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Alumnus/a of the month

Recognition of an outstanding alumnus is very important for CITY College. Selections are based on the following criteria:

1. Academic excellence.
2. Professional accomplishments in their field of expertise.
3. Standing in the profession.
4. Participation in associations and institutions to promote their academic or professional achievements.
5. Contribution in citizenship or community.
6. Continuing interest and support in CITY College's activities.

Please feel free to nominate others or yourself to become the Alumnus of the Month or send us your comments at alumni@york.citycollege.eu.

 

Alumnus of the Month Record

Giorgos Ioakeimidis Associate at Blackrock
Aspasia Provou Health Coach
Marin Troshanov Account Manager at DXC Technology
Argyro Barata Independent Cultural Manager
Dr Aleksandra M. Pećinar Adviser for Geostrategic Issues in South-East Europe, United Nations mandated-University for Peace, European Center for Peace and Development, Belgrade, Serbia
Dr Evelina Christova Assistant Professor at the Mass Communications Department, New Bulgarian University
Maria Karanedeva Senior Key Account Manager at Coca-Cola HBC
Ms Tatyana Kosarchuk Project Director EMEA (East, Westrern Europe and Africa) at ContourGlobal in Bulgaria
Anca Irina Filipescu Internal Account Manager OEM for the CEE region – Dell
Fay Candiliari Marketing Specialist
Vasilios Andreou Financial Specialist at Beta Securities & Project Advisor at Timako Private Eguity
Alice Alata Digital Field Marketing Executive
Sorana McCarron Marketing Consultant at MarketingKind
Dragana Durasevic Head of the European Integration & Cooperation, Municipality of Budva, Montenegro
Eugenia Lemoni Group Human Resources Coordinator at M.J.Maillis Group
Maria Gaci Junior Frontend Developer - IBM Research Almaden, San Jose, California
Lyudmila Petrova Senior Account Professional (Wholesale) – Coca Cola European Partners GB, London, UK
Anastasia Psoma Fundraising and Membership Manager – Alzheimer’s Disease International; London, UK
Diana Cassel Corporate Services Manager at the British Embassy in Pristina-Kosovo
Menelaos Moustakas B2B Product Marketing Manager at trivago
Nancy Neneroglou Owner of “Reggio Thessaloniki” school
Yannis Tsintziras Web Designer & Project Manager at IPDIGITAL and Ηotelook
Popi Gkikopoulou Market Development Manager at Forthet-Nova
Sakr Simeon Consultant, Riyadh
Sanja Milakovic Kolundzija Principal, Executive Group
Evi Atzamidaki Marketing & Events Manager at inSpot
Arianit Jakupi CEO at Kosovo Medicines Agency
Christos Mamantzis Project Manager and Member of B.O.D. STELMA T.S.A. Group of Companies
Shpend Imeri CEO, IAPPD Europe
Ioanna Liarommati Psychologist, Mental Health Counsellor and Psychotherapist in private practice
Ramona Pergel Residential Executive Member/Head of Operational Planning and Support EON UK
Katerina Papathanasiou Psychologist-Gestalt Psychotherapist
Konstantin Andonov F&D Manager, Radisson Resort Zavidovo
George Kalfas Managing Director of A.TL.AS Consulting
Dionisis Stoubos Senior Technology Architect, Infosys Ltd
Tomi Dimitrovski Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of North Macedonia to the Republic of Slovenia
Elina Serkedzhieva Global Recruitment Manager, Opera Software ASA
Jeton Siqeca Software Architect, Co-Owner in LINK Software
Charalampos Fotiadis Senior Manager, WorldPay Ltd
Faye Koukia-Koutelaki Psychologist in private practice
Kelly Calliope Sivris PhD Candidate/ESRC Researcher
Ivana Simikj PR at the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister in the Government of North Macedonia
Maria Arapoglou Regional Sales Director, Premier Luxury Mountain Resort
Sofia Efraimidou Online Project Manager, Elance
Cristina Postolache Chief Coordinator and Marketer at Media One Hotel, Dubai
Svetozar Kujic Marketing and Communications Manager, TIME hotels, Dubai
Michalis Arvanitis CEO, Arvanitis Dairy Greece
Sakis Louloudis Advisory IT Specialist, IBM Greece
Evangelos Ergen Director of Administration, CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
George Skafidas Owner of Customs Broker Office
Cristina - Catalina Chirita Policy Adviser for a Member of the EU Parliament, Romania
Dina Jakovljevic Business Development Manager, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), Belgrade
Veronika Kralova Head of Marketing & Communication, Havel, Holasek & Partners
Gratiela Constantin Director, CEC BANK Romania
Dimitris Voutsas Project Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Oliver Kosturanov Chairman of Makedonski Telekomunikaci
Fenia Kalogeropoulou MSc in Psychology and Counselling, CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
Filip Luneski MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations, CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
Irina Aslanov Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration - Leisure and Tourism Management, CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
Dessislava Pencheva Manager of Market Trend
Bojan Bilic PhD student at the University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies
Romina Gjata Kuko Foreign Relations Specialist, the Ministry of Defence of Albania
Georgia Routsou Human Resources Director, Met Hotel, Thessaloniki
Dr Dina Gojkovic Research fellow in Criminal Justice, University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Giovanni Oscar Serafini Human Resources Manager, Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki Hotel
Petros Amiridis Programmer, ITS S.A
Andreas Baresel-Bofinger Management consultant, Incubator of the Technopolis Thessaloniki ICT Business Park
Dr Lambros Lazuras Psychology Lecturer-Researcher, CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
Milan Radin Country General Manager at DM drogerie markt
Iraklis Papadopoulos Country Manager of Greece, Pedersen & Partners Executive Search
Sandy C. Koutsostamati Msc in Psychology & Counselling Grad. 2002 Psychologist
Dr Nikos Dimitriadis Chief Marketing Strategist for Executive Group. Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration - Leisure and Tourism Management, CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

 

 

Mr Giorgos IoakeimidisMr Giorgos Ioakeimidis
Associate at Blackrock


BA in Business Studies - Accounting and Finance
CITY College

Giorgos Ioakeimidis earned his BA in Business Studies (Accounting & Finance) from the University of Sheffield (Russell Group) and his MSc in Investment Management from CASS Business School in London.
As a student he was very active. Apart from his exceptional performance as a student graduating with the highest grade in his cohort he was also the president of the Finance Club and provided unpaid tutoring to his classmates in challenging modules. Also during his student life he made it to the top 10% of UA submissions in Business by submitting a paper on ‘Financial Innovation and the Shadow Banking System’ under the supervision of Mr Michalis Samarinas, Lecturer at our Business Administration & Economics Department meaning he was ranked among the best in the world at the 2017 Undergraduate Awards.
 As a professional he is currently an Associate at BlackRock responsible for the valuation of private equity, private debt and other alternative investments across a variety of portfolios held by mutual and alternative funds managed by BlackRock.

 

Ms Aspasia ProvouMs Aspasia Provou, Health Coach

MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations
CITY College

“As a Health Coach that takes a Whole Life approach – looking at every aspect of my clients’ lives – I had to spend a long time preparing. In fact, I’ve spent pretty much the whole of my adult life studying and learning. That’s how I have found my truth. I spent years working with scientists, learning about nutrition. But the learning journey that has shaped me has taken in many other destinations. At 14, I wanted to learn about farming and be more in nature, so I went to The American Farm School at Thessaloniki.
I earned an MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Sheffield to help make me a better communicator. I did a diploma in Film & Theatre Studies and Performance so I could bring a sense of theatre to what I do. Before starting as a coach to adults, I was the creator of “Kids In The Kitchen” (παιδιά στην κουζίνα!), a program of inspiring cooking and nutrition workshops for children. And of course, eventually, I became a Certified Holistic Health Coach. Now I coach adults one-to-one and lead interactive events with corporate audiences and adult groups. Everything I’ve studied, all the work I’ve done, has led to my Whole Life approach to helping my clients. Successful companies and successful individuals are both universes of moving parts. To get healthy, every part of that universe – every star, planet, sun and moon – needs to be addressed. It’s daunting. Not only are there are so many elements to a healthy body, but also each element is constantly moving. The secret of health – individual or corporate – is to get those multiple moving parts to synchronize harmoniously. For organizations, I lead interactive sessions of discovery, where you learn how to channel your inner wisdom, and improve your life in every way.”

The achievements of Aspasia Provou include:

  • “Best Female Startup 2018” in Greece by LEAN in EU WBAs
  • Chosen as one of the most promising startups in the field of health, wellness or prevention for the IDEAS THAT CHANGE US Acceleration Program by NN and Orange Grove and won 2nd place distinction in the IDEAS THAT CHANGE US Demo Day
  • Selected as one of the 100 most influential women in Greece by Marie Claire Power Trip

 

Mr Marin TroshanovMr Marin Troshanov, Account Manager at DXC Technology

Executive MBA
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Mr Troshanov has graduated from the Executive MBA programme of the University of Sheffield International Faculty, CITY College. Marin is a customer-focused and people-oriented visionary leader with an excellent 13 year track record in Account Management, IT Service Delivery and Sales. Selected as one of the top Bulgaria managers in Next Generation 2015 national contest he has represented his organization in front of C-level executives and state officials building fruitful relationships and attracting sales opportunities. He is currently an Account Manager for an international utilities-sector client driving operational processes, business relationship and escalation management. He travels frequently and collaborates daily with client IT Business Units throughout Europe to make sure seamless service is provided and partnership continuously expanded. Marin is a writer of fantasy novels, children books, horror short stories and comic scripts. He has been the most recognized participant in the program “A Borrowed Writer” visiting a number of high schools throughout Bulgaria.

 

Ms Argyro BarataMs Argyro Barata, Independent Cultural Manager

MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Argyro Barata has an extensive experience of 18 years in the production of cultural projects with national reach for tourist destinations, important Greek festivals and international organizations. She curates Thessaloniki Cultural Management Academy, a post-graduate program by Goethe Institut for cultural managers aiming to inspire innovative processes in the cultural sector and to stimulate exchange and collaboration in the Balkans and South-Eastern Europe. Also, she curates Reworks Agora, the international forum of ideas of Reworks Festival funded by Creative Europe program. It is a cross-thematic conference that explores the future advancements from the intersection of culture, technology and entrepreneurship in collaboration with other 8 major European music festivals. In 2014 she founded FEAST Greece, an offline civic crowdfunding platform that brings creative ideas to life. The project was part of the Greek delegation at the 2016 SXSW festival with the support of the US Embassy and the Hellenic Initiative. She is a member of Bosch International Alumni Center and CitizensLab, a European network of 55 organizations that prototypes and tests innovative solutions for social change. Additionally, shaping a new urban mentality to amplify active citizenship through cultural participatory practices motivated her to support the Thessaloniki Resilient City, TEDx Thessaloniki and Thessaloniki Allios programmes.

 

Dr Aleksandra M. PećinarDr Aleksandra M. Pećinar, Adviser for Geostrategic Issues in South-East Europe
United Nations mandated-University for Peace
European Center for Peace and Development, Belgrade, Serbia


MA in Management in Leisure and Tourism
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

"Whatever you do in your life what matter the most is the way you do it. The way of thinking and structuring certain idea, passion for knowledge, mutual understanding, accompanied with support to reach the objectives, not just for personal but for the multiple benefit, because the people are the thing that matter. All these "ingredients" followed by great and motivating surrounding made my studies at CITY College the "reference point" not just in my career, but in my life as well.
Additionally, my studies in the field of Tourism Management helped me to realize the potential of South East Europe, as well as the possibilities of regional cooperation, which undoubtedly, represent the basis of stability and prosperity of this important area. The field of cultural tourism e.g. represent the huge potential not exploited enough and further developments in this area could possibly contribute to more and more increasing geostrategic importance of the area of Southeastern Europe..."

Dr. Pećinar is Honorary Academician of Social Sciences of the "International Academy of Social Sciences" (IASS), Palm Beach, Florida, USA. She holds PhD and MA in General Contemporary History, University of Belgrade, Serbia and BA degree in Contemporary Greek Language and Literature, University of Belgrade, Serbia.
She is associate of the "School of National Defense" of Republic of Serbia, University "Defense" (Ministry of Defense of Republic of Serbia), a Fellow- member of the National Research Foundation "Eleftherios K. Venizelos" from Chania, Crete, Greece and official representative of aforementioned institution in Serbia. She is a member of the "Institute of Naval history" in Portugal.
Dr. Pećinar is the author of the book "Diplomatic and allied relations of Serbia and Greece (1912-1918)" which has recently been published under the auspices of Ministry of Defense of Republic of Serbia. In addition to cooperation with professional scientific journals such as "The currents of history" and "Archives", Belgrade, "History Illustrated", Athens, her articles were published in business and economy magazine "Profit" from Belgrade.
For her activities she was awarded for numerous awards such as:
- Honorary Plaque of International organizations Lions, Athens
- Gold Medal of H.R.H. King Peter I, Society for the Preservation of the traditions of Liberation wars of Serbia to 1918, Belgrade
- Decoration of the Order of St. Eugenius of Trebizond, Athens
- Decoration of the International Humanitarian Organization" Dr. Albert Schweitzer", Athens
- Honorary Medal under the auspices of Serbian Orthodox Church, Belgrade
- Honorary Medal of Historical-Literary Museum of City of Pushkin, St. Petersburg
- Honorary Plaque of Municipality of Paionia, Polikastro, Greece
- Honorary Plaque of 88th Military Command of Lemnos, Lemnos island, Greece

 

Dr Evelina ChristovaDr Evelina Christova, Assistant Professor at the Mass Communications Department, New Bulgarian University
MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

"Studying at CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield broadened my mind in at least two directions. The first one was the opportunity to be part of a truly inspiring academical environment with outstanding quality of teaching and research which encouraged me to choose an academic career.
The second one was the friendly and warm atmosphere of CITY College which could be felt through the whole process and made me absolutely sure about staying in the region in the near future."
Dr Evelina Christova is a graduate of the MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations programme of the International Faculty. She is an active researcher and a writer with significant published work. One of her recent books is etitled: ‘Charity Communication’. She is also member of the Committee of Professional Ethics of the Bulgarian Public Relations Society.

 

Ms Maria KaranedevaMs Maria Karanedeva, Senior Key Account Manager at Coca-Cola HBC
Εxecutive MBA
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

My studies at CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield I believe helped me to look at each business case from various perspectives, and rather not to only approach it by how it will affect sales (as I am naturally inclined to, as being part of Commercial functions all my professional life). As dynamic as FMCG is, being able to critically assess pros and cons, usually within minutes, is what differentiates the more successful managers from the rest. And my Sheffield experience definitely helped me in that.

 

Ms Tatyana KosarchukMs Tatyana Kosarchuk, Project Director EMEA (East, Westrern Europe and Africa) at ContourGlobal in Bulgaria
Executive MBA in Kyiv
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Ms Kosarchuk is a graduate of the Executive MBA of the International Faculty. She has 10 years experience of working in Development & Power Production Company and 12 years’ experience of working in FCMG companies at the top managerial positions in Finance and Project Development includes the International experience (Head Office in Luxembourg), working as Financial Coordinator of 10 European companies, performing the Regional Chief Financial Officer function for Eastern European entities (Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Russia, Czech and Slovakia), SAP Global Business manager working globally, Project Director working in EMEA region (Europe and Africa).
She holds profound knowledge of Western and Ukrainian/Russian accounting and reporting, US GAAP and IFRS, project development, SAP implementation, business acquisition and construction project development.

 

Ms Anca Irina FilipescuMs Anca Irina Filipescu, Internal Account Manager OEM for the CEE region – Dell
MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
Diploma in Interior Design,
Diploma in Fashion Design

I have recently taken up the position of Internal Account Manager OEM for the CEE region (Central Eastern Europe) and have been in Dell for 2,5 years. I am currently successfully helping in developing the market of OEM DELL in the CEE region for the company and at the same time I am starting to build my own company in a totally different domain: fashion, besides my other project which is organizing music events.
Prior to working at Dell I worked at various start-ups as well as established companies such as Deutsche Telekom. Moreover I helped two start-ups get off ground and develop, one in the medical- pharmaceutical events industry and one in the natural supplements industry, which happened to be a Greek company- ISOPLUS SA.
I grew up in Thessaloniki, since I am half Greek from my mother’s side and have been living in Bucharest for the past 5 years. I have also taken up courses of interior design as well as fashion design and have helped me a great deal with side projects that I am currently working on.

With certainty I can say that my experience and knowledge from The University of Shefffield International Faculty CITY College have helped me and have given me a lot of opportunities along the way into pursuing a successful career as well as managing and pushing other projects from dreams to realization.

 

Ms Fay CandiliariMs Fay Candiliari, Marketing Specialist
MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
BA in English Language and Literature
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

My Master’s Degree from the University of International Faculty CITY College was the crucial starting point for a very interesting and exciting journey in the world of entrepreneurship and innovation in 2011. Having a Bachelor’s Degree in English Language and Literature, the Master’s Degree (with Distinction) provided me with the necessary mindset and skills to tackle the challenge of career change. With skills and inspiration from courses such as New Product Development and Strategic Marketing, I entered the startup ecosystem the day I graduated, co-founding together with a classmate the startup heeeelp.me, a crowdfunding platform for people in need. I simultaneously worked in interesting projects with the South-East European Research Centre (SEERC) in Thessaloniki gaining valuable experience regarding project management and research in sectors such as entrepreneurship and innovation and working on bridging the gap between startups and investors in SEE. Since then, I have also worked as an Office Manager in the high-tech startup codebender in Patras where I was given the possibility to put in practice the skills I gained from my Master’s Degree multiple times thanks to the demanding nature of the working environment. Following my admiration for marketing and writing I have maintained my own business column on a local online magazine and I am currently a columnist for epixeiro.gr where I bring to light startup and innovation stories from Greece. Apart from these, I have participated in various innovative projects (Sponsorboat, cityfarmer.gr, POS Coworking Space) and I am an active member of the startup ecosystem; recently I was a mentor for Startup Weekend Thessaloniki.

 

Mr Vasilios AndreouMr Vasilios Andreou, Financial Specialist at Beta Securities & Project Advisor at Timako Private Eguity
MSc in Banking and Finance
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Master's degree from CITY-Sheffield was an accomplishment helping me to achieve my professional goals. It certainly leveled up my knowledge and experience in the financial sector and particularly on capital markets. Learning and working for capital markets is endlessly interesting and every day is a challenge especially during the global financial crisis the past 10 years. I started my carrier from scratch motivated from the notorious upturn of Greek stock market on 1999 and after 18 years of experience I manage to be a certified market maker for derivative markets and a certified asset manager. But most of all, I managed to still be a professional on my field despite the bad financial environment in Greece. My latest and brand new step is to collaborate with a private equity fund located in London and to make one more of my dreams come true.

 

Ms Alice AlataMs Alice Alata, Digital Field Marketing Executive
MA in Digital Marketing and Social Media
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

My Master's degree from CITY-Sheffield was one of the main reasons I am now at this exciting position in a multinational company doing what I love the most, Digital Marketing and I will always be grateful to the International Faculty for that. I have joined the Digital Field Marketing team of Starwood in July 2015. Our office is located in the heart of Athens and we are working with hotels and resorts from various brands such as Luxury Collection, Westin and Sheraton in Greece and abroad. Since I started, I have gained valuable insights of the travel industry, while cooperating with an amazing team of Digital experts. One of the best parts of my job is travelling to wonderful destinations such as Crete, Messinia and Santorini to visit the hotel teams and coordinate amazing projects. Since digital trends are evolving with the speed of light, we always try to gain all the current market knowledge by acquiring certifications from Facebook, Google and other leading tech players and attending global conferences such as Skift Forum 2017 in London. Digital Travel is such an exciting field to work in, with great potential for the Greek market as well, and I hope to continue being a part of it for a lot of years to come.

 

Ms Sorana McCarronMs Sorana McCarron
Marketing Consultant at MarketingKind


Executive MBA
CITY College

Ms Sorana McCarron holds a BA Degree in Communications & Public Relations as well as the Executive MBA in Marketing with Sheffield University, upon a full scholarship. Ms Sorana McCarron is a Founding Member of MarketingKind, a community of marketers, business leaders and change makers who offer sustainable pro-bono marketing consultancy to brands and causes in the UK. As a dual citizen (British-European) with family on three continents, she speaks five languages and has a deep application for engaging communities while working in various cultures, nurturing diversity, inclusion and a growth mindset. In 2021 she also earned her MBA on “Contemporary Marketing in the British Charitable Sector" researching the effects of Brexit and Covid-19 on the third sector. She uses her passion and the new found data in her pro-bono marketing consultancy work with MarketingKind, while managing Marketing and the Ambassadors’ program for AIPMM in EMEA for her day-to-day job.
As a passionate and committed person she wishes to inspire other students, aspiring leaders and professionals to work with purpose, empowered by education and a continuous learning mindset. Worth to mention Ms Sorana McCarron is an active Alumna working closing with Sheffield Alumni for organising major alumni events.

 

Ms Dragana DurasevicMs Dragana Durasevic, Head of the European Integration & Cooperation, Municipality of Budva, Montenegro
BA (Hons) in Business Studies
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

My name is Dragana Đurašević and I am currently covering position as the Head of the European Integration and Cooperation in the Municipality of Budva, Montenegro. I started my academic carrier in Thessaloniki at the International Faculty of the University of Sheffield CITY College back in 2001. By the end of my final year I obtained the scholarship by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece and I have decided to continue my academic carrier at the Aristotle University - Political Science Department. With the academic experience from CITY University and my colleague’s support, especially professor Dr. Miltos Sarigiannidis who was, among other responsibilities, part-time lecturer at the International Faculty, I successfully ended my second academic step. At the final year I had the opportunity to join UN mission in Nepal as an intern, which was unique, and lifetime experience. After graduation I worked in the Atlantic Council of Montenegro as a project manager and the president of YATA - Youth Atlantic Treaty Association. During my engagement I have maintained successful cooperation with international community present in Montenegro and abroad (Embassies, EU, UN, OSCE, etc.) as well as the Government, Universities and Civil Society. Also, I have participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program in the United States as the selected candidate of the U. S. Embassy in Montenegro. Among other duties, I worked for the Ministry of Science as the member of team responsible for implementation of the World Bank project regarding the higher education reform policy. At the same time I obtained the Master’s degree in International Politics on the University Donja Gorica in Podgorica. If you want to make things happen, BE THERE! I heard this from one of my professor from CITY College and it’s my life motto.

 

Ms Eugenia LemoniMs Eugenia Lemoni, Group Human Resources Coordinator at M.J.Maillis Group
MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
BA in Journalism and Communication Science
The University of Vienna

Eugenia was born and raised in Vienna, where she also completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication Science. Even though she lived in the wonderful capital of Austria and had an excellent experience with her studies at the University of Vienna, one of the biggest and most renowned universities in Europe with a long and rich history, she wanted to take advantage of her continuous interest for other languages and cultures and continue with a Master’s Degree in another country. Growing up in a bilingual (German and Greek) and bicultural surrounding prompted her to think of Greece as an interesting option for more than once. After taking a spontaneous trip to Thessaloniki, she had a moment of enlightenment in front of the City College building and decided then and there to gain a top class British degree while living in the vibrant student city Thessaloniki. Eugenia started her Master’s degree in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations in autumn 2012 and four years later she still believes it was one of the best decisions in her life. In addition to academic enrichment, the most important asset of her studies at City College was the people she met there.

After finishing her studies in Thessaloniki, everyone expected her to move back to Austria in order to find a suitable job position, but she truly believed that it was worth fighting for a dream, which was in her case to continue living in Greece.

She followed her personal motto: “If you really want something, work hard, take advantage of opportunities and never give up, so you will find a way!” 

Eugenia started an internship at the German-Greek Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Athens. During her internship, she was offered a job position at M.J. Maillis Group, Industrial Packaging Systems & Technologies. The Group, with over 1300 employees, is headquartered in Athens, has subsidiaries throughout Europe and North America and a commercial presence in over 80 countries around the world.

Today, Eugenia is in the Group Human Resources Department of M.J.Maillis Group. She enjoys working in an international company where she can interact with people from all over the world and settle down in Athens at the same time.

But having achieved one dream does not mean that there are not more dreams to be realised - as University of Sheffield’s motto says: “Dream bigger dreams”. 

 

Ms Maria GaciMs Maria Gaci, Junior Frontend Developer - IBM Research Almaden, San Jose, California
MSc Digital Media Technologies
Aalto University - Helsinki, Finland
KTH Royal Institute of Technology - Stockholm, Sweden
BSc (Hons) Computer Science
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Maria will soon be a graduate student from an European double-degree program with majors in Hypermedia and minors in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. With a special interest in computer graphics, she is a junior frontend developer with a background in Computer Science from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield.

Prior to joining the IBM Research, Maria worked as a junior developer in various start-up companies in Thessaloniki, Greece and Berlin, Germany focusing on developing friendly web and mobile User Interfaces.

Currently, she lives in San Jose and since July 2016 she works as a Junior Frontend Developer - IBM Research Almaden in California. She is one of the newest team members of the Watson team and her responsibility is developing intuitive and interactive web applications for various content services using technologies like AngularJS.

Maria was one of the founder members of ACM-W CITY College and she firmly believes that her academic background in CITY College, the mentorship and support she received and the opportunity to get involved in numerous extra-curricular activities provided her with a unique experience that helped her further pursue her dreams.

 

Ms Lyudmila PetrovaMs Lyudmila Petrova, Senior Account Professional (Wholesale) – Coca Cola European Partners GB, London, UK
MA Corporate Social Responsibility
London Metropolitan University – London, United Kingdom
BA (Hons) in Business Studies (Finance and Accounting)
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Lyudmila has now over 3 years of work experience in sales management. She is an experienced sales professional with strong project management skills and with a particular understanding of The FMCG industry. Since 2012 she holds a BA degree in Business Studies (Finance and Accounting) from the University of Sheffield International Faculty CITY College.

Prior to joining Coca Cola European Partners, Lyudmila worked in a variety of high profile positions. She began her professional career in the private sector as an ECO advisor at “British Gas” McCurrach Ltd, UK.

Lyudmila also worked at Kimberly Clark UK (McCurrach Ltd), United Kingdom, as a Territory Sales Manager (October 2013 - August 2015). Her management skills were further honed during her work at PepsiCo UK (McCurrach Ltd), as a Regional Manager. In this role, she was responsible for the development of the necessary regional Sales Management organisational structure. Moreover, she had to support, lead, appraise and motivate a number of Territory Managers covering 1/8 of The UK. 

Currently, she lives in London and since May 2016 she works as a Senior Account Professional (Wholesale) – Coca Cola European Partners GB. Only one of the responsibilities in her role is to support her assigned account portfolio and regionally managed accounts to deliver the agreed profit and volume targets.

Finally, Lyudmila is a member of Sales Management Executives and Corporate Responsibility Association in the UK. She firmly believes that her academic background in CITY College and also the support and mentorship she received there has provided her with the right skills to further pursue her career.

 

Ms Anastasia PsomaMs Anastasia Psoma, Fundraising and Membership Manager – Alzheimer’s Disease International; London, UK
Diploma in Fundraising (on going)
Institute of Fundraising - UK
MA in Marketing, Advertisement and Public Relations
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
BA in Business Administration and Management
University of Macedonia Economic and Social Sciences - Greece

Anastasia has more than 10 years of work experience in private, public sector and NGOs. She is an experienced fundraising professional with strong project management skills and with a particular understanding of health and humanitarian initiatives. She also has a strong knowledge of organizing communications, media and international events in multicultural environments and EU. Since 2006 she holds an MA degree in Marketing, Advertisement and Public Relations from the University of Sheffield International Faculty CITY College.

Prior to joining Alzheimer’s Disease International, Anastasia worked in a variety of high profile positions. She began her professional career in the private sector as a consultant at “Euroconsultants”, a Greek consulting company.

Anastasia also worked at the Special Research and Development Fund Office of the Third Regional Health Authority of Macedonia, Greece, as a senior consultant (September 2008 - June 2009). In this role, she was responsible for the financial and accounting management and implementation of several influential EU Programmes. Her management skills were further honed during her work at the Greek Association of Alzheimer’s Diseases and related Disorders, where she spent 4 years (September 2009-Sepetember 2013) as an Administrative Executive, Event& Communication Officer. 

Currently, she lives in London and since September 2013 she works as a fundraiser and membership manager in a large international NGO - Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI). In her role, she leads ADI's membership programme, supporting existing member associations and working with emerging organisations. Moreover, as a ‘Twinning’ Project Manager, she is focused on the establishment of international collaborations among Alzheimer Associations.

Finally, as a fundraising manager, Anastasia managed to build strong partnerships with leading corporates and Foundations in the UK and abroad.  In this role and having her home country in mind she has also managed to secure grants from leading Greek Foundations (S. Niarchos Foundation, John Latsis Foundation and TIMA Foundation) in order to implement two useful projects for the Greek Federation of Alzheimer’s Associations. The first project “Positive care in dementia” was supported with a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, with the objective of training 1600 caregivers and professionals in the country deeply affected by the dementia. Moreover, in March 2016 ADI launched the “Help for Caregivers” booklet (supported by a J. Latsis and TIMA Foundations)  which was distributed to 10.000  individuals, groups, organisations or institutions around Greece free of charge via the network of The Greek Federation of Alzheimer’s Associations.

Anastasia is a member of Institute of Fundraising in the UK. She firmly believes that her academic background in CITY College and also the support and mentorship she received there has provided her with the right skills to further pursue her career.

 

Mrs Diana CasselMrs Diana Cassel, Corporate Services Manager at the British Embassy in Pristina-Kosovo
MBA in Finance
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
Executive Diploma, Strategic Management and Leadership
Chartered Management Institute, UK

Born and raised in Pristina, Kosovo, she possesses more than 18 years of experience in resolving employer challenges with innovative solutions and extensive experience leading large and small teams across geographic and cultural divides. Since 2010 she holds an MBA degree in Finance from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield.

She began her professional career in the humanitarian sector as a Project Manager for Kosova Relief Foundation (Jun 1997 to Dec 1999 in NYC-NY), where she developed, directed and managed full-scale humanitarian aid project plans and associated communications documents. Further, during her employment with European Community Humanitarian Aid Office (Jan 2000 to Oct 2001 in Pristina-Kosovo), she supervised the development and implementation of humanitarian operations worth EUR 20 million. Her management skills were further honed at Darlington Inc., where she spent nine years (Nov 2001 to Nov 2010 in various locations: Pristina-Kosovo, Nea Moudania-Greece, and Cocoa Beach-Florida) immersed in business operations and finance under the contracts with the United States Military and Government in support of the U.S. State Department efforts in the rebuilding of Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Whereas, while engaged as an independent Business Plan and Financial Consultant (Feb 2011 to Oct 2014 in Cocoa Beach-Florida and Brooklyn-NY), she performed multifaceted analyses, created business plans, responded to requests for proposals and provided competitive analysis review for client presentations. Furthermore, Nov 2014 to Apr 2015, while employed by the International Management Group in Pristina-Kosovo, she managed to create a positive organizational culture within the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) / Case Management Information System (CMIS) project team, whose overall objective was/is to establish the foundation for a more efficient, transparent and accountable judiciary and prosecutors in Kosovo through introduction of (ICT).

Nowadays she lives in Pristina-Kosovo and since May 2015 she manages the financial, physical, material, and human resources of the British Embassy in Pristina. As an engaged member of the Embassy leadership, she managed to make an immediate, noticeable, and significant improvement to the running of the mission.

 

Mr Menelaos MoustakasMr Menelaos Moustakas, B2B Product Marketing Manager at trivago
BA in Business Studies (Marketing)
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Menelaos was born in Germany and raised in Greece. From the very beginning he was actively involved with his parents' hotel that helped him identify a very strong passion for the hospitality industry and business. Menelaos joined the International Faculty of the University of Sheffield in 2009. He was actively involved with student's clubs like CITY Marketing Club and in combination with the successful completion of several internships in the area of marketing and research he achieved to gain valuable hard and soft skills to start his professional career. He received his BA in Business Studies - Marketing from University of Sheffield International Faculty CITY College in 2013 including 2 scholarships. Immediately he started searching for the next big challenge and few months later he was hired at trivago headquarters based in Düsseldorf to work as an intern. trivago is the world’s largest hotel search, empowering 120+ million travelers each month in their search for their ideal hotel. Founded in 2005, trivago currently operates on 55 live international platforms in 33 languages.

During his internship, he started as a marketing research assistant helping trivago to take important business decisions when expanding to new markets.

After successful completion of his internship, he joined the Hotel Relations team where he was working in the Market Intelligence area with main focus on market research activities. His career path continued to develop even further and after 1 year the company offered him the position of B2B Product Marketing Manager.

Today he is leading B2B product marketing. Menelaos helps trivago to build a strong market presence in the hospitality industry through customer-oriented products with main goal to empower hoteliers improve their hotel's performance on trivago.

 

Ms Nancy NeneroglouMs Nancy Neneroglou, owner of “Reggio Thessaloniki” school
MSc in Counselling Psychology
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
BSc in Psychology
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Ms. Neneroglou Nancy received an BSc in Psychology and an MSc degree in Counselling Psychology from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield. Her research interests include the relationship between human psychology and physical health, and more particularly in  modern emotional situations and feelings such as in alexithymia, social anxiety, and depression symptoms.

She is trained in Clinical Neuropsychology of major depression and schizophrenia (BPS Learning Centre). She has been involved in research on the relationship between parent and child, between divorced and non-divorced families.

She is specialized in ‘Educational Psychology’ (UOA), and she has received a certification in ‘Special Education’ from the University of Macedonia.

Nancy  has worked in the field of special education  for several years and since September of 2015, she is the owner of “Reggio Thessaloniki”, a school for children 2-6 years old (applying the Reggio Emilia approach). At the same time, she is a writer of psychological articles of local newspapers and magazines. You can contact her in info@reggiothessaloniki.gr.

 

Mr Yannis TsintzirasMr Yannis Tsintziras, Web Designer & Project Manager at IPDIGITAL and Ηotelook
BSc in Computer Science
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Yannis was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece. During his childhood he cultivated love for two things: computers and art.

After graduating high school, he worked for a couple of years in several companies in the field of web and software developing. In 2011 he graduated from CITY College with a BSc in Computer Science.

For the following 3 years he worked as a free lancer and an employee in various companies of different industries, such as Health&Beauty, Education, Alternative Energy Sources and Web Developing, giving a shot in different professional sectors such as sales, negotiations and graphic design. These years proved to be a milestone for his future professional life, giving him knowledge and experience from the real world.

In 2014 he got a job offer from IP DIGITAL, a Digital Agency in Thessaloniki. IP DIGITAL specializes in global telecommunication industry, covering a wide range of efficient, cost-effective and qualitative mobile services, continually developing different sets of technologies and architectures to match the constantly increasing mobile environment.

He started as Junior-Developer and Web-Designer and 13 months later he was assigned the title of Project Manager of Ηotelook; a specific sector of the company specialized in Hotel Booking Engines and Hotel Web Presence. Ever since he has become a member of a qualified team offering services and solutions to hotels and other types of accommodation. Based on more than 15 years of experience and constantly investing in technological research for innovative applications and services development, Ηotelook ensures the delivery of the most qualitative web and mobile solutions in hospitality sector and guarantees integrity, credibility and innovation in every step. 

 

Mr Sakr SimeonMs Popi Gkikopoulou, Market Development Manager at Forthet-Nova
MA in Marketing, Advertising & PR
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
Bachelor in Journalism & Mass Media
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki


Born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece, she graduated from Department of Journalism & Mass Media at Aristotle University in 2001. In 2005 she acquired an MA degree in Marketing, Advertising and PR from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield.

Meantime with her MA she was making her first steps in Marketing in a jewelry company, Eurogold S.A. organizing participation in trade fairs, finding new suppliers & determining company’s price policy. Soon she entered B2B industry, in BTI Greece S.A., a wholesale assembly materials company, where she stayed for 6 years, managing Marketing Department the last 2 years. Her main responsibilities were to increase customer base & gross profits via promotional offers, increase market penetration with new products’ portfolio & reinforce customer loyalty by introducing new pricing policy. Her career path was continued by a 3 year stop-over at Regency Casino Thessaloniki where she gained vast experience in organizing events (theatrical shows, fashion shows, sports events) & promotional activities (draws & loyalty programs), planning and implementing all their ATL & BTL communication.

Today, she lives in Athens, and works for Nova, the leading Pay TV provider in Greece, handling market development of Novacinema, the movie channels of the company. Meantime she is responsible for several other innovation projects all aiming at increasing market penetration, company’s customer base & profits.

 

Mr Sakr SimeonMr Sakr Simeon, Consultant, Riyadh
BSc in Computer Science
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield


Mr Sakr was born in Lebanon and raised in Greece. He graduated from CITY College with a BSc in Computer Science 2008.

After completed his military service in 2012, he got an opportunity to work in Lebanon with SoftSolutions. He was the first person in the company that within a year was taking on-site missions and was coordinating a project to world wide retailers like OKEY in Russia, Carrefour in Tunis, Magazine General in Tunis, CVS in USA, Target in USA. After 2 years he was assigned the title of Technical Project Manager, and he managed to work with Oracle in one of the most advanced commercial machines in the world. He currently lives and works in Riyadh, at a company for the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency as a Consultant having as a target to achieve 99.99% service availability in the back-end servers , which means that banking information should not be out of reach for more than one second.

 

Ms Sanja Milakovic KolundzijaMs Sanja Milakovic Kolundzija, Principal, Executive Group
Executive MBA
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield


Born and raised in Croatia, Sanja moved to Serbia to study and work 20 years ago. She studied English language and literature at the University of Belgrade and graduated with Distinction from The Executive MBA of CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield.

Sanja spearheaded development of Serbia’s leading integrated communication consultancy Executive Group from the start-up to the award-winning market leader in corporate communications, public affairs, digital and branding advisory. Sanja joined Executive Group at the very beginning of the advisory business founding and has worked since on developing integrated communications services portfolio in accordance with the world’s best practices and standards, particularly focusing on building strategic approach as a key competitive advantage. Sanja’s role was crucial in establishing Executive’s leading position on the market through development of its people, top quality service and customer orientation and by building client base of major international companies and brands operating in Serbia. Executive Group is a proud partner for brands like Erste Bank, Vip Mobile, Phillip Morris, Nestle, Coca Cola, Carlsberg, Lactalis, LG, Dell, Sony, etc.

Prior to joining Executive Group Sanja acquired a broad experience in international environment in Serbia working for different Italian, US and Austrian organizations. Sanja is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management, UK and a member of the PR Society of Serbia. In 2015 Sanja was awarded a prestigious business accolade “Kapetan Misa Anastasijevic” as the leading business woman in Belgrade, Serbia.

 

Ms Evi AtzamidakiMs Evi Atzamidaki, Marketing & Events Manager at inSpot
MA in Marketing, Advertising & PR
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Bachelor in English Language & Literature
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
 

Evi was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece, where she graduated from the Department of English Language and Literature at the Aristotle University, in 2012. She acquired an MA degree in Marketing, Advertising and PR, awarded with Distinction from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield in 2014, while she was elected PR officer at the Student Union for the academic year 2013-2014.

She had been working as an English teacher at a Foreign Language school for 3 years, having been the youngest teacher since that particular school started functioning. Simultaneously, she was voluntarily teaching at a non-governmental institution, an experience being defined as one of the most powerful in her life. Her passion, however, on events led her to the events industry in 2013, where she worked as an Events Coordinator in one of the most popular events companies.

Her current occupation, nevertheless, has been characterised as the most significant step in her professional life. Only one week after she had completed her MA studies at CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, she was given the opportunity by the latter, as she states, to work as a Marketing & Events Manager at the biggest eSports company in Greece. eSports have been amazingly popular abroad, with more than 50mn supporters worldwide and over $7 bn revenues in USA in 2014. In Greece, however, working in the eSports industry is challenging and demanding, due to the insufficient knowledge from the consumers' and companies' perspective. Nonetheless, Evi and her colleagues have launched a very innovative project that has attracted both Media's and consumers' attention, having being characterised as the most successful eSports project of the year.

 

Mr Arianit JakupiMr Arianit Jakupi, CEO at Kosovo Medicines Agency
MBA in General Management
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Master of Pharmacy
University of Prishtina
 

Arianit is born and raised in Prishtina Kosovo where he successfully in 2005 completed University studies in the Faculty of Medicine – Department of Pharmacy. In 2010 gained the MBA degree in General Management from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield.

From September 2013 he is appointed from the Minister of Health as CEO in Kosovo Medicines Agency, after serving for two years as a member of the board of appeals of the Agency. The work in the Agency can be defined as very challenging since there are many changes ongoing including also those related to the integration in EU and the health reform which is done in compliance with EU directives.

Changes in legislation, introduction of the online system for every service done, changes in the structure redefining some of the department roles showed a great successes in all the procedures and services done in the Agency, shortened the time of the evaluation of applications, making the workflow much easier for all stakeholders which at the end ensures that the medicines to population are accessible and have efficacy, quality and safety. With all these changes the 2014 ended with 26% increase in incomes, highest in the public health sector in Kosovo in 2014.

Now the work in the Agency is focused in intensive work towards achieving the accreditation for the quality management system which is defining all the roles and SOP which we believe will make the Agency modern and comparable to other Agencies in the region and in EU.

 

Mr Christos MamantzisMr Christos Mamantzis, Project Manager and Member of B.O.D. STELMA T.S.A. Group of Companies
MSc in Human Resource Management
Cornell University (Ithaca – NYC)

MSc in General Management
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Ba Hons in Business Economics
Staffordshire University (UK)

Christos was born and raised in Ptolemaida, Greece. Christos completed successfully his studies at highly reputable universities (UCL, Sheffield, Cornell) while he started his career as junior finance manager at STELMA T.S.A. Group of Companies in 2013. In 2014 he became officially a member of the direction of STELMA T.S.A. Christos interacted closely with the CEO to achieve 11% internal cost reductions and to use marketing effectively.

Since December 2014, he is the Director of STELMA FRANCE which operates in Shipbuilding shipyard, Saint-Nazaire France. Christos also appointed as Project Manager of coating OASIS 3 (largest cruise ship in the world-under construction) of STELMA T.S.A. He founded the French division of the company and is directing a team of 45 people, including engineers, supervisors and technicians. He also developed strategies and advised the Board in winning contracts for OASIS 4, MSC Seaside 1, 2 & 3. He managed to turn loss into creating value for the company in a highly competitive market, increasing profits by 12%. During his presence in France, he is also supervising the maintenance - 19th coating campaign of Eiffel Tower, a project awarded to STELMA at 2009.

His desire for generating new business opportunities triggered him to become one of the main shareholders of STELMA UK and STELMA Qatar (affiliated companies of STELMA T.S.A Group). Christos strongly believes that his educational background and especially his experience at City College inspired him and was the main foundation for his career so far.

His Public Profile: LinkedIn

 

Dr Shpend ImeriDr Shpend Imeri, CEO, IAPPD Europe
Doctorate of Science in Management (Quality Management)
University for Peace established by United Nations

MSc in Logistics and Supply Chain Management
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield 

Dr Shpend Imeri received his BA (Hons) in Business Studies (Marketing) and MSc in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield. In 2012 he got his Doctorate of Science in Management (Quality Management) with distinction from University for Peace established by United Nations and in 2013 he did a PostDoc Research on Operations Strategy. His career started as youngest Corporate Officer at Stopanska Banka AD Skopje Member of NBG – Corporate Banking Division and as well as part time lecturer at FON University.

He later worked for almost three years as one of the 4 Key Account Managers at EVN Macedonia (Sales Operation Department) serving largest companies in North Macedonia. He was appointed project leader of “Computer for Every Child” project of the Ministry of Education and Science. He served as Head of Energy Customer Center in the City of Tetovo where he lead three groups (New connections, Customer Care and Maintenance) of total 80+ while simultaneously served as Councillor at the Municipality of Tetovo.

However, his desire for education management and professional development urged to join LEORON Professional Development Institute as International Training Consultant and Production Manager. Currently Dr Imeri holds multiple positions; he is the Europe CEO at the IAPPD International Association for People & Performance Development, Special Advisor for Certification Programs at GAFM ® Global Academy of Finance and Management (Board of Standards), external consultant at South East University TechPark for projects such as Horizon 2020, IPA.

Dr Imeri is the founder and General Manager of High Level Training Institute that organizes and delivers professional development training in Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. In 2014 he also co-founded the Innovative Insulation Systems Company together with his brother.

Dr Imeri is very active in the academic side; he is supervising and supporting doctoral students at the University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia and University of Vaasa, Finland. He is an active reviewer and Member of the Scientific Boards such in several international conferences such International Conference on Innovation and Management, Management and Production Engineering Review, Production and Manufacturing Research. His area of research interests include Total Quality Management, Operations Management, Logistics and Supply Chain, Innovation and SME's, Knowledge and IT Management. Dr Imeri has published papers in various International Conferences and journals.

 

Ms Ioanna LiarommatiMs Ioanna Liarommati, Psychologist, Mental Health Counsellor and Psychotherapist in private practice
MSc in Counselling Psychology
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield 

Ioanna’s first degree was in Economics. However, a newly found interest in Psychology led her to decide to study Psychology at the University of Sheffield International Faculty CITY College, as a mature student (married with two children). She obtained a B.Sc. and then, an M.Sc. in Counselling Psychology (with Distinction). During both degrees, she received scholarships for academic achievement.

Ioanna continued her training in Gestalt Psychotherapy at the Gestalt Foundation Institute of Thessaloniki where she completed a 4-year training course. She is currently working on her thesis on treating grief in Gestalt psychotherapy, in order to receive her accreditation as a Gestalt Psychotherapist by the European Association for Gestalt Therapy and the Greek Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy.
Since the beginning of her training she worked, through the Gestalt Foundation Institute, as a volunteer with cancer patients, leading groups for first-time patients as well as for returning patients at the Association for Cancer Patients of Macedonia-Thrace. At this setting, she also counselled cancer patients individually. Through this work, she has been able to become familiar with the special needs of cancer patients, both recently diagnosed and in remission. cancer patients.

She has also counselled victims of domestic violence at X.E.N. (the Y. W. C. A. of Thessaloniki). At XEN she also had the opportunity to work with financial immigrants and get to know and appreciate cultural differences and practices of various ethnic groups in Greece. At the same setting, she has developed and led groups supporting unemployed women, and groups for expecting mothers.
She has also led year- long support groups for female prisoners in the Correctional Facility of Diavata, near Thessaloniki.

Ioanna has been counselling students at the International Faculty CITY College, for the past five years, through the Community Counselling Centre. This experience has allowed her to develop skills in short-term counselling, and has enabled her to become familiar with the issues of students at higher academic settings, as well as with different cultures, due to the diversity of the student body.

She has started her own practice 3 years ago, practicing counselling and Gestalt psychotherapy on a private basis. Setting up her own office and managing the practice has been a great joy as much as a challenge. The satisfaction of helping people gain self-awareness and choices in effectuating changes in their lives is very important to her.

Ioanna believes the solid academic background she gained through her education at the International Faculty allows her to make the best use of her psychotherapy training: being able to critically evaluate psychology and psychotherapy research, allows her to incorporate varied research findings into the experiential and holistic practice of Gestalt psychotherapy – and this, for Ioanna, is the mark of the responsible practitioner.

 

Ms Ramona PergelMs Ramona Pergel, Residential Executive Member/Head of Operational Planning and Support EON UK
MBA in General Management 
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield 

MSc in Legal Consultancy and Business Management
“Petru-Maior” University Targu-Mures, Faculty of Economical, Legal and Administrative Studies

BSc in Law
“Babes-Bolyai” University Cluj-Napoca/Faculty of Law

Originally from Transylvania Romania, Ramona Pergel started her career as a lawyer and since 2008 she has been occupying top executive positions in different EON Business Units in Romania. In 2013 she successfully set up the strategic residential customer operations business in Romania taking over the role of Board Member of EON Romania and General Manager of the Customer Operation Business. Part of the Global E.ON Group Executive Talent Pool, Ramona was nominated in September 2014 to take over an international assignment for 3 years as Residential Executive Member of EON UK and part of the Senior Leadership Team, leading the Operational Planning and Support of the EON UK Residential Business. The role is a key function that leads and runs the residential business managing the effective optimisation of customer service function resources of 6500 employees, servicing 5,5 million customers and delivering more than 4 billion pounds turnover.

Ramona has maintained a successful career whilst studying and graduating with Distinction the MBA of University of Sheffield UK, being shortlisted in 2012 by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) from more than 150 worldwide nominations and reaching the top as one of four talented finalists for the Independent MBA Student of the Year Award in London. Earlier that year she was also recognized by Business Magazine as one of the '100 most powerful business women in Romania'. In May 2014, Business Magazine nominated Ramona as one of the “100 Young Top Managers in Romania”, being awarded among the ten prize winners as the most competitive young manager involved in the Romanian business environment.

 

Ms Katerina PapathanasiouMs Katerina Papathanasiou, Psychologist-Gestalt Psychotherapist
Member of the British Psychological Association (B.P.S)
Member of the American Psychological Association (APA)
Member of the Greek Association of Gestalt Psychoterapy (H.A.G.T)
Member of the European Association of Gestalt Psychotherapy (EAGT)
Member of the European Association of Psychotherapy (EAP)

MSc in Psychology and Counseling
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

BSc degree in Psychology
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Ms Papathanasiou katerina always had the interest to explore human psychology and for that reason she decided to change the focus of her academic studies and to concentrate on this multifaceted field of science. Therefore, she abandoned a career as a dentist and started all over again. She received her BSc degree in Psychology from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield in 2007 and her MSc in Psychology and Counseling in 2010. Afterwards, she specialised in Gestalt Psychotherapy and received her degree from the Gestalt Foundation, Psychotherapy and Educational Center in 2013. At the same time she started her own private practice. Additionally, ever since 2010, she has been working  as a counselor in The Counseling Service of the International Faculty and she has been supporting, right from its start, the e-help service, that the International Faculty has been offering to the public since 2006. Moreover, she is an active member of STORGI (Association of friends of children suffering from cancer) and LAMPSI (Association of parents with children suffering from cancer) offering her professional knowledge on a voluntarily basis to the children and their parents who go through this turmoil. Ten years later, she feels really content with the choices she made and the risks she took in order to change the course of her life.

Today Katerina says: “Today I am leading the life that I chose.  It was a difficult road and at the same time a very fulfilling one.  I became the professional that I wanted to be, I pursue my career as a psychologist and I balance between my personal and occupational life. Due to the fact that I am a mother of four children, a lot of people ask me whether it is difficult to manage everything. Well, the answer is simple: Yes it is difficult, but I love every moment of it.”

 

Mr Konstantin AndonovMr Konstantin Andonov, F&D Manager, Radisson Resort Zavidovo
BA (Hons) in Business Studies
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Konstantin was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration with Major in Marketing and he is in the process of obtaining an MBA degree in Finance and Accounting. While being a full time student he made it his goal to work during his vacation. He started as a groom at one of the best 5 star hotel in Greece – Sani Resort. He was later promoted to a Front Office clerk. So far he held positions in five countries in three continents - Africa, Asia and Europe. Konstantin is currently responsible for the entire operation at the brand new 5 star Radisson Resort “Zavidovo”, where his experience and theoretical knowledge assisted him in training the local workforce. His professional goal is to develop his colleagues to their full potential and to achieve the predetermined goals. In his private life, Konstantin is actively supporting the charity activities being in Bulgaria as well as a member of Knights Templar in Bulgaria.

 

Mr George KalfasMr George Kalfas, Managing Director of A.TL.AS Consulting
MSc in Counselling Psychology
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Bsc in Business Administration
University of Macedonia (Thessaloniki - Greece)

Diploma in Human Resource Management
National & Kapodistrian University of Athens

George was born and raised in Thessaloniki. While a student, he has working as a clerk in different companies such as Avinoil and Pizza Hut. He holds degrees in Business Administration from University of Macedonia, a Human Resource Management from National & Kapodistrian University of Athens) and has completed his graduate studies in Counselling Psychology at City College – International Faculty of the University of Sheffield. He believes in life-long learning, in areas such as HRM issues, global tax issues, lean accounting & business consulting.

Since 2007, he is the Managing Director of A.TL.AS Consulting, working as an HR & Business consultant. The breadth of his academic knowledge combined with his varied and long working experience, lead to a well-rounded perspective on issues related to businesses and employees.
He is also the coordinator and advisor of e-Help, the online counseling service of CITY College for the last  5 years.

He is a member of the international community of Human Resource Management (SHRM), member of the Economic Chamber of Tax Consultants and holder of Accounting & Tax Consulting First class diploma.
His professional goal is to assist individuals to grow their skills & talents and to assist businesses for better labour relations and better quality of working life for both entrepreneurs and employees.
His Public Profiles: LinkedIn,  Facebook.

 

Mr Dionisis StoubosMr Dionisis Stoubos, Senior Technology Architect, Infosys Ltd
BSc in Computer Science
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

MSc in Distributed Multimedia Information Systems
Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK

Mr Stoubos received his BSc in Computer Science, first class,  from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield in 1999. He was then offered an EPSRC Advanced Studentship award from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK.  Following a thesis on Secure 3D Genetic Data Querying with CORBA over the Internet, he received his MSc in Distributed Multimedia Information Systems in 2000. Before graduating from his MSc course he was already offered a position as a Production Engineer with Excite Europe Ltd, the European subsidiary of Excite@Home, the second largest web portal worldwide at the time.  

He returned  back to Greece in 2002 where he started as a Senior Software Engineer, and then continued as an R&D and Production Manager for well established Greek Companies. Mid 2004 and whilst already performing as a freelancer he moved into the Entrepreneurial world, starting his own software development company where he served as a lead architect. In 2007 he became R&D, Production and Operations Manager as well as minority share holder in yet another acknowledged web development company in Northern Greece.
Following a period of 4 something years, he was offered the position of Technology Architect with Infosys Ltd, a multinational corporation that provides business consulting, information technology, software engineering and outsourcing services  and has over 160K employees  worldwide.

Based out of Basel, Switzerland, he quickly rose through the company ranks to become Senior Technology Architect and is currently serving in the Manufacturing and Technology Division, dealing with customers such a Alstom, BASF, ABB, BMW, Toyota and others.  For the past two years, he has been also operating as a Lead Architect for the After Sales area of Toyota Motor Europe. His continued love, for the Java Ecosystem and emerging trends and open source technologies continue to be the driver for his professional advancement.

 

H.E. Tomi DimitrovskiH.E. Tomi Dimitrovski, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of North Macedonia to the Republic of Slovenia
Executive MBA
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Bachelor of Medicine degree
St. Cyril & Methodius University, Skopje

H.E. Tomi Dimitrovski holds a Bachelor of Medicine degree (1991 - 1997) from the “St. Cyril & Methodius University” in Skopje. He also holds an Executive MBA degree from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, (2001 – 2003). Between 1998 – 2007 he worked at various managerial positions at “Sandoz, the generic pharmaceutical division of Novartis” in the representative office in Skopje. Between January 2007 till January 2014 he served as a Consul General of North Macedonia in Thessaloniki, Greece. On April 2014 he has been appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of North Macedonia to the Republic of Slovenia. Since January 2011 he is a PhD Candidate at SEERC, the University of Sheffield. Mr Dimitrovski's PhD research topic is: Management and policy issues emerging from the use of information technology (IT) in health care delivery: Investigation of national readiness for electronic health record system and his supervisors are Prof. Peter Bath and Prof. Panayiotis H. Ketikidis.

 

Ms Elina SerkedzhievaMs Elina Serkedzhieva, Global Recruitment Manager, Opera Software ASA
BSc in Psychology
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Elina received her BSc in Psychology degree from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield in 2005. She got her first career opportunity through CITY College's Career Fair and started working as Human Resources Manager for the Kempinski Hotels a week after her graduation.

Since then she has worked in global recruitment, talent development, absence management and offshore personnel management. After the hospitality industry, she was offered a position at Princess Cruises where she worked with immigration and offshore human resources. The ship she was assigned to, accommodated 4000 passengers and 2000 crew members exploring the North American coast from Alaska to Hawaii. She gained extensive experience on human resources management, conflict resolution and most of all, on the importance of work environment and performance evaluation.

She arrived in cold Norway straight from Honolulu in 2009 to join Opera Software, as Recruitment specialist. Opera Software is one of the biggest Scandinavia's international companies and one of the world's fastest developing IT businesses. Currently, she is a Global Recruitment Manager, with a focus on hires from Latin America, China, Australia, Russia and Norway.

Today Elina says: "Today I am a happy HR professional even though I never meant to become one when I was studying psychology. I admit it was my mentor at the Psychology Department at CITY College that encouraged me to write my final year project in the field of Occupational Psychology and which ignited my interest towards Human Resources. Nine years later, after hundreds of interviews, thousands of applications and after having seen every possible resume format, I believe my education and the choices I made during that time are vital not only for my professional but also for my personal development.

 

Mr Jeton SiqecaMr Jeton Siqeca, Software Architect, Co-Owner in LINK Software
MSc in Software Engineering and Telecommunications
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Jeton Siqeca received his MSc in Software Engineering from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, in 2011. After graduating from CITY College, he started working as a Software Developer in Bank for Business in Prishtina. Couple of months after working as Software Developer, he became the Head of Operations where he was a part of several big projects of the bank. Less than a year after, he was named the Manager of IT Department. Furthermore, as of 2011, he is a part of Riinvest College as a teaching assistant teaching classes like Database Management Systems and Project Management. While working in the bank, he was a part of several projects with his father’s software company. Currently he is running the Prishtina office of his company and working as Software Architect several projects.

 

Mr Charalampos FotiadisMr Charalampos Fotiadis, Senior Manager for WorldPay Ltd
BSc in Computer Science
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Charalampos received his BSc in Computer Science from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, in 2004. During his studies, he made the first steps towards his career in IT, as a support/admin agent for local businesses in Greece.
In 2006, after relocating to Amsterdam NL, he joined BIBIT BV (Royal Bank of Scotland) and entered the world of eCommerce and Payments as a technical support engineer. Within a year he was promoted to Head of Bibit Support, a position he held for 2 years.
In 2009, he came up with a merchant consultancy model that Royal Bank of Scotland (eCommerce Division) which is still in place today, and he relocated to Cambridge UK, to establish and manage the Customer Excellence Team until 2010.

Since 2010, he is based in London, where he holds the Senior Manager’s position for WorldPay Ltd |Merchant Consultancy and Implementation|, providing consultancy for an exclusive portfolio of high profile eCommerce merchants including Apple, eBay and Microsoft.

 

Ms Faye Koukia-KoutelakiMs Faye Koukia-Koutelaki, Psychologist in private practice, 
MSc in Counselling Psychology
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Faye Koukia-Koutelaki has recently got her MSc in Counselling Psychology with Merit, from the University of Sheffield. Prior to this she studied Psychology in the University of Crete and she graduated with Distinction in 2010. She is a licensed psychologist since then. She continued her studies in Utrecht University, studying Children's Development.  She has worked as an instructor (Developmental Psychology) in a Public Professional Institute and she is now working as a School Counsellor in a nursery school and kindergarten, and an English language school in Thessaloniki. At the same time, she is a counsellor in CITY's e-Help services, and since December 2013 she is also a Coordinator of the service. In January 2014 "Counselling Psychology" was published from Pedio publications, a collective volume that includes her first study "Psychosocial adjustment and parenting in pre-pubertal children». She has worked as a research assistant in many projects in children's and adults' cognitive development (Greek standardization WPPSI-III, Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices & Crighton Vocabulary Scales, WAIS-IV, etc), behavioural difficulties and bullying, and intimate relationships. Recently, she opened her private office in the centre of Thessaloniki. You can contact her in psy.fkk@gmail.com.

 

Ms Kelly Calliope SivrisKelly Calliope Sivris, PhD Candidate/ESRC Researcher, 
BSc (Hons) in Psychology
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

MSc in Occupational Psychology
The University of Nottingham, United Kingdom

Ms Kelly Calliope Sivris completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology at CITY College, the International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, in 2010. After finishing her undergraduate studies, she worked as an assistant psychologist in Thessaloniki and completed the CITY e-counselling training, which enabled her to be an active member of the CITY e-Help team till today.  Ms Sivris continued with her postgraduate studies at the University of Nottingham in the UK. She completed her postgraduate studies in Occupational Psychology in 2013. While studying for her Masters, she got involved in various projects and activities related to Leadership, Business Administration and Sales in order to expand her horizons. She has won awards on Leadership and Career Development. She is a qualified Test Administrator specialised in Personality Testing and also experienced in psychometric instrument development. In the summer of 2013, she worked as a research intern focusing on the Workplace Mental Health Promotion at the World Health Organization HQ in Geneva where she gained experience in an international setting.

She is currently a PhD student and tutor at the University of Nottingham. Her research is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council UK. Her doctoral research is on the physical and mental health impact of job insecurity on employees affected by cardiovascular disease during periods of economic recession. Her study aims to generalise findings across European Union countries and inform future policy development in this area. Ms Sivris is also a member of the organising committee of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology.

 

Ms Ivana SimikjIvana Simikj, PR at the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister in the Government of North Macedonia,
MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Ivana Simikj received her Master of Arts degree in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations from University of Sheffield International Faculty CITY College. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology Degree from Ss. Cyril and Methodius University Skopje North Macedonia.

She has an extensive experience in marketing and business development as well as communication strategy. She has worked at several organizations in various positions. More specifically she worked as Assistant General Manager at Simax Skopje, Student Affairs assistant and Director of International Marketing & Student Recruitment Assistant at CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, Representative for North Macedonia of CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, Marketing Account at Publicis Groupe-Marketing, Advertising and PR agency Skopje.
Currently she is working as a PR in the Government of North Macedonia, responsible for establishing, developing and maintaining relationships with the public and media, and strategically planning the PR activities in order to support the Government activities.

 

Ms Maria ArapoglouMaria Arapoglou, Regional Sales Director, Premier Luxury Mountain Resort, Bansko-Bulgaria
BA in Business Administration - Marketing,
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Maria Arapoglou received her BA in Marketing from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, in 2002. During her studies, Maria excelled academically, while being actively involved in students life by holding the position of students representative for a year. After graduating City College, Maria worked as a Marketing Executive in various companies, in the fields of Telecommunications, Retail and Real Estate. In 2008, she entered the hospitality industry with managerial positions in various hotels like Porto Carras Grand Resort, where she served as a Marketing and Public Relations Director. Since 2010 she holds the position of Sales Director for Premier Luxury Mountain Resort in Bansko, Bulgaria, managing a team of five people.

 

Ms Sofia EfraimidouSofia Efraimidou, Online Project Manager, Elance
BSc in Psychology,

CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Sofia Efraimidou's drive for academic achievement was fueled by her desire to acquire the skills and knowledge to make a significant contribution to the needs of her community. After her BSc in Psychology from the University of Sheffield she completed an MSc programme in Health Psychology. Her intention to make a difference for those facing developmental and/or physical challenges, combined with her restless spirit, motivated her to pursue additional diplomas in Learning Difficulties and Homeopathy. Her field experience in psychological intervention/support as an associate psychologist is quite comprehensive, ranging from hospital and psychiatric internships to occupational counselling and and life guidance sessions. Sofia is currently branching out into Media. A successful freelance writer since 2008 she is now a representative of one of the largest and fastest growing international online work spaces, Elance. She is also a contributing writer on high traffic web-zines such as marieclaire.gr and aixmi.gr, and was recently appointed project manager for a new online and free press periodical being developed in Cyprus.

 

Ms Cristina PostolacheCristina Postolache, Chief Coordinator and Marketer at Media One Hotel, Dubai
MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations,

CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Ms Postolache received a Master of Arts degree in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations, Awarded with Merit from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield. She also holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics and Business Communication from The Academy of Economic Studies of Bucharest.

She worked for almost 3 years in TAROM, the National Airline Company of Romania as a Front-office check-in Supervisor, more than 1 year in marketing positions in IT and Pharmaceutical companies in Greece between 2011 and 2012. During her Master studies she had been chosen PR officer in the Students Union the City College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield working as a liaison between students and Heads of the institution. Her first contact with the hospitality industry was in Greece, where she worked for a 6 months period as a PR and Marketing Manager in Theo Hotel, Xalkidiki in 2012 conducting communications and public relations programs in order to enhance the Hotel's image and position within the marketplace.

Currently she is working in the Middle East as a Chief Coordinator and Marketer in Media One Hotel, Dubai. In this position, she is managing the revenue stream for external advertising, developing and implementing various loyalty card programs as well as Acting as a common interface to the Media One Tower tenants for brand image and communicating activities by building relationships with key stakeholders.

 

Mr Svetozar KujicSvetozar Kujic, Marketing and Communications Manager, TIME hotels, Dubai
MA in in Marketing Advertising and Public Relations

CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Svetozar Kujic received his Master of Arts degree in Marketing Advertising and Public Relations from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, in June 2012. Prior to his MA studies, Svetozar, studied at Belgrade's Faculty of Media and Communication where he received a Bachelor's degree with Honours.

Before starting his studies at CITY College, Svetozar worked for a numerous of International and local organizations in various marketing and PR positions. More specifically he worked for BIG BLUE media agency as a marketing coordinator, as a Marketing Researcher for MTV, at the Faculty for Media and Communications as a PR coordinator and to OPEL Southeast Europe as a PR Assistant.
He has an active community involvement; he is an Aid worker for Red Cross and a Young Ambassador of Serbia's "IncredeblEurope".

After completing his studies at the International Faculty in 2012, Svotozar left for UAE after he was appointed a Marketing and Communications Manager position for TIME hotels in Dubai.

 

Mr Michalis ArvanitisMichalis Arvanitis, CEO, Arvanitis Dairy, Greece
BA in Business Administration

CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
MSc in Business Management
Aberdeen University, Scotland

Michalis Arvanitis completed his undergraduate studies in Business Administration at CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield in 1996 and continued his postgraduate studies in Aberdeen University in Scotland, where he received his MSc in Business Management.
Finishing his studies he joined the family business, Arvanitis Dairy, and soon took over as CEO. Arvanitis Dairy is situated in Thessaloniki and produces Greek traditional P.D.O. cheeses.

For fifteen years, through hard work and dedication, the embrace of innovative production methods, customer centered focus and bold moves the Dairy sports an innovative line of products which markets are hungry for.
Under Michalis' leadership the Dairy and its cheeses have seen many an honorary mention in the press and have won a variety of high profile awards. The most important awards thus far have been the Golden Award for its Feta Cheese in the World Cheese Championship in Milwaukee, U.S. and the 3 star Award for its Traditional Tsantilas Feta Cheese in Great Taste Award in London, U.K.

The newspaper ''Kathimerini'' named Arvanitis Dairy one of the 11 most positive examples of 2012 in Greece and that ''they (Arvanitis Dairy) don't just expect the crisis to end, but strive and contribute towards overcoming it''.

Arvanitis Dairy has developed its exports to 23 countries and is constantly seeking to expand in existing and in new markets. In recent years, the European Commission repeatedly appointed Arvanitis Dairy to represent one of its most important protected cheeses, the Feta, to international events such as Korea (2011) and Vietnam (2013).

 

Mr Sakis LouloudisSakis Louloudis, Advisory IT Specialist, IBM Greece
MSc in Information Systems,
BSc in Computer Science

CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Sakis Louloudis joined the Computer Science Department of CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield in 1997. During the 3rd year of his studies he was appointed as Teaching Assistant at CITY College and after graduating with the BSc in Computer Science (Honours Class I), he continued his studies at the International FAculty with the MSc in Information Systems. Mr Louloudis started his career in Thessaloniki, initially working at Business Networks Architects (BANet) as an Analyst and Developer and later at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - Laboratory of Medical Informatics.

Since early 2004, Mr Louloudis moved to Athens holding various positions in major IT companies. Initially he joined Atos Origin (today's Atos), as a member of the team that replaced the PrePaid subscribers platform of "Telestet" (later known as 'TIM Hellas' and today as 'WIND Hellas'). In the following years, he coordinated the technical activities for various projects including the Loyalty Rewarding Schemes for mobile subscribers of both TIM Hellas and Safaricom in Kenya.

In 2006 his career continued in Vodafone Greece. Completing the mobile traffic Rating System Replacement Project, he later found himself employed by IBM Greece due to the Global Outsourcing of Vodafone's IT to IBM. During the next 5 years he had the chance to serve in various roles: Rating System Administrator, Vodafone Greece ADM (Application Development and Maintenance) Account - Application Maintenance Manager and later as the SIT and UAT Manager for the largest IT Transformation Program in Europe, which took place in Vodafone Greece from 2010 until 2012. He redesigned and implemented the System Integration Testing, Customer Acceptance Testing and Configuration Management processes to be followed for all Projects of the annual Release canvas in Vodafone.

With rich experience in the Telecommunications sector, Mr Louloudis decided a shift to the Banking sector and is currently working in the IBM Global Business Services, as Business Analyst for the implementation of the new Integrated Data Warehouse of ALPHA BANK Greece. As a member of global teams in the past years, he values and understands the importance of diversity in the workplace and the positive business results of an inclusive working environment towards innovation and creativity, participating in the local and global Diversity Resource Groups of IBM.

 

Mr Evangelos ErgenEvangelos Ergen, Director of Administration, CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
MSc in Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship,

CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Mr Evangelos Ergen has more than a 18 years of experience in the sector of University Administration. He holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and an MSc in Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship from the University of Sheffield. He is currently pursuing his second master's degree in the Master of Business Administration at the same University, focused in health care governance.

Evangelos has additional experience in many other sectors such as IT, Customer Service and Logistics and Operations, where he received a significant professional training. He currently holds the post of Director of Administration at CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, located in Thessaloniki, Greece. He is a Member of the Association of University Administrators (UK). His recent research interests are stated in resilience, governance and quantum complexity incorporating both education and health. More information on his papers and reports could be found in his personal webpage at: http://www.ergen.gr or http://www.evangelosergen.eu (email: ergen@ergen.gr).

 

Mr George SkafidasGeorge Skafidas, Owner of Customs Broker Office
MSc in Management,

CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

George Skafidas attended the BA (Hons) in Business Studies (Finance & Accounting) and graduated from the International Faculty of the University of Sheffield in 2001.From the beginning of his studies he showed particular interest in public affairs and was elected 'President' for three consecutive years in his field, 'Finance and Accounting'. Knowledge from CITY College, interest about customs brokerage and work experience in shipping agency in Thessalonikis port for approximately two years encouraged him create his own business. He successfully passed customs brokers state examination and today runs his own customs broker office (http://www.ektelonisths.gr/). His daily work agenda includes import, export and outstanding customs brokerage for Europe and the entire world. George is also the youngest member of the organisations "National Federation of Customs brokers in Greece" (O.E.T.E) and "Union of Thessalonikis Customs Brokers".

George is open to new challenges and ideas. He took part in European Union programme "Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs" as host entrepreneur which brought him together with similar thinking businesspersons from Latvia, Sweden and Belgium. One of the projects received the "Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Award 2012" as best business concept.The Erasmus Entrepreneurship Contest 2012 is organised by the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Support Office in order to reward entrepreneurs and Intermediary Organisations for their commitment to and participation in the Programme. On this occasion the European Commission held an Award Ceremony in October 2012 in Brussels.

 

Ms Cristina - Catalina ChiritaCristina - Catalina Chirita, Policy Adviser for a Member of the EU Parliament
MSc in Management,

CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Cristina - Catalina Chirita received her Master of Science degree in Management from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, awarded with Distinction and with the Sheffield Graduate Award. She previously graduated a Master of Educational Studies in Training at the University of Bucharest, in 2010, and a Bachelor of Economics in Finance at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, in 2008.

Before starting her studies at CITY College, Cristina worked for 5 years as a teacher of economic studies at Superior Schools of Commerce "Nicolae Kretzulescu", an economic high-school in Bucharest, whereas in parallel she collaborated with various local NGOs in delivering training programmes on soft skills for students and youth.

During her studies in Thessaloniki, she was very involved in the academic life, being a representative in CITY Students Union and an active member of the CITY Marketing Club, assisting in the organization of workshops and seminars.

After completing her studies at CITY College in 2011, Cristina left to Brussels, where she received the Robert Schuman Scholarship to work as a Financial Officer Trainee at the European Parliament. Currently she is a Policy Adviser for a Member of the European Parliament, assisting in the parliamentary work, conducting research, preparing policy position papers on current European Union topics and organising meetings and events within the European Parliament in Brussels.

 

Ms Dina JakovljevicDina Jakovljevic, Business Development Manager, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), Belgrade
MSc in Human Resources Management,

CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Dina Jakovljevic works as Business Development Manager of an online recruitment website operating throughout the Balkans. After successfully completing MSc studies at CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield she moved back to Belgrade, Serbia and started working within a well-known fashion magazine. She started as a Marketing Consultant and just after couple of months, she was chosen for the "Lifestyle Editor in Chief" position. Soon after she was approached by Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN (regional NGO) which gave her the opportunity to develop a new project; an online recruitment service/job board, the "BalkanJobFinder". Since the official launch in February she has managed to turn this into a wellknown online recruitment service with more than 600 job applicants, and many job posts and partnerships. Ms Jakovljevic states: "CITY College has a unique teaching approach of transferring knowledge to students. The academic staff helps students develop critical thinking skills and prepare them to excel in a competitive business environment".

 

Ms Veronika KralovaVeronika Kralova, Head of Marketing & Communication, Havel, Holasek & Partners
MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations,

CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Ms. Veronika Kralova received her Master of Arts degree in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations, Awarded with Distinction from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield. She also holds a Master's Degree in Management from University of Economics in Bratislava,Slovakia and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from City University Bellevue, Washington.

Veronika's extensive marketing experience covers an array of responsibilities, such marketing and business development as well as communication strategy. She has worked for two of the top leading global consulting companies; PwC and Ernst & Young.

She is currently the Head of Marketing & Communication for one of the most successful Czech law firms; Havel, Holasek & Partners, working closely with the leadership and the management of the company to develop marketing and business development strategy and key industry specialization.
During her career she had the opportunity to lead challenging projects that required flexibility, organization skills, people and project management skills. She has worked on several projects that involved decision making on creating new corporate identity,and re-branding.

She was responsible to organize international conference such as the Global Tax Conference, commenced the Global Economic Crime Survey for Slovakia, managed Entrepreneur of the Year project, organized hundreds of events and business forums. In her career she also cooperated with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the World Bank. In 2008 she was introduced as the Regional Coordinator for the European Association of Communication Directors for Slovakia.

 

Ms Gratiela ConstantinGratiela Constantin, Director, CEC BANK Romania


Ms. Gratiela Constantin received her Executive MBA (Finance) from CITY College and holds a PhD in Accounting from the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. She is a Romanian chartered accountant and a tax consultant authorized by the Romanian Chamber of Fiscal Consultants.

During 1997-2003 she gained an impressive consulting experience in the tax field, as she has worked in one of the "big four" multinational audit companies. At that time she was also directly involved in the due-diligence projects related to the privatization of Romanian companies. She was promoted as tax manager and leader of a team offering tax services to various industries.
The knowledge and experience in the financial service industry sector served her well since she left the audit company as she went on to pursue a career in banking. In 2004, she joined the Romanian subsidiary of Alpha Bank, as the first tax advisor for this entity and soon enough she was promoted as Chief Tax Advisor (equivalent of Deputy Director).

Gratiela also coordinates the Tax Committee of Romanian Banking Association (RBA) and mediates between the divergent interests of competing banks (as a Chairman of the Committee since 2004). Currently, she is coordinating an important project related to the tax implications of IFRS implementation by the Romanian banks.
According to Gratiela, the MBA programme significantly contributed to enhancing her role in the bank as well as in the Tax committee). Recently, she was appointed as Romanian Banking Association representative at the Tax Committee of European Banking Federation.

 

Mr Dimitris VoutsasDimitris Voutsas, Project Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Dimitris Voutsas graduated from CITY College with first class distinction in BSc Computer Science in June 1999.
He then accepted an internship position as a Research & Development Engineer at SRI (Stanford Research Institute) International in Palo Alto, California. In SRI, he worked in a "smart house" project conducting research on multimodal user interfaces, ubiquitous computing and speech recognition.

After the SRI internship, he was then offered a research scholarship to study Computer Science at a Masters level in University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). In UCLA, he worked in a NASA-funded program on user interfaces and auditory warnings detection in mission-critical environments, focusing his research on the areas of human computer interaction and speech recognition.
Upon graduation from UCLA in 2002, Dimitris returned to Greece and worked as a consultant in the high-tech and communications sector of several consulting firms including Accenture, OTE-Plus and others.

In 2006, Microsoft Corporation offered him a position in the Windows International group in the company's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, USA. He started as the localization engineer for the Greek Windows Vista and then assumed a central project management role for the localization of Windows 7 in 36 languages. He is now working on the international release management of the next version of Windows for 100+ languages. In parallel, he is also studying for an MBA degree in University of Washington.

On the personal side, Dimitris is married to another CITY College graduate, Christina Ntouniaoglou, who is also working in Microsoft as an International Project Engineer for the new Office 365 platform. They live in the Seattle area of Washington with their two beautiful daughters, Aliki and Fay.

 

Mr Oliver KosturanovOliver Kosturanov, Chairman of Makedonski Telekomunikaci.

Oliver Kosturanov is Managing Director of SEAF Macedonia, the Managing Director of the Small Investment Fund (SIF), and the Country Manager of the SEAF South Balkan Fund. Some of Mr. Kosturanovs accomplishments in his various roles at SEAF include completing a full due diligence on over a hundred companies across a broad range of industries, assisting in over 20 investments to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in North Macedonia and the neighbouring region, and aiding in the successful exit from 12 investments. Before he became Director General for North Macedonia, Mr. Kosturanov spent three years as Managing Director of the management consulting company SPMG and six years as a senior investment officer at SEAF Macedonia. In addition to his other responsibilities at SEAF, Mr. Kosturanov has served as an investment advisor for both SEAF Macedonia and SEAF South Balkan Fund since 2004. He has served as the main investment consultant for SEAF in several mergers and acquisitions of regional companies to foreign investors.

Mr. Kosturanov was also invited to teach as a visiting lecturer at the University of Sheffield, teaching corporate finance at the postgraduate (executive MBA) level.
Mr. Kosturanov holds a B.Sc. in Banking and Finance from the University of Sts. Cyril & Methodius and an MBA (with distinction) from the University of Sheffield, U.K.

 

Ms Fenia KalogeropoulouFenia Kalogeropoulou, BSc in Psychology,
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
MSc in Psychology and Counselling,
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Ms. Fenia Kalogeropoulou received her Bachelor Degree in Psychology and her MSc in Psychology and Counselling from CITY College, International Faculty of University of Sheffield. At the moment she is in the final year of her PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Sheffield, under the SEERC Doctoral Scheme. Her research interests are facilitatory and inhibitory mechanisms of visuospatial selective attention in patients with schizophrenia. She is specifically investigating the possible role of predominant symptomatology in modulation of attention.
She has been trained for 4 years as a Cognitive-Behavioural Psychotherapist in Thessaloniki and in September she is starting a training programme in Psychoanalysis.
Ms. Kalogeropoulou is working as a psychotherapist in a private psychiatric hospital in Larissa, and from Novemenber 2009 she is also having her own office working with people with anxiety disorders. In the hospital she mainly collaborates with schizophrenia patients in private sessions but also in group therapy.

 

Mr Filip LuneskiFilip Luneski , BSc in Business Studies (Marketing),
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
MA in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations,
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield

Immediately after Graduation Mr Luneski joined Comtrade Group, in Belgrade where he was responsible for the launch of a new product called Koper.
Since May 2009, he started working for Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company in Serbia joining the team responsible for Carbonated Soft Drinks (CSD). He is responsible for all BTL marketing and national campaigns of brands such as Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and Schweppes. Sample of his work includes the Coca-Cola and FIFA Trophy Tour, the World Cup South Africa campaign, and the re-launch of Fanta Shokata.

As a representative of the Marketing Department he is now also responsible for implementation of the latest version of the most sophisticated ERP system in the world, SAP (latest version), which will be implemented on a global level. He is the youngest member in the entire team worldwide.

 

Ms Irina AslanovIrina Aslanov, Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration - Leisure and Tourism Management,
CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
Bachelor Degree in Philology with a major in English & Romanian Languages and Literatures,
University of Bucharest.

Irina Aslanov spent her first years in Ukraine, Moldova and Russia, at 18 went for studies in Romania and at 22 came to Greece for a summer program organized by UNESCO. Getting married with a Greek man influenced her decision of staying in Thessaloniki.
Except of her native Russian language she can fluently speak other 3 languages: Greek, English, Romanian and has basic knowledge of Bulgarian, Ukrainian, German and Italian languages. During her studies at CITY College she was concerned about Tourism & Hospitality industry in Greece and her dissertation degree was the research on the Russian market in Greek Tourism industry.

Now she is the owner of Job Trust Training & Consulting Company located in Thessaloniki focused on educational and professional practical training programs for students studying Tourism. In 3 years she managed to make her clients the biggest hotels and resorts from all over Greece. The company collaborates with CITY College and other more than 50 Universities from Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, and others. Her main activities in this company is presentation of the programs to the students and Universities, performing seminars on subjects related to Human Resources management and Tourism industry, interviewing students and other marketing & management activities. Irina took part in Erasmus mobility programs in partner Universities from abroad and international Tourism and Educational Exhibitions.

 

Ms Dessislava PenchevaDessislava Pencheva, Manager of Market Trend.

Dessislava Pencheva completed her undergraduate studies with double major in Business Administration and Journalism and Mass Communication at the American University in Bulgaria and has received her Executive MBA Degree from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, excelling in her studies. She has an extensive experience in marketing, advertising and PR. After her graduation from CITY College she became an entrepreneur, founded 'Market Trend' an advertising agency in Sofia and became the local representative for CITY College. For the last 7 years the company has developed and grown into a Marketing Consultancy Agency and a Publishing house, which is publishing the monthly magazine Study & Training Abroad - the only magazine in Bulgaria for education abroad. Market Trend is serving Bulgarian and international clients for their marketing activities in the country and in neighbouring countries, such as Romania, Serbia, Moldova, Ukraine, Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, etc. The company participates in EU Projects and hires and trains young and unemployed people. Before founding Market Trend Dessislava Pencheva worked at Graffiti/BBDO in Sofia as Account Executive and worked with international clients such as Pepsi, Wrigley and others. From 2005 to 2007 she served as Regional Project Manager at Lionbridge Technologies in Washington DC, responsible for execution of a contract with the Department of Justice and the Immigration Courts of the United States.

 

Mr Bojan BilicBojan Bilic was born in Vrbas, Serbia. He studied Medicine at the University of Novi Sad Medical School before obtaining his BSc in Psychology with First Class Honours from CITY College/University of Sheffield in 2005. While at CITY College, Bojan was a recipient of the Psychology Student Award for Outstanding Performance in two consecutive years and his Bachelor's thesis was subsequently published in an international journal. Bojan also holds two Master's degrees and he is currently a PhD student at the University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies where he holds the School's Foundation Fellowship as well as the OSI Doctoral Grant. He is working on a thesis devoted to Yugoslav pacifist activism and looking for the reasons behind the failure of the activists to cohere into a broader movement that could have exerted a more powerful political influence immediately prior to the wars of Yugoslav succession. Bojan considers his studies at CITY College to be formative for his subsequent academic career and he is always looking forward to going back to Thessaloniki.

 

Ms Romina Gjata KukoBefore her studies in Psychology, Ms. Romina Gjata Kuko was planning to study for Medicine at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. A small administrative obstacle delayed the time of the commencement of her studies with a period of time of 1 year. Since she didn't want to loose time, she decided to study Psychology, at CITY College in 2003. After completing her studies in 2006, she returned to her country, Albania and became part of Brain- Gain movement, a movement in which young people were returning in the country and give their contribution through the application of the knowledge obtained in their studies abroad. She obtained a position as a Foreign Relations Specialist at the Ministry of Defence of Albania and very soon became part of the team dealing with negotiations and bilateral talks, elevating the bilateral cooperation with the NATO countries and lobbying at different levels for Albania's NATO Integration. She obtained the Diploma of Policy and Security Studies from the Regional Defence Academy in Albania and she is active in publishing articles and a paper regarding political processes as far as foreign policy is concerned. She has also received extensive training in NATO Excellence Center regarding Methods of Countering Terrorism and has made the Psychological Couching of Albanian military contingents in Afghanistan and Iraq.

She is part of the New Faces Network, a network of Young Politicians and Diplomats from Democratic Center of the Armed Forces in Geneva, is a member of the Atlantic Treaty Association She has been quite active as a lecturer and panelist in Seminars and Conferences in different institutions like the UK Defence Academy, Center for Security Studies in Belgrade, PfP Center in Ankara, NATO HQ, Brussels Kosovo Security Studies School. Romina maintains very strong links with CITY College and dedicated a great part of her success to the knowledge but above all the academic critical thinking obtained in CITY College.

 

Ms Georgia RoutsouMs. Georgia Routsou was born and raised in New York. She is married and a mother of a 4 year old girl called Kalina, living in Thessaloniki. She completed her undergraduate studies in Business Administration at CITY College and continued her postgraduate studies in Human Resources and Development at Stirling University (Scotland).

She started her Human Resources work experience from Manpower Team S.A as a consultant and was awarded twice as the best employee. There, she had specific training courses and seminars as Occupational Testing, Personality Questionnaires & Structure Interviewing from SHL. She continued her career as Human Resources Director for Sani S.A. for 6 years with an overall supervision of 1400 employees and a team of 7 colleagues in the HR department. International recruitment and being part of three openings are experiences that she has worked very hard for.

Then, The Met Hotel a 5* Hotel, part of Chandris Groups of Companies came into her life, another opening in the city of Thessaloniki as Human Resources Director. Teaching Human Resources for Erasmus Mundus ECW for Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, IEK AKMI were some of her cooperation's the past two years.

 

Ms Dina GojkovicMs. Dina Gojkovic studied in Serbia, Italy, Russia and Greece before completing her undergraduate studies in psychology at CITY College in 2005, after which she obtained the position of a counselor in Telekom, Serbia. A year later, she won a scholarship for doctoral studies in Criminal Justice and Mental Health at the University of Lincoln where she spent the next 3 years, taking part in several national and international projects, teaching, publishing in renowned international journals and presenting at international conferences.

In 2008, following numerous rewards for her academic achievements, Dina received the Government-sponsored New Face of Serbia award, which made her one of the first honorary recipients of the new national passport. Following the successful completion of her studies in the end of 2009, she obtained a post as a Research Fellow in Criminal Justice at the University of Southampton, where she currently conducts research within the Third Sector Research Centre. Her research stream is looking at the involvement of the third sector (NGOs, Quangos, Charities, Non-for profit organizations, etc) in the Criminal Justice System in the UK.

She contributes papers and peer-reviews for international academic journals, writes editorials, acts as guest editor for well-established academic publications, attends conferences and writes comprehensive reports. Some of her published materials are used as core academic readings by international universities. Dina still maintains strong links with CITY College.

 

Ms Giovanni SerafiniA CITY College alumnus who acquired with distinction the University of Sheffield Executive MBA in General Management, Mr. Giovanni Serafini holds a BA in Hospitality Management from Bournemouth University, UK and a Swiss Higher Diploma in Hotel Management from IHTTI School of Hotel Management, Switzerland. He has a Human Resources Management Certificate from the Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
Besides Italian, his mother language, he speaks fluently Greek, English and French.

After the industry placements during his studies at Disneyland Paris, France and Munich Park Hilton, Germany, Mr. Serafini moved to the UK to work with Hilton International in London and Glasgow as Food & Beverage Management Trainee before transferring to Greece in 1997 as Training Manager at Sani Resort in Chalkidiki. In 1999 he joined Hyatt International as Training Manager of Regency Casino and Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki and in 2002 took over the position of Personnel Manager at the Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki Hotel. In January 2008, he was promoted to the position of Human Resources Manager. As a Hyatt trainer, he participated in a number of international assignments, most notably within the Human Resources task force teams involved in the openings of Grand Hyatt Dubai, U.A.E. and Park Hyatt Milano, Italy. Currently, he is reading for a PhD in Human Resources Management, with a scholarship awarded by the South East European Research Centre (SEERC), a research centre established jointly by the University of Sheffield (U.K.) and CITY College (Greece).

 

Mr Petros AmiridisMr. Petros Amiridis received his Bachelor in Computer Science (Class I) and Master of Science in Information Systems from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield. He started working as a programmer at Logismos S.A. in 1998. In 2006 he continued working as a freelancer.

Today, he is working closely with ITS S.A. organizing and managing the Software Development Department. He has profound knowledge in organizing the development process, and he is directing a team of programmers. Due to his strong entrepreneurial spirit, he also undertakes many independent projects that can potentially lead to future startups. He is an active contributor to open source projects and member of volunteers' teams like Rails Bridge Builders. His future goal is to find seven broad areas where his contribution - commercially or voluntary - will make a difference.

Although he has many interests in the broad field of Computer Science, he lately focuses in user experience and user interface design, new frameworks for developing web applications (eg. rails), behavior driven development, and generally open source software.

 

Mr Andreas Baresel-BofingerMr. Andreas Baresel-Bofinger has a multidisciplinary and multinational educational background. He studied French at the Institut Catholique in Paris, Law at the Eberhard-Karls Universität in Tübingen and the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität in Munich, Philosophy at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University, Business Administration at the International Faculty of the University of Sheffield - CITY College, where he also received his MSc in Information Science.

Currently he is pursuing a part-time PhD in Green Supply Chain Management at the University of Sheffield, under the SEERC Doctoral Scheme. His papers have been presented at international conferences.
During his studies he completed several internships in law and business in Germany, USA and India. Mr. Baresel-Bofinger became responsible for the financial asset management of the family business in Germany.

In 2002, he started work at SEPVE in Thessaloniki, the Association of IT Companies of Northern Greece. In the position of Coordinator of European Projects he successfully managed the acquisition and administration of major multinational projects funded by the European Commission in fields ranging from the advancement of the Information Society and the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation to the improvement of the social dialogue.

In 2008, he took the position of management consultant at the Incubator of the Technopolis Thessaloniki ICT Business Park, the first private Business Park in Greece for high tech and knowledge-intensive enterprises. At the Technopolis Incubator he has been helping to establish the necessary infrastructure for support services to lead promising start-up companies to success.

 

Dr Lambros LazurasDr. Lambros Lazuras received his Bachelor Degree in Psychology from CITY College, International Faculty of University of Sheffield, and his PhD in Psychology from the University of Sheffield, under the SEERC Doctoral Scheme. He also studied research methods for the social sciences at the Open University, UK.

From September 2004 he has been teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Psychology, and during the past two years he is an lecturer at the Psychology department of CITY College. Dr Lazuras is a fellow researcher at the South-East European Research Centre (SEERC), where he conducts empirical studies on health-risk behaviors, such as smoking by young people, and the use of doping substances by athletes.

His research is financially supported by leading international funding organizations, including Cancer Research UK and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). He is a Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society (BPS), and serves as an expert reviewer in international academic journals. His research is published in scientific conferences and peer reviewed journals.

 

 

Mr Milan RadinMr. Milan Radin has received his MBA degree from CITY College, the International Faculty of the University of Sheffield. An MA in Philosophy and a Diploma in Export & International Business, both from the University of Graz in Austria, complete the list of his academic credentials. Mr. Radin has an international and multicultural background; he has studied, worked and lived in several countries accumulating a huge professional and personal experience.

Lately, he has brought a German drugstore retailer to Romania, succeeding in a very short time, between November 2007 and December 2008, to open 12 stores and to become the market leader in that specific business area. Mr Radin is currently Country General Manager at DM drogerie markt in Romania. He has served the positions of Senior Counsellor at Smugglers Notch Resort, Vermont (United States, 2001) and at Vacamas, New Jersey (United States, 2000), Area Manager in Europe at F.J. Elsner Trading - Raiffeisen Bank Foreign Trade, Vienna (Austria, 2002-2004) and Executive Managing Director at DM drogerie markt in Serbia (2004-2006). Mr. Radin 7 languages (Romanian, Serbian, French, German, English, Bulgarian, and Russian). speaks fluently.

 

Mr Iraklis PapadopoulosIraklis Papadopoulos completed his undergraduate studies in Business Administration at CITY College, excelling in his studies and being 1st on the Dean's Honour List during the full course of his studies, and continued for postgraduate studies in Marketing at the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He has extensive teaching, training and consulting experience, and following graduation worked for several years in the FMCG Industry as a Sales & Marketing Manager responsible for Greece and Eastern Europe. He continued his career as Branch Manager for Manpower, an employment services multinational corporation, during which time he received training through Empower, Manpower's organizational consulting division, and through SHL People Performance. He then joined the American College of Thessaloniki as Director of Recruitment before joining Pedersen & Partners Executive Search. At Pedersen & Partners he was initially Country Manager Albania, also overseeing North Macedonia, and later on became Country Manager Greece overseeing Albania and North Macedonia, a position he holds to this day. His clientele consists of leading Greek and international corporations from a variety of industries, including Banking, Technology, Industrial & Engineering, Pharma & Healthcare, FMCG, Media & Entertainment, Services and Consulting. He has successfully conducted middle and senior management searches in Greece, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Israel, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Ukraine, Poland and Russia as well as regional searches also covering Western Europe, USA, Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa. He is a member of the Greek Personnel Management Association and the Association of Chief Executive Officers.

 

Ms Sandy C. KoutsostamatiSandy C. Koutsostamati received her Bachelor Degree in Psychology and Master of Science in Psychology and Counselling from CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield. She also trained at the Society for Behavioral Research in Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapeutic approach. She made her clinical training at Psychological Centre of Northern Greece (PCNG) with children with mental retardation and developmental difficulties. She also trained and made research at the Human Resources Department of several multinational companies. She maintains a private consulting room as consulting psychologist-psychotherapist. She is the Psychologist of the Infrastructure Department of PAOK FC and the head of therapeutic group sessions with pregnant women at a Training Institution of breast feeding and confinement methods. She is going to create and direct a Psychology magazine, published by a great publication Greek company. Her book entitled "Analyse it yourself" published by the Livanis editions and has been based at the five year old (ANT1 and SKAI television channel) psychology broadcast where she makes the research, text writing, editing and presentation.

 

Dr Nikos I. DimitriadisDr Nikos I. Dimitriadis has been teaching, researching and practicing Marketing for most of his adult life. He was a Lecturer in Marketing at Sheffield University Management School where he was announced by postgraduate students as the best lecturer of the MBA program in 2004. He has taught at various undergraduate and postgraduate courses at CITY College in Thessaloniki (Greece), International Faculty of the University of Sheffield. He has also trained entrepreneurs and managers by delivering courses directly to the business community. He received his Bachelor Degree in Business Administration (Marketing) from CITY College, winning the Best Annual Achievement Award for two consecutive years, and his MBA (Marketing) from the University of Sheffield. He received his PhD from the University of Sheffield in 2006. His papers have been presented at several national and international conferences and published in various academic journals, business magazines, and newspapers. He is the Chief Marketing Strategist for Executive Group, a leading communications advisory agency in Belgrade, Serbia, an Honorary Lecturer at the University of Sheffield, the Managing Director of a fashion-related company, and he teaches Marketing Strategy in South-East Europe with the Sheffield MBA program in the region.

 

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