Private Equity Forum III
"PRIVATE EQUITY: One Way Road for the Greek Economy"
Speakers / Presentations
Athanasopoulos JimmyDirector of Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award |
 |
| Topic will be announced soon. |
|
Dovas SpyrosBusiness Development Manager, Taxibeat |
 Spyros Dovas is the Business Development Manager of Taxibeat, a revolutionary mobile service that aims to disrupt the global taxi industry in many ways. After a successful Athens launch in May 2011, Taxibeat has expanded in 5 new cities, in 4 countries around the world. Mexico City is scheduled to launch in July 2013. Combining a 12-year professional background in enterprise software space, a civil record of advocating choice, transparency and disintermediation in public affairs, and a geek DNA, Spyros is working on expanding Taxibeat service scope and presence. Spyros holds a diploma in Chemical Engineering from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and an MSc from University of Warwick. |
| Topic will be announced soon. |
|
|
Doxiadis AristosPartner at Openfund |
 Aristos Doxiadis is a private equity and venture capital professional based in Athens. He is on the management team of OpenFund II, an early-stage technology fund. He has been in the private equity industry since 1995, as director of Notos Associates, advisors to Eikon Capital, (2000-2010), and of Commercial Capital (1995-1999).Recently he has been researching and writing on the institutional and cultural determinants of the Greek economy. He has managed consulting and auditing companies, worked on anti-poverty programs for the European Commission, and planned industrial policy for the Greek government. He has degrees in Social Studies (Harvard) and Economics (Birkbeck College, London), and he was a Senior Associate Fellow at the Governance and Public Management Group, Warwick Business School. He blogs at aristosd.wordpress.com. |
| Global ventures based in Greece? |
| When Openfund decides on an investment, a crucial issue is whether we think the business can become an international player. What does this imply for the business models that we prefer? What other criteria are relevant? What has been the experience so far? |
|
|
Drandakis NikosFounder & CEO of TaxiBeat |
 Nick Drandakis is the founder of Taxibeat, a revolutionary mobile service that aims to disrupt the global taxi industry in many ways.He was a web developer in the web’s early years, having created his first startup, Suppline.com, back in 1998 during the days of the dot com bubble. Suppline was a B2B e-supplies vertical focused in the hospitality industry. After his first startup’s failure he worked for a number of Greek e-commerce companies on business development roles, and at 2007 he created his second startup, Sync.gr which proved to be the biggest greek blogs aggregator (http://blogs.sync.gr) and a social networking service for all Greek bloggers, with great traction in the following years. Sync.gr monitored daily more than 60.000 Greek blogs in real time, with 45.000+ registered members. Having failed to create sustainable business model with adequate revenues to keep the service going, Nick and his team stopped developing the service and focused building Taxibeat by late 2010. The company received seed funding from Openfund at January 2011 and officially launched the service in Athens at May 2011. After a successful Athens launch, Nick drivers Taxibeat’s expansion in 5 new cities, in 4 countries around the world. |
| Interating a locally proven business model |
|
|
Giantsios Konstantinosgi-Cluster Manager |
 Konstantinos Giantsios is Manager of gi-Cluster (www.gi-Cluster.gr), the recently formed Greek gaming & innovative content industry cluster and Corallia Clusters Initiative. The goal of this industry driven initiative, is the creation of a world class ecosystem with an international focus.A product management and business development specialist, his work experience includes positions in product management, strategic partnerships and international business development in tier-1 technology companies in USA and Europe, including two own ventures in the creative industries space. He holds degrees in Engineering and Technology Management from Sussex University, Warwick University and Cass Business School. |
| Coordinator of the 3nd Panel |
|
|
Goudinakos StratosChief Risk Officer, ATE Insurance |
 Stratos Goudinakos, a veteran floor trader, has been actively involved in Capital Markets and Finance, Banking/Investment Banking /Asset Management/Insurance for over 20 years.Started out at London's LIFFE as an options market maker/Director of Investments, built and managed complex derivative portfolios (inter - intra volatility spread structures). On his return to Greece joined NBG Group, Head Derivatives & Proprietary Trading; managed the desks of market making, arbitrage and sales, set up an international prop desk and was also responsible for hedging the bank's bond book. He, consecutively, moved to NBG's asset management, as Chief Investment Officer. In succession, participated (partner) in the buyout of an investment company and its extensive restructuring; in addition, developed and started up Ulysses Global Macro Hedge Fund which invested mainly in high grade markets on currencies, bonds, stocks, indices and commodities. Member of Investment Committees in Capital Management; moreover, managing own assets, trading in international derivative markets. For the last two years he served at ATE Bank’s Board, responsible for Funding and Liquidity. He also sits in a number of Boards for ATE Bank Romania (Audit Committee, President of Risk Mgnt Committee), ATE AEDAK, and ATE Insurance. Currently, he is the Chief Risk Officer of ATE Insurance (Solvency II). Holds a Diploma in Chemical Engineering of Patras University in Greece, a DBA from Cardiff Business School University of Wales, and an MBA from CASS Business School of City University; also, holds certificates from TEE, SFA and the HCMC in Market Making & Asset Management. |
| Coordinator of the 2nd Panel |
|
|
Koutsoyannopoulos Yorgos, Ph.DCEO, HELIC |
 Dr. Yorgos Koutsoyannopoulos, a Helic co-founder, the Chairman and CEO of the company since its inception in 2000, is responsible for corporate strategy and business development. His vision of a cutting-edge EDA company with a global reach has largely defined Helic's corporate identity. With H/Q in CA, sales offices in Japan and Germany and a R&D base in Athens, Helic develops and markets Electronic Design Automation tools for the semiconductor industry. During his tenure at the helm of Helic, the company has managed to sell EDA products in the US and Japan to big semiconductor corporations such as Intel, AMD, Toshiba, Sony, Fujitsu, Intel, Freescale and Broadcom, reaching more than 60 in the past 2 years. At the same time the company has raised $13M from reference investors such as Sun Microsystems founder, Andy Bechtolsheim, VCs, strategic investors and grants from the Greek state. Since 2007 he has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Semiconductor Industry Association, a non-profit organization which he helped grow from 12 to 50 corporate members in less than 2 years. In 2008 he co-founded Nanotropic, a digital EDA outfit to go after the SoC power integrity and optimization market. He has published 14 scientific papers in refereed journals and international conferences with more than 300 citations and has been a reviewer for IEEE Transactions of Electron Devices and the Design Automation Conference. He is a member of the Digital Economy Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris (2011), member of the Technical Chamber of Greece (1996) and a Senior Member of IEEE (1993). He got both his diploma and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the NTUA in 1995 and 1999 respectively and has attended executive courses in Harvard and London Business Schools in leadership and marketing. |
| Starting from Greece and going global: the case study of Helic |
|
|
Palandjian OnicGeneral Manager, Europa Aluminum Systems |
 Onic is the CEO of Europa, the premier aluminium extrusion corporation in Greece. During the past 21 years, Onic has managed industrial corporations, venture capital funds and technology companies in Europe and the USA. Before joining Europa, Onic was the CEO of Herco which, under his leadership, became the most efficient clean-tech corporation of its kind in Southeast Europe. He concurrently served as the investment Director of Capital Connect, a pioneering Venture Capital fund. Previously, Onic led the international expansion of Velti, the global leader in mobile marketing. Prior to that, he founded two technology companies, ihavemoved (acquired by Royal Mail) and ichziehum (acquired by Deutsche Post). As an advocate for socially-responsible growth, Onic often speaks at Universities and conferences. His three TEDx talks and volunteer work with UP Greek Tourism gained international recognition. He studied in Boston and earned a BSc in Management from Bentley and a CSS in Business Administration from Harvard. |
| Coordinator of the 1st Panel |
|
|
Panayotopoulos LitsaPartner Boston Hamilton Executive HR Services and Treasurer & President of Innovation and Education American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce |
 Mrs. Panayotopoulos is Partner of Boston Hamilton Executive Search Services. She has served in managerial positions and as Managing Director in multinational companies (Control Data, Oracle, OTE Academy, Geranos and others) in Greece and in many countries (US, Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa).She is an active member of the Board of Directors of many non-profitable distinguished organizations, among these: "American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce" (Treasurer), "Innovation & Education Committee of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce" (Chair), "I.O.B.E. - Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research", "The Hellenic-Serbian Business Council", "Junior Achievement-Greece" and others. She has served as President in many other non-profitable organizations: EEDE-Hellenic Management Association, ALBA-Athens Laboratory of Business Administration, Business Association and others). She studied at the London University and holds an MSc in Computer Science. |
| Welcome Notes |
|
|
Pilitsis LoukasCEO, Piraeus Equity Advisors |
 Loukas Pilitsis is the Head of the Piraeus Venture Capital and Private Equity Group(VC-PE Group), and Chief Executive Officer of Piraeus Equity Advisors, the vehicle in charge of all the Private Equity and Venture Capital activities of Piraeus Bank Group. Loukas is a founding member of the VC-PE Group. Also, he is a member of the BoD of SEN-Junior Achievement Greece organization and member of the Committee of Innovation, Education and Entrepreneurship at the Greek-American Chamber of Commerce, both promoting the new entrepreneurship and innovation in Greece.Loukas joined Piraeus Bank in early October 2009. Previously, he was with State Street since 1995. He held senior positions in investment banking, corporate venture capital & private equity, strategy development and risk management in Boston, US and London, UK. His most recent role with State Street was the Pan European Chief Administrative Officer, European Executive Board. In that role, he was responsible for Pan European strategy development, M & A and Private Equity supervision, and co-management of the European corporate functions. Loukas holds a Law degree from Athens University Law School, an LLM in international financial services law from Boston University Law School and an MSF from Boston College, and he is a graduate of the Executive Development Program from the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania, USA." |
| VC and PE investment opportunities in the Greek and Southeastern European markets |
|
|
Sarikas OmirosDirector, Mergers and Acquisitions, AHV Associates LLP, UK |
 Omiros D. Sarikas is a Mergers and Acquisitions financier at AHV Associates LLP, an award winning London-based advisory firm. Prior to AHV he was mainly involved in private equity transactions, such as Cinven’s acquisition of Sebia for €800 million.Omiros has worked on projects in London, Zürich and New York for venture capital and private equity funds of various types and sizes (from $200 million to $20 billion of assets under management), including Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, Ares Life Sciences (Ernesto Bertarelli’s fund), Cinven, ECI Partners, Silverfleet Capital and Hutton Collins. In addition, he has advised on strategic M&A business projects for IntraLinks, Deloitte Corporate Finance, AMEX (S&P 500 serial acquirer with $147 billion assets), Credit Suisse (First Boston) Investment Bank and Lyceum Capital private equity fund. Omiros is a regular conference speaker and author of a number of articles on M&A and PE. He holds several awards and qualifications including the CCF from CISI, an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and an MBA from Cass. He is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (MCISI) and the UK’s Hellenic Bankers Association as well as Fellow at the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). Omiros has been recognised as the first ‘M&A Young Gun’ of the year by ACQ magazine and is admitted to the Worshipful Company of International Bankers. |
| M&A and Capital Raising opportunities for Greek Companies |
|
|
Siokos Stavros, Ph.DChief Executive Officer, Sciens Alternative Investments, UK |
 Dr. Siokos is Chief Executive Officer of Sciens Alternative Investments and is responsible for the general management of Sciens in its capacity as investment advisor and asset manager for the fund of funds and the managed account platforms. He also serves on the board of directors, advisory boards and investment committees of several prominent companies, institutions and academic establishments.For 13 years, he served as managing director within the equities division of Citigroup in London, where he was global head of alternative execution sales (program trading, algorithmic trading, Direct Market Access), global head of pre and post trade analytics (responsible for Best Execution Consulting Services - BECS), global head of portfolio trading strategies, as well as European head of the company's pension funds and insurance companies’ structured solutions for equities. During that period, he and his teams were top ranked in most of the major global and European investment quantitative research surveys. Subsequently, he was head of investment management for the Piraeus Bank in Greece. He was Chairman of Piraeus Asset Management and Piraeus Equity Advisors, the private equity and venture capital arms of the Piraeus Group, both of which he initiated and implemented. He was also Chairman of Piraeus Wealth Management, a joint venture between the Piraeus Bank and BNP Paribas Wealth Management. He initiated and established this joint venture for the provision of wealth management services in the countries where the Piraeus Group operates. Dr. Siokos holds an electrical and computer engineering diploma from the University of Patras, Greece, as well as a master's degree in the same field and a Ph.D. in operations research (with focus on financial engineering) from the University of Massachusetts. He is the author of several academic and professional papers, as well as a number of international books. |
| Private Equity Opportunities in Real Assets |
|
|
Spanoudakis GeorgePresident and Co-Founder, Pinnatta, San Francisco Bay, USA |
 George Spanoudakis is a serial entrepreneur with great experience in tech startups. He is known for his involvement in the design and development of some of the most viral and addicting social applications. George started his first company at the age of 21 when he was still at the university and a year later he worked in the Silicon Valley for a spin-off startup from Stanford University. In 2008 he founded Thiinkle - one of the first social gaming companies worldwide. By 2010, while he was still service as CEO, more than 23,000,000 people had downloaded Thiinkle's games and the company's porfolio was including the development of more than 100 applications for 3rd party customers from Greece, Cyprus, US, Canada and Israel. Currently George serves as President and CEO of Pinnatta - an interactive messaging mobile service that has raised funds from US, Russian, Chinese and Greek investors. Since 2011 he is also a founding partner of Apps4Mags - an automated platform for publishing interactive magazines on tablets. He studied Computer Science at the University of Crete and the University of Manchester. |
| Life of a Greek startup: Working locally, aiming globally |
| Pinnatta is a company with offices and operations in both Silicon Valley and Athens. At same time we are backed up by investors from US, Russia, China and Greece. During the presentation I'll try to show: - Why startups are important to Greece - the opportunities that rely in Greece despite (or because) the crisis. - The needs of a Greek startup. The differences between Greek and SV: the ecosystem, the laws, the taxation, people's mentality and working habits, the standards, investor's approach and expectations etc etc. - Some things we've learned so far |
|
|
Trachanis SpirosManaging Partner, Odyssey Venture Partners |
 Spyros Trachanis is a Managing Partner of Odyssey Venture Partners. A venture capital investor since 1999, Spyros has in the past served as a director of Oxygen Capital Management and NBGI Venture Capital. He has invested in a number of early stage technology companies in Greece and internationally. Spyros holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from the University of Patras and an MBA from Insead. |
| Greek VC 2.0: Implementing the Silicon Valley model |
|
|
Tsangos ChrisMember of Management Team - PJ Tech Catalyst Fund |
 Chris Tsangos is a leading figure in the technology field who has established the Innovation Centre with Bill Gates and won the HMS Royal Award for Exports from Queen Elizabeth II. He has excelled as a member of the Platinum Club of Microsoft Corporation and has developed the first innovation competitions in Greece. After 25 years of international career in leading IT companies, today Chris is a member of the management team of PJ Tech Catalyst Fund, a seed ICT equity fund investing in Greek technology start-ups with co-investment from the European Investment Fund and private investors, a Web Entrepreneur and Business Consultant. With a strong social service, he is the Chairman of Young Entrepreneurs organization SEN/Junior Achievement in Greece and member of the Innovation Committee of the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce. Chris was President & CEO of Microsoft in Greece for 8 years and Regional Manager of ‘Marketing & Online Consumer’ for Central and Eastern Europe. Previously was the CEO of Intel in Greece for 6 years and Director of Networks for Europe, Middle East and Africa based in London. He has assumed an advisory role in technology of the European Union and developed electronic innovations for Airbus, Jaguar and Santa Cruz Operation. His computer studies were conducted at Reading University and UMIST and issues in Management at INSEAD and Wharton Business School. |
| Applying successful international methods to help the new entrepreneur build a startup |
|
|
