Judges & Mentors – 1st Cycle

MENTOR

Dimitris Kossyfas
Dimitris Kossyfas
Head of Travel - Google Greece

Dimitris leads the Ads sales team for Travel & Tech at Google Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta. He has been with Google for 8 years. Before that, he worked for 5 years at Accenture (London).

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Dimitris Kossyfas
Head of Travel - Google Greece

JUDGE

Konstantinos Zikos
Konstantinos D. Zikos
Α' Vice President - HotelBrain Group

Konstantinos Zikos is currently the A’ Vice President of Greece’s leading hotel management company (HotelBrain SA) and the Deputy Secretary General of the Greek National Tourism Organisation.

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Konstantinos D. Zikos
Α' Vice President - HotelBrain Group

JUDGE

Stefania Flenga
Stefania Flenga
Managing Director - Yes! Hotels Group

Stefania Flenga is Managing Director of Yes! Hotels Group, operating 5 properties in Athens. She oversees all Operational Departments, Sales, Marketing and Strategic development for the group.

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Stefania Flenga
Managing Director - Yes! Hotels Group

MENTOR

Xenophon Petropoulos
Xenophon Petropoulos
Country Director - Horwath HTL, Greece

Xenophon is the Country Director of Horwath HTL in Greece. He holds more than 18 years of experience in sales management, customer service, corporate communications, and reputation management.

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Xenophon Petropoulos
Country Director - Horwath HTL, Greece

JUDGE

Markus Luthe
Markus Luthe
CEO - German Hotel Association (IHA)

Markus Luthe is CEO of the German Hotel Association (IHA). Besides his lobbying and networking tasks as representative of the hospitality industry, he's responsible for quality, digitalization and distribution issues.

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Markus Luthe
CEO - German Hotel Association (IHA)

JUDGE & MENTOR

Emma Gavala
Emma Gavala
Strategic Marketing Consultant - Gavala & Co

Emma is an Economist, ex-Googler, Glamping researcher and traveller. She's the founder of Gavala & Co, a specialised boutique consultancy, offering advisory services to Glamping & Alternative Tourism operators.

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Emma Gavala
Strategic Marketing Consultant - Gavala & Co

JUDGE & MENTOR

Nikos Karaflos
CEO - Dexamenes Seaside Hotel

Nikos Karaflos is the CEO of Dexamenes Seaside Hotel. With a strong background in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Lighting and Multimedia, he believes in devising powerful ideas with cultural and social impact.

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Nikos Karaflos
CEO - Dexamenes Seaside Hotel

JUDGE & MENTOR

Nikos Stathis
Nikos Stathis
Quality & Sustainability Manager - H Hotels Collection

Nikos holds a BSc in International and European Economic Studies (University of Macedonia) and a MSc in International Tourism Marketing (Oxford Brookes University). He’s Quality, Safety & Sustainability Manager at HHC.

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Nikos Stathis
Quality & Sustainability Manager - H Hotels Collection

JUDGE & MENTOR

Konstantinos Vaitsas
Konstantinos Vaitsas
Senior Digital Innovation Officer - Alpha Bank

Konstantinos is a Senior Innovation Manager with 12 years of experience in the Innovation, Consultancy, International Cooperation, Research and Technology Transfer fields.

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Konstantinos Vaitsas
Senior Digital Innovation Officer - Alpha Bank

JUDGE & MENTOR

Gerasimos Michalitsis
Gerasimos Michalitsis
'New Ventures' Dept Manager - INTRASOFT International

Gerasimos has accumulated 20+ years of experience in leading firms of the Information and Communications Technology sector. He is now focusing on innovation and creativity, for transforming an idea into a profitable venture.

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Gerasimos Michalitsis
'New Ventures' Dept Manager - INTRASOFT International

JUDGE

Yannis Papakostas
Yannis Papakostas
Director, Digital Innovation Division - Alpha Bank

Yannis Papakostas joined Alpha Bank as of February 2017 and he is currently heading the Alpha Bank’s Digital Innovation Division that is responsible for the Digital Transformation projects and Innovation activities of Alpha Bank.

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Yannis Papakostas
Director, Digital Innovation Division - Alpha Bank

JUDGE

Sotiris Andriopoulos
Sotiris Andriopoulos
Rooms Division Manager - Athenaeum InterContinental

With over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Sotiris Andriopoulos is Rooms Division Manager at Athenaeum InterContinental Athens, managing the operation of Housekeeping and Front Office.

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Sotiris Andriopoulos
Rooms Division Manager - Athenaeum InterContinental

MENTOR

Christos Perakis
Christos Perakis
Co-Founder, CEO - Zoottle

Christos is the CEO of Zoottle, an award-winning hospitality company. He spent over 10-years at Apple, where he managed $2B in revenue. His last role was that of Apple’s Country Business Manager for Greece and Cyprus.

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Christos Perakis
Co-Founder, CEO - Zoottle

JUDGE

Achilleas Papoutsakis
Achilleas Papoutsakis
General Manager - Crowne Plaza Hotel

Mr. Papoutsakis studied in the Technological Educational University of Larissa, Tourism Management Dpt. In 2003 he was promoted to Front Office Manager of both Athens Holiday Inn and Holiday Suites hotel.

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Achilleas Papoutsakis
General Manager - Crowne Plaza Hotel

JUDGE & MENTOR

Diogenis Venetopoulos
Diogenis Venetopoulos
Vice President, Sales - Variety Cruises

Mr. Venetopoulos joined Variety Cruises in 1999, as a Port Engineer Assistant. He continued in the company as Sales Manager until 2013 before serving as the UK sales office Managing Director for two years.

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Diogenis Venetopoulos
Vice President, Sales - Variety Cruises

JUDGE & MENTOR

Apostolos Moussamas
Apostolos Moussamas
Vice President - Athens Hotel Association

Mr. Moussamas has been a graduate of Cornell University, one of the most prominent universities for hotel administration. As the CEO of Moussamas Bros, he was responsible for the full reconstruction of Crowne Plaza Athens.

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Apostolos Moussamas
Vice President - Athens Hotel Association

JUDGE

Alexandros Angelopoulos
Alexandros Angelopoulos
Managing Director - Aldemar Resorts

Alexandros Ν. Angelopoulos, is the Managing Director of Aldemar Resorts, a leading resorts chain company in Greece. He has been active in the family business since 1995.

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Alexandros Angelopoulos
Managing Director - Aldemar Resorts

MENTOR

Orestis Andrianis
Orestis Andrianis
Industry Manager, Travel & Technology - Google Greece

Orestis is the Industry Manager of the Ads sales team for the Travel vertical of Google Greece. He provides strategic services for online advertising to leading companies and has been with Google for the past 5 years.

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Orestis Andrianis
Industry Manager, Travel & Technology - Google Greece

JUDGE & MENTOR

Constantine Moros
Constantine Moros
Director, Advisory Services - EY

Constantine is a Director at EY - Advisory Services in Greece and the CESA Advisory Markets Coordinator. He has over 20 years of accumulated professional experience in the fields of performance management, business strategy and planning, e.t.c.

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Constantine Moros
Director, Advisory Services - EY

MENTOR

Eugene Vassilikos
Evgenios Vassilikos
Chief Operational Officer - Airotel Group of Hotels

Evgenios Vassilikos was born in 1984 in Athens. Because of his French origin, he attended the Lycée Franco-Hellénique Eugène Delacroix. He continued his studies in Paris, majoring in Hotel Management.

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Evgenios Vassilikos
Chief Operational Officer - Airotel Group of Hotels

JUDGE

Antonis Avdelas
Antonis Avdelas
CSMO - Sani/Ikos Group

Antonis Avdelas is the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at SANI RESORT & IKOS RESORTS, a Group of innovative and fast-growing Ultra All-Inclusive brands, that presently owns 6 resorts in Greece.

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Antonis Avdelas
CSMO - Sani/Ikos Group

JUDGE & MENTOR

Konstantinos Santikos
Konstantinos Santikos
Managing Director - Santikos Collection

Konstantinos Santikos is a hospitality entrepreneur. He holds a Business & Finance Degree from Babson College. He has worked at UBS bank in Zurich and CondeNast Traveller in New Work.

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Konstantinos Santikos
Managing Director - Santikos Collection

JUDGE

Emmanouella Moussama
Emmanouella Moussama
Experience and Communication Director - Moussamas Bros

Emmanouella Moussama graduated from University of Piraeus with a Bachelor in Business Administration and Marketing in 1997 and from the City University (London) with an MSc in Organizational Behavior.

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Emmanouella Moussama
Experience and Communication Director - Moussamas Bros

JUDGE & MENTOR

Pantelis Angelidis
Pantelis Angelidis
Chairman of the BoD - HAMAC

Pantelis is an innovator entrepreneur. He is the founder and president of VIDAVO and has patented two telemedicine devices. He is currently the Chairman of the BoD at HAMAC.

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Pantelis Angelidis
Chairman of the BoD - HAMAC

JUDGE & MENTOR

Dimitris Serifis
Dimitris Serifis
CEO - Nelios

Dimitris is considered by many as the expert in digital transformation for the travel industry. In 2008 he took the decision to create Nelios.com, providing specialized digital services for the industry.

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Dimitris Serifis
CEO - Nelios

JUDGE & MENTOR

Christos-Lytras
Christos Lytras
Managing Partner - Hippocampus

Christos is Managing Partner of Hippocampus, a consultancy assisting in bridging the gap between Corporates & Startups. Until 2016, Christos was Product & Service Lead at The Eurobank Innovation Center.

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Christos Lytras
Managing Partner - Hippocampus

MENTOR

Paul Kidner
Paul Kidner
General Manager - The People's Trust

Paul is currently the General Manager of The People's Trust, an NGO whose mission is to relieve unemployment in Greece through entrepreneurship. TPT has supported over 200 entrepreneurs so far.

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Paul Kidner
General Manager - The People's Trust

JUDGE & MENTOR

Victor Matsas
Victor Matsas
Co-Founder - WebHotelier

Victor is one of the Co-Founders of WebHotelier, the leading on-line reservations platform for the hospitality industry. He has also worked as Sales & Marketing Director at TransData Computer Networks.

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Victor Matsas
Co-Founder - WebHotelier

JUDGE & MENTOR

Tim Ananiadis
Tim Ananiadis
Managing Director - Hotel Grande Bretagne & King George

Tim Ananiadis was born in Greece and at the age of 17 went to Canada to study Business Administration at Ryerson University, subsequently moving to the USA and starting his career in the hospitality industry.

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Tim Ananiadis
Managing Director - Hotel Grande Bretagne & King George

MENTOR

Olga Stavropoulou
Olga Stavropoulou
Chief Visionary Officer - Knowl Social Enterprise

Co-founder and Managing Partner of Militos, and Chief Visionary Officer of Knowl Social Enterprise, Olga is a combatant (social) Entrepreneur, a recognized Mentor and an accredited coach.

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Olga Stavropoulou
Chief Visionary Officer - Knowl Social Enterprise

JUDGE & MENTOR

Mary Papathanasiou
Mary Papathanasiou
CEO - Stglobe

Mary Papathanasiou is the CEO of Stglobe. She's an innovation-driven entrepreneur with a successful professional background in critical negotiations and key managerial positions.

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Mary Papathanasiou
CEO - Stglobe

JUDGE & MENTOR

Yanni Korkovelos
Yianni Korkovelos
Director of IT - Charles Hotel, Cambridge MA

Yianni Korkovelos has a diverse background in the hotel industry, with almost 20 years of experience, most of that experience coming from management positions. He's currently the Director of IT at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge Ma.

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Yianni Korkovelos
Director of IT - Charles Hotel, Cambridge MA

JUDGE

Anneta Svoronou
Anneta Svoronou
Complex Hotel Manager - Hotel Grande Bretagne & King George

Anneta Svoronou was raised in Athens with a rich education in Hotel Management, Cultural Studies and multilingual certifications. She began her career in 1995 at the Front Desk of the Rome Cavallieri Hilton in Italy.

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Anneta Svoronou
Complex Hotel Manager - Hotel Grande Bretagne & King George

JUDGE & MENTOR

George Agas
George Agas
Managing Director - Vrahos Boutique Hotel

George Agas got a Master's degree in electrical engineering (University of Patras) in 1990. He also got a Diploma in Marketing after that. Since then, he has been making electromechanical studies for the construction of buildings.

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George Agas
Managing Director - Vrahos Boutique Hotel

JUDGE

Katerina Tzicha
Katerina Tzicha
Director of HR - Hotel Grande Bretagne & King George

Katerina Tzicha graduated from University of Piraeus with a Bachelor degree in Insurance and Statistical sciences. She has over 25 years of experience in HR Management in large multinational corporations.

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Katerina Tzicha
Director of HR - Hotel Grande Bretagne & King George

MENTOR

Emily Filippou
Emily Filippou
Business Partner - DEZAVOU Financial Advisors P.C.

Emily Filippou, with over 40 years of experience at C-level Executive and senior roles in the area of Financial Services/Management, holds an MBA from Exeter University (UK) with specialization in General Management.

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Emily Filippou
Business Partner - DEZAVOU Financial Advisors P.C.

JUDGE

Theo Kokkinias
Theo Kokkinias
SVP, Performance Marketing - Kayak

Theo Kokkinias is leading a team of marketers and data scientists as the Director for Performance Marketing at Kayak. Previously, he was the International Business Development Director at ForestView.

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Theo Kokkinias
SVP, Performance Marketing - Kayak

MENTOR

Christina Kartsiotou
Christina Kartsiotou
Senior Business Consultant

Mrs Kartsiotou is an experienced business consultant that helps businesses to grow. She started her career in 1984 by starting up successfully an IT company, New Logic in North Greece.

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Christina Kartsiotou
Senior Business Consultant

MENTOR

Dimitris Valyrakis
Dimitris Valyrakis
Hotel Director - New Hotel

Dimitris Valyrakis is Director of New Hotel, member of Yes Hotels group. He has more than 20 years of experience in the hotel industry with excellent management and communication skills.

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Dimitris Valyrakis
Hotel Director - New Hotel

JUDGE

Yiannis G. Economou
Yiannis Economou
Managing Director - Economou Hotels

Yiannis Economou was born in 1975 in Heraklion. He's the Managing Director of a private corporation that owns 2 hotels in Heraklion, the Galaxy Hotel Iraklio – 5*, 260 beds, and Galaxy Villas Resort – 4*, 220 beds.

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Yiannis Economou
Managing Director - Economou Hotels

JUDGE

Tonia Panagopoulou
Tonia Panagopoulou
Owner/General Manager - Archipelagos Luxury Hotel, Mykonos

Tonia started her career as a Procurement Planning Executive at Nestlé Greece and then took the position of Production Planner Manager at Nestlé's headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland.

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Tonia Panagopoulou
Owner/General Manager - Archipelagos Luxury Hotel, Mykonos

JUDGE

Grigoris Tassios
Grigoris Tassios
President - Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers

Grigorios Tassios is the CEO of Philoxenia hotel, located in Psakoudia, Halkidiki. He was born in Polygyros, Halkidiki in 1973 and he was practically raised in the hotel as he's the 2nd generation of the family-owned business.

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Grigoris Tassios
President - Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers

MENTOR

Filippos Zampelis
Hotel Manager

After finishing his MBA, he started his career in Front Office at Renaissance Manchester as Telephone Operator, then as Front Office Agent and was promoted as Shift Leader.

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Filippos Zampelis
Hotel Manager

MENTOR

Iro Orri
Iro Orri
Managing Director - Epoque Collection

Iro is the Managing Director of Epoque Collection, a newly founded company aiming to embody a blend of breathtaking hotels in desired destinations and the ultimate immersion in surroundings of luxury.

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Iro Orri
Managing Director - Epoque Collection