantar for over 17 years, while being in his current role as Managing Director since 2019. He leads a talented team of experts and helps companies develop the marketing and customer strategies that shape their future. Elias is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) by CXPA and is passionate about helping organizations and brands to becoming more customer centric. He holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics (University of Patras, Greece) and an M.Sc. in Management Science & Operational Research (Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, UK).
George Daglas
EVP & Chief of Strategy
George Daglas has more than 20 years of professional experience
in the domains of CyberSecurity Operations Management and Governance and has been leading a multitude of large scale multidisciplinary CyberSecurity projects in Europe and the Middle East. Having worked with multinational organizations in the Banking, Telecommunications, Insurance, Consumer and other sectors, George is continuously pursuing new challenges in developing new business models and identifying innovative service offerings. Academically he holds a BSc in Business Administration and an MBA in IT and Telecommunications Management.
Ioannis Markoulidakis
Research & Innovation Director
Electrical and Computer Engineer with a PhD in Mobile Communications
from the National Technical University of Athens and over 30 years of experience across the Telecommunications and Energy sectors. He has held various senior management roles in Technology Strategy, Product Development, Customer Experience and Digital & AI Transformation. He brings strong expertise in the design, delivery and operation of the technology solutions, with a consistent focus on customer experience across both retail and business markets. Currently leading the Research and Innovation division of PPC, he is responsible for shaping an innovation framework that bridges Energy & Sustainability, Digital & AI and Business Transformation.
Ioannis Vlahavas
Professor / Co-Founder and CEO
Ioannis Vlahavas is a professor at the Department of Informatics
at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He received his Ph.D. degree in Logic Programming Systems from the same University in 1988. He has been a visiting scholar at the Department of CS at Purdue University and in 2017 elected EurAI Fellow from the European Association for Artificial Intelligence. He specializes in knowledge based and AI (machine learning) systems and he has published more than 400 papers and book chapters and co-authored 9 books in these areas. Google scholar gives a number exceeding 21600 citations and an h-index of 60. He has successfully supervised 19 PhD students, and he has been involved in more than 50 research and development projects, leading most of them. He was Chairman of the school of Informatics at the Aristotle University (2013-2017), member of the steering committee and Dean of the School of Science and Technology of the International Hellenic University (2007-2016) and member of the Sectoral Scientific Council in Artificial Intelligence (2025-today). He is currently leading the Intelligent Systems Lab. Details in https://intelligence.csd.auth.gr/people/vlahavas/
Iordanis Paraskevas
Director of Digital Data Management
Electrical and Computer Engineer with an MBA from the University
of Piraeus and over 20 years of experience in Data Strategy, Business Intelligence and Digital Transformation across the Energy, Gaming and Technology sectors. As Director of Digital Data Management (Chief Data Officer) at PPC S.A., he leads the Group’s Data and AI Transformation, shaping PPC’s data strategy, governance and architecture to enable innovation, efficiency and evidence-based decision making across the organization. His current focus includes advancing AI adoption, strengthening data governance and security, developing enterprise-wide analytics capabilities, and supporting new subsidiaries and business units in building sustainable data and AI practices.
Iosif Beloukas
Data Intelligence and AI Technology Leader
Iosif is a visionary leader in Data Intelligence and AI
Technology at Netcompany – Intrasoft, spearheading the Data Analytics and AI practice on both local and international fronts. As a core capability of the Enterprise Solutions team, his over 20 years of experience and his expertise drives advanced data management, visualization, predictive modeling and GenAI advancements, delivering scientific consulting and tech/analytics enabled applications to solve critical and complex business problems across diverse sectors such as energy, financial services, public sector, FMCG, supply chain, and health management. Prior to joining Netcompany-Intrasoft, he held senior management positions focused on data analytics and AI in major organizations across Greece, the UK, and Southeastern Europe. His leadership has been pivotal in executing critical data management, data warehousing, Business Intelligence (BI), and ML/Predictive strategic transformation projects.
Maria-Oraiozili Koutsoupia
President
Dr. Maria-Oraiozili Koutsoupia is the President of the National Institute
of Artificial Intelligence, Personal Data and Digital Governance “Rythmisis”, established in 2022 in Athens. She is a qualified lawyer in Greece and in Belgium, currently working in Brussels, in a top tier US law firm, focused on artificial intelligence and life sciences, healthcare and medical technologies. Maria-Oraiozili holds a PhD in Public Law from the UoA Law School and three masters in law, one in public law, one in international legal studies and one in IP and Information, Communication and Technologies from the UOA and the KU Leuven Law Schools, respectively, while she has published numerous articles in the field of public law and digital healthcare. In her legal practice, Maria-Oraiozili advises life sciences and medtech clients on all EU and Greek law aspects of product lifecycle management including drugs and medical devices manufacturing, marketing and advertising, healthcare professionals interactions, market access and supply chains, advanced and biological therapies, artificial intelligence systems integration, data and digital health compliance.
Katerina Pramatari
Professor
Katerina Pramatari is Professor at the Department of Management Science
and Technology of the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) and scientific manager of the ACEin incubator of AUEB and the ELTRUN-SCORE research group. Since January 2018 she is Partner at Uni.Fund, a new venture fund in Equifund’s innovation window to support new startups and spinoffs. She has more than 100 publications in international journals, conferences and books with international publishers and has received multiple awards and scholarships. She has worked at Procter & Gamble’s European Technology Centre in Brussels and Greece in the development of applications for marketing and sales. She has extensive experience and involvement in research activities related to business analytics and application of new technologies in supply chain and consumer support, as well as multiple innovation and entrepreneurship support activities.
Konstantinos Amplianitis
Senior Scientific Manager / Cofounder
Dr. Konstantinos Amplianitis is an AI entrepreneur, academic and startup
advisor. He is the co-founder of an Irish deep-tech spin-off company called VOLOGRAMS, a startup that creates photo realistic volumetric 3D humans using Generative AI, backed by Atlantic Bridge Ventures, Suir Valley Ventures and Enterprise Ireland. He holds a PhD in Computer Vision and Machine Learning from the Humboldt University of Berlin, an M.Sc. in Geodesy and Geoinformation Science from the Technical University of Berlin and a B.Sc. in Geomatics Engineering from the University of West Attica. Konstantinos has published numerous scientific research papers in top-tier international computer vision conferences and journals and he is also a public speaker and columnist in AI related topics.
Marios Georgakopoulos
Corporate Transformation Director
Marios Georgakopoulos is a business transformation and growth professional with
over 20 years of experience across media, advertising, consumer brands, and financial services. Currently, he serves as Corporate Transformation Director at Politis Group, where he advises the CEO on strategy, leads venture investments and M&A initiatives, and drives the Group’s digital transformation, including the transition to Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) and data-driven audience platforms. Previously, he served as Commercial & Marketing Director for Pizza Hut and KFC in Greece, delivering record sales growth, award-winning product launches, and large-scale digitalization of the customer journey. He also led the Asset Management Department at Bank of Cyprus, driving a sixfold increase in active investments in international mutual funds by developing an innovative digital tool for personalized investment proposals (FAST). His diverse background combines corporate strategy, deal execution, and hands-on commercialization, with leadership of business initiatives across sectors such as QSR, asset management, ride-hailing, gaming, and B2C applications.
Mina Marmpena
Director
Dr. Mina Marmpena is a Director in the Technology department
at Grant Thornton Greece and Head of Innovation at the AI Center of Excellence, with more than 10 years of experience in artificial intelligence and machine learning. She designs and delivers end-to-end AI systems, from research and advanced prototyping to fully production-ready, scalable deployments, with expertise spanning MLOps, large-scale data architectures, and real-time analytics across sectors such as cybersecurity, industrial IoT, energy sustainability, and smart mobility. She also leads an AI & Data team within the AI CoE, driving innovation and technical excellence in applied AI. She holds a PhD in Robotics and Machine Learning and combines deep technical knowledge with extensive experience in leading multidisciplinary engineering teams. Her professional interests include AI ethics, responsible AI, and AI alignment, reflecting her commitment to building trustworthy and human-centric intelligent systems.
Themos Stafylakis
Associate Professor
Themos Stafylakis is an Associate Professor at the Department of
Informatics of the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB), a position he has held since October 2024 following a unanimous election in 2023. Since January 2026, he has also served as the Director of the “AI and Data Science” MSc course at AUEB. He holds a PhD in Voice Applications (2011) and a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (2004), as well as an MSc from Imperial College London (2005). His extensive research background includes postdoctoral tenures at ÉTS University of Montreal and the CRIM Research Center (2011–2016) specializing in speaker recognition, followed by a prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship at the University of Nottingham (2016–2018) focused on audiovisual speech recognition. Since 2018, he has led the Machine Learning and Voice Biometrics departments at Omilia (Cyprus and Greece), bridging the gap between advanced R&D and industrial application. He continues to contribute to the research community as a collaborating researcher at the Archimedes unit of the “Athena” Research Center.
Vasileios Kallaras
Founder & CEO
Vasileios Kallaras is the Founder and CEO of Advisable, a
venture studio and digital product company focused on building and scaling high-performing web, eCommerce, and AI-driven platforms. He has led multidisciplinary teams across product, engineering, and growth, delivering measurable outcomes for brands and fast-growing businesses. His work spans digital strategy, performance marketing, and product development, with a strong focus on data-driven decision making and practical AI applications. As a Hackathon Awards judge, he is passionate about evaluating teams on real-world impact, execution quality, and the clarity of the product vision.
Thanos Markantonis
Vice Chairman