CHAIR:

Melina Pyrgou, Board Member, Invest Cyprus
Melina Pyrgou is the managing director of Pyrgou Vakis Law Firm and is a practising lawyer with 28 years of experience. She studied law in the UK and was called to the Bar both in England and in Cyprus. In 2007 she joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as Director of Legal Services and in 2008 left to establish Pyrgou Law firm. In 2014 Pyrgou Law Firm was renamed to Pyrgou Vakis Law Firm, after a partnership between Melina Pyrgou, Demetris Vakis (of Christos Vakis & Co a firm that had been established for over 50 years) and Despo Andreou. Melina has been acting for more than 10 years as country expert for projects of the European Commission in relation to transposition and implementation of EU legislation in particular in the field of the environment but also others. She was listed in “Legal 500” EMEA 2016 and 2017 as “Recommended Lawyer” in the areas of Commercial, Corporate and M&A. She has served on numerous boards over the years and is currently an appointed Board member of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (November 2019), an appointed member of the Disciplinary Committee of Accountants of Cyprus (December 2016), member of the Legal Council (appointed by the Attorney-General) and an appointed member of the Board of the Health Insurance Organisation.

Michalis P. Michael, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Invest Cyprus
Michalis P. Michael is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency since January 2018. He has a long professional career in business and audit services, both as a sole practitioner and as a Partner at KPMG Cyprus. Michalis has vast experience in the Ukrainian market and he is the Chairman of the Cyprus-Ukraine Business Association from 2012 until today. Michalis has been actively involved with public life since his early career. Formerly, he served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (1996-2000), Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Organisation of Land Development (2000-2003), Member of the Committee for the Supervision and Development of Cooperative Societies (2003-2013). He was also Member of the Board of Directors of The Cyprus University of Technology (2014-2016), where he held the position of Vice-President (July 2016-2018). Michalis is a Chartered Certified Accountant, a Fellow member of the UK Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and Member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus, of which he also served as a Member of the Board of Directors.

George Campanellas, CEO, Invest Cyprus / Vice President, Cyprus Investment Funds Association
George Campanellas is the Chief Executive Officer of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (Invest Cyprus) and the Vice President of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA). He has nearly twenty years of professional experience in Cyprus and abroad, working with the DG Competition in Brussels and directly with the Cypriot Ministers of Health and Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism. George has been actively involved in the development of the oil & gas sector in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone, dealing with licensing, exploration and exploitation activities, as well as promoting bilateral and multilateral cooperation at a regional level. Throughout his career, he also had an active role in drafting the regulatory framework and running the relevant licensing procedures for attracting Foreign Direct Investment in sectors of strategic importance and large-scale infrastructure projects, such as the LNG terminal at Vasilikos Energy Center, Cyprus Techno Park, EuroAsia Interconnector and the City of Dreams Mediterranean, Europe’s largest integrated casino resort and Cyprus’ largest FDI project.

Christoforos Socratous, Partner, Head of Accounting Compliance and Reporting Services, EY Cyprus
Christoforos is a Partner of EY in Cyprus and is currently leading the Accounting Compliance and Reporting practise. He has over 17 years of professional experience in Big 4 accounting firms and a diverse background and knowledge including audit and assurance, corporate finance and valuations, restructuring & insolvencies and in the last 12 years corporate administration, compliance, financial reporting and voluntary liquidations. He holds a MA in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge and is a UK qualified accountant, fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW). Christoforos is also a licensed insolvency practitioner in Cyprus.

Panayiotis Gregoriou, Senior Manager, Tax Services, EY Cyprus
Panayiotis Gregoriou is a Tax Senior Manager which specialises in the provision of tax compliance services and tax advisory services to local and multinational companies. Panayiotis joined EY Cyprus in 2010 and has been promoted to Senior Manager in 2019. Panayiotis graduated from the University of Cyprus with a BSc in Business administration (Finance). He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and an Associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) since November 2013. He also obtained the Advanced Diploma in International Taxation (ADIT) qualification. Panayiotis is specialising in Cypriot corporate tax matters and throughout his career, he has developed an interest in the provision of taxation compliance services as well as Tax advisory services.He has also been serving many clients in the asset management, telecommunication, retail & distribution, technology, manufacturing and hospitality industries.

Panayiotis Hadjiconstantinou, Tax Senior Manager, PwC Cyprus
Panayiotis Hadjiconstantinou is a tax senior manager in PwC Cyprus. He studied law in the UK and has an LLM degree in international tax from the University of Leiden, Netherlands. Panayiotis began his career in 2008 with PwC UK, specializing in international tax for real estate and investment management groups. He also participated in transfer pricing projects for large financial services institutions. He transferred to PwC Cyprus in 2012 where he has been involved in international tax projects across a range of industries including oil & gas, funds, real estate and private equity. Panayiotis also serves as an instructor in various internal and external tax courses provided by PwC.

Petros Maroudias, Partner, International Private Clients, PwC Cyprus
Petros Maroudias is a Partner with PwC Cyprus, in the International Private Clients competency of the Tax and Legal Services (TLS) Line of Service. Petros is responsible for a portfolio of clients active in a variety of international industries including multi-family offices, software, real estate development, banking, asset management and agriculture. He has experience in providing solutions for private clients covering both their corporate and family matters, residency matters, family office structuring and tax and legal support in acquisition/sale of private assets and corporate transactions. He is a graduate of St. Catharines College, University of Cambridge and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). Petros qualified in London with Arthur Andersen in their Financial Markets division and in 2000 moved to the Latsis Group in London and Geneva. In 2003 he joined PricewaterhouseCoopers Cyprus. In addition to client work, Petros is also an instructor of professional development skills training courses.

Chryso Dekatris, Co-Managing Partner, Chrysostomides
Chryso Dekatris leads the firm’s dynamic and multi-disciplinary corporate and commercial department. She has worked with an impressive array of multinational corporations, counting amongst them leading companies specialising in technology and innovation. She contributes to clients operating in these industries, her expertise in evaluating target companies through legal due diligences, structuring and negotiating cross-border acquisitions and mergers, joint ventures, enterprise capitalisation and financing and related services which support the corporate infrastructure of players in this sector

Alexandros Georgiades, Partner, Chrysostomides
Alexandros Georgiades is a Partner in the intellectual property law department of the firm. He has significant experience in trademark and patent prosecution, litigation and copyright protection, as well as anti-counterfeiting work and procedures before the Cyprus Customs and other competent Authorities. Alexandros advises domestic and international clients, within the technology industry, on regulatory and legal issues pertaining to the roll out of their respective services in Cyprus. He also advises on clients from a wide range of sectors on prior licensing and notification requirements, e-commerce considerations, data protection and cybersecurity issues and online digital marketing and content requirements.

Marios Tannousis, Deputy Director General, Invest Cyprus
Marios Tannousis holds the post of Deputy Director General at Invest Cyprus. He has more than twenty four years of international corporate experience, with twelve years in the international banking and financial services group Societe Generale, where he served at various key posts. He is a Member of the Board of the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) as well as the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA). He also served as President of the Cyprus Finance & Leasing Association and Board Member in various other organizations and bodies. He is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) and holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Rutgers University, NJ, USA and an MBA from Mankato State University (MSU), MN, USA. He is also Certified for offering investment services and has a special interest in Economic Development through Investments especially in Banking, Financial Services and Investment Funds. He represents Cyprus in various international and European Conferences.

Anja Arsalides, Investment Promotion Officer, Invest Cyprus
Anja Arsalides joined Invest Cyprus in 2010. During her career path, she has gained broad experience in the field of business development and international client relations, while promoting the country in all key sectors of the Economy. Prior to this, she has worked in the USA, including the Financial Sector at Bank of America’s corporate banking division in Dallas, Texas. Another important career milestone included the German Futures & Options Exchange in Frankfurt, where she was part of the market surveillance team overseeing regulations and supporting the exchange members.