Born in 1955 in Thessaloniki, Pascal holds a BSc degree in Chemistry, a BA in Economic Geography and a post graduate degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Manitoba in Canada, while he concluded his studies by receiving a MSc in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Stratchclyde in Glasgow. Moreover, graduated from Anatolia College high school in Thessaloniki.

His professional career began in September 1986 in the diagnostics department of Abbott in Thessaloniki and after a short period in Athens he worked for 7 years in the German affiliate and 4 years at the Abbott Park in Chicago.

In 2001 he returned to Greece as Managing Director of Abbott Laboratories Hellas and from January 2013 Pascal holds the position of the Managing Director of AbbVie, a new, independent, global biopharmaceutical company which retains in its portfolio innovative medicines for serious and chronic diseases, following Abbott’s separation in two individual companies.

From 2015 to 2018 he was President of the Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies (SfEE) in which he currently holds the position of General Secretary, while he is Member of the Board of Directors of the Pharma Innovation Forum (PIF), President of the Pharmaceutical Committee of Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), member of the Board of Directors of Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) and member of the Executive Board of Trustees of the American Community Schools of Athens (ACS).

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

Tim has over 40 years of international experience in the hospitality industry, beginning with Hyatt Hotels where he started his career at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, and subsequently holding the position of Director of Food and Beverage in several hotels (including Hyatt Regency New Orleans, Hilton Head, Nashville, Buffalo, and Columbus). In 1988 he moved to Chicago as the Corporate Director of Food and Beverage for Hyatt Hotels with main responsibilities being menu engineering, product development, recruitment, development and implementation of service standards and training, concept development and hotel pre-opening support.

As General Manager he held positions in the USA at the Hyatt Regency Pittsburgh, Hyatt Regency Coral Gables and Hyatt Regency Miami. In 1999 he joined Hyatt International as the General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki in Greece and later moved to India as the General Manager of the Grand Hyatt Mumbai.

In 2003 he joined Starwood Hotels and Resorts returning to Greece as the General Manager/Managing Director of the Hotel Grande Bretagne. In 2006 through 2012 he was given the additional responsibility of Area Manager for Greece, Turkey & Cyprus overseeing 18 Starwood affiliated hotels. From 2013 the area responsibility included the Balkans until Marriott International merged with Starwood when he took over the responsibility of Marriott Business Council for Greece and Cyprus while remaining the Complex Managing Director of the Hotel Grande Bretagne and King George until October 2020. Presently, he is the Senior Hospitality Advisor to the Laskaridis family and on the board of Directors for Lampsa Hellenic Hotels and Luckman Park Estate both part of the Laskaridis Family.

Tim is an active member of a number of civic and non-profit organizations including Vice Chairman of The American Community Schools (ACS) of Athens, Vice President of the Athens Hotel Association, board member of the Greek Health Tourism Organization and Board of Directors for American Hellenic Institute. His business philosophy of an ideal hotel is one that provides a comfortable, friendly and efficient environment for its guests and associates while maximizing financial results through constant innovation, intuitive service and proactive management. His personal guiding principal is “be kind and treat your associates the way you expect them to treat your guests and they will definitely reward you”.

Tim currently splits his time between Athens and Miami with his wife Jennifer. They have three grown children residing in Dallas, Miami and Athens.

Suheil H. Sabbagh holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science from Webber University, USA and is currently the President of Human Resources of a leading international and regional group in the construction section of Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC), of which he is a major shareholder.

On a personal level, he is involved in many humanitarian projects both in Greece and abroad and is a patron of many charity organizations. Mr. Sabbagh is married and has three children.

Iraklis Prokopakis is the Senior Vice President, Treasurer, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the board of directors of Danaos Corporation. Mr. Prokopakis joined Danaos in 1998 and has over 40 years of experience in the shipping industry.

Prior to entering the shipping industry, Mr. Prokopakis was a captain in the Hellenic Navy. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Portsmouth University in the United Kingdom, a Master’s degree in Naval Architecture as well as a Risk Management one from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States and a post-graduate diploma in Business Studies from the London School of Economics. Mr. Prokopakis also has a Certificate in Companies Evaluation and in Operational Audit of Banks from the Management Centre Europe in Brussels and a Safety Risk Management Certificate from Det Norske Veritas. He is a member of the Board of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping and the Owners' Committee of the Korean Register of Shipping.

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor’s of Science, Major Speech/Minor English - Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
• Mortarboard Chapter graduate with honors
• Seminars on Organizational Changes and Marketing Management
• MS in Management/Minor Financial Accounting and Marketing Management – LaVerne University / graduated with top honors

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Banking:

  - Assistant Credit Manager

  - Economics Surveys: effects of M1, M2 and M3 on developing economy

  - Accountant: payroll, A/R

  - Due diligence portfolio investments and management clients capital advisory for new clients (Alexandria Bancorp). Investment portfolios worldwide.

• Public Relations, Advertising and Sales:

  - Business and finance magazine and consulting headhunter group

• Professor in Business Administration/Assistant Dean and Counselor:

  - For both Bachelors and Masters Degrees at LaVerne University, Indianapolis University and taught case work studies for the OECD on behalf of the School of Business, University of Greece.

  - Taught undergraduate and graduate studies at LaVerne and University of Indianapolis such as: Marketing Management, Financial Accounting, Business Communications, Organizational Behavior and Case Studies in Business Management.

• Financial Manager:

  - For the Papellinas Group of companies in their joint ventures with Elf Sanofi, France.

  - Matching Greek and American Accounting Standards to streamline financial data for joint venture and advising on strategies for improvement to both company and subsidiary’s directors.

• Retail:

  - Co-owned “My Wedding SA” representative of Vera Wang and Monique L’Huillier Brands in Greece and Cyprus. Buyer for merchandise in New York, Los Angeles, and London, England. After three years had to leave due to new obligations in Toronto, Canada.

• Currently:

  - On the Board of Directors of two companies in Toronto:

  1. Phase 3 Properties Ltd, and

  2. Minic Investments

  - Real estate holdings in Canada, Caribbean and Europe. Investments in a public capital group in Toronto with portfolios in North America, Europe and Caribbean, Equity, Insurance, private wealth and corporate investments.

Adam Blakeman is a U.S. diplomat assigned to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons within the U.S. Department of State. Adam manages bilateral policy relations and drafts the Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report across a portfolio that encompasses East and Southern Africa.

He previously served at the U.S. Embassies in Rome, Italy, and Warsaw, Poland, as well as the Consulates General in Calgary, Canada, and Tijuana, Mexico. He also worked for the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser, where his responsibilities focused on employment and labor law.

Adam is an attorney who earned his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from Rutgers University School of Law and his bachelor’s degree (B.A.) with honors from Rutgers University. He is licensed to practice law in the United States in the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland.

Nick Gialamas is the Area President of HUB International, a global insurance brokerage firm headquartered in Chicago, IL. Before joining HUB, Gialamas served as Chief Executive Officer of Forest Financial Group, Inc., an employee benefits consulting firm he founded in 1998. During his tenure, Gialamas led the company through a period of transformation and sustainable growth. Forest Financial Group, Inc. was acquired by HUB International in December of 2015.

Nick is also the founder and current Chief Executive Officer of Forest Capital Management, LLC a Chicago based registered investment advisory firm (RIA) focused on retirement investment services for institutional clients. Forest Capital Management, LLC has been operating since 2014.

Nick earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Marketing from Northern Illinois University (NIU). He is loyal to his alma mater and stays personally involved with the University, including guest speaking engagements at the College of Business. The NIU College of Business Department of Marketing has recognized Nick's contributions by presenting him with the Alumni of the Year Award.

Nick serves on the NIU Executive Club Board of Advisors, the NIU College of Business Board of Advisors, ACS Athens Board of Trustees, as well as the Board of Advisors for the Retirement Savings Foundation in Washington D.C..

Ada Gianneskis grew up between Toronto, Canada and Athens, Greece. She is married and a mother of two.

Ms. Gianneskis is a marketing and communications executive with 20 years of experience and is currently the Communications Director of House Market SA (IKEA franchise for Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria), leading all commercial and corporate communications & marketing, interior design and Food business.

She has great marketing experience, having been both Advertising Manager and Marketing Manager of IKEA, and Brand Manager at Samsung and other electronic goods brands.

Ms. Gianneskis holds an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University, with specialization in sports marketing.

Additionally, she is a certified facilitator for Inter-IKEA (senior coach) and has facilitated a significant number of training workshops (for IKEA locally and internationally, but also the Fourlis Group, AUEB etc.). Teaching and facilitating is something she is very passionate about.

She is also a member of the Corporate Responsibility Committee of the American Hellenic Chamber of Commerce.

During off time, she loves sports, cooking and travelling.

Anastasios Kaburakis holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN and a Law degree from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He held Faculty appointments at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Indiana University Bloomington, and Washington University Law School in St. Louis. He is currently a Professor of Management in the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business, at Saint Louis University. Prior to academia, he practiced law and is licensed through the Thessaloniki Bar Association. While in Greece, he coached basketball at the junior and professional club levels, the national teams of Greece, and served the Greek Basketball Federation, FIBA, and several European educational institutions on legal and policy matters.

He has published articles and presented research on International Comparative Sport Law, NCAA Compliance, particularly pertaining to International Student-Athletes, recruiting, amateurism, gambling, coaches’ contracts, institutional liability, and intellectual property applications in sport. He regularly consults international sport governing bodies, NCAA Division I governance committees, policy-drafting actors in member conferences and coaches’ associations, member institutions’ compliance and coaching staff members on international recruiting, amateurism policy, and legal issues in intercollegiate athletics settings. He serves as an advisor for various international sport consulting firms.

Melissa Matey is a community leader, educator, and public safety advocate with more than 25 years of experience serving families, youth, and communities through leadership, education, and volunteer engagement. Throughout her career, she has developed and led statewide educational programs, mentored emerging leaders, and built partnerships among schools, hospitals, government agencies, and community organizations.

A retired Louisiana State Police Lieutenant, Melissa specialized in public outreach, leadership development, crisis communication, and community education. She is a certified instructor in Child Passenger Safety, Leadership Development, Emotional Intelligence, and Suicide Prevention, and remains actively involved in training and mentoring initiatives.

Melissa is passionate about fostering safe, inclusive, and connected communities. Her volunteer work spans decades and includes youth advocacy, suicide prevention and intervention, family safety education, and support for school and community programs. Known for her collaborative leadership style, she is dedicated to bringing people together, empowering volunteers, and creating meaningful opportunities for service and positive impact.

Global CIO, IPG Mediabrands

Demetri Paneras was Webmaster of the MIT Media Lab before managing the Internet presence of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. In 2005, Demetri joined Velti, the Mobile Marketing firm and first company out of Greece to list on the London AIM market (2006) and NASDAQ (2011). As CIO as well as SVP of the Performance Marketing business unit, Demetri managed up to 300 Velti staff while delivering profitability and cost control as the company grew from 60 to 1500 employees in 30 offices around the world. From 2007 to 2009 Demetri took time away from Velti as CTO for the relaunch of the Eleftheros Tipos media group by the Angelopoulos family. Following the 2014 acquisition of Velti’s global assets by GSO (a division of Blackstone) he managed mGage LLC, holding roles as CIO, SVP of Advertising Technology and GM for mGage Athens. In 2018 Demetri was an in-house contractor for SpaceX in Los Angeles, California. He currently lives in New York where he is the Global CIO for the Interpublic Group’s (NYSE:IPG) IPG Mediabrands.

Born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, Demetri attended Pinewood and later Anatolia High School in Thessaloniki. He graduated from Ithaca High School in Ithaca, New York. He holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University and completed an M.Sc. (as well as ABD Ph.D. work) at Boston University in 1997. Demetri's three children are also members of the ACS family.

Ms. Yanjing, Winnie Liu is from Shanghai, China, and is currently an artist and designer. She graduated from East China Normal University with dual degrees in Education and Psychology. During her university years, she had the opportunity to encounter and learn about the education shortage in remote areas of China, whereby she decided to visit some rural and local schools where she met children who were unable to attend school due to resource scarcity. This was an unforgettable experience that made her realize the "differences" between individuals. That was when she began to actively participate in social volunteer services to help those in need. Providing community service satisfied her sense of self-identity and social responsibility, which she truly enjoys.

After graduation, she did not choose to begin her career as a teacher or psychological counselor like her classmates. She chose to travel to other parts of the world to experience different cultures and how the people lived. Her travels brought her to Australia where she studied interior design. After completing her studies and returning to Shanghai, she worked in the design industry for more than ten years. During this period, due to job adjustments, she returned to Australia to work and live for four years. Thereafter, she came to Greece and later founded the NGO Sino-Hellenic Performing Arts Alliance with other partners, creating multiple stage performances. Among them, the most famous is "The Legend of the White Snake", which is a story adapted by the Alliance that perfectly integrates Greek and Chinese mythology. In just one year of the Alliance’s creation, the theater has toured Greece 12 times. The Alliance successfully held the first China and Greece Theater Festival at the end of last year. In the context of significant cultural differences between the East and the West, what better way to integrate and attract everyone's attention and thinking than this type of initiative.   

In the first month of her arrival to Greece the Pandemic hit and many new families in Greece, including many ACS Athens new families, were facing difficulties due to language barriers and cultural differences, which led to a lack of proper communication. Faced with the challenges of the Pandemic, she felt honored to contribute her time and knowledge to help these families make a smooth adjustment to life in Greece.  

At ACS Athens, she participated in leading some PTO-organized school activities, such as the Spring Fair 2022, Lunar New Year Celebration 2023, Summer Fair 2023, etc., with the aim of developing diversity and community engagement. These efforts not only encouraged more Chinese students to actively participate, but also provided opportunities for cultural exchange and celebration.

As a new member on the Board of Trustees, Ms. Liu looks forward to working with the other members to fulfill the mission and vision of ACS Athens providing the best educational opportunities for all students.

Georgios Stassis joined PPC Group in 2019. He is leading the Group's transformation into a primary clean powertech in Southeast Europe by implementing a strategic plan focusing on financial stability and growth, energy transition, digitalization and customer centricity.

With almost 25 years of experience in the energy & telecommunication markets, Georgios Stassis has held important positions in various organizations and associations in Greece and Southeast Europe and within all parts of a utility value chain (generation, distribution, supply). Previously worked for Enel SpA, as President & CEO of Enel Romania SrL., the largest vertically integrated energy company in Romania, and before as head of Green Power for Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Prior to his current role as Ideagen’s Founding Global chairman and CEO, George served as  Assistant to the President of the United States and Director of the Office of Public Liaison at the  White House. Having served in the Administration of two US Presidents and founded Ideagen over a decade ago, George has crafted countless successful policies, strategic partnerships, global cross-sector collaboration, grassroots and executive communications strategies with the world's leading companies, NGOs, and public sector. George has served in all branches of the Federal  Government including as Executive, Legislative US Senate Committee Staffer at the Committee on Small Business, and Docket Clerk at the US Attorney's Office. 

As Director of Public Liaison at the White House, George was responsible for establishing and leading a team, coordinating engagement with Global Business Leaders, NGOs, and the Public Sector from across all sectors and issues on behalf of the President and Administration. George is a frequent speaker at global convenings on a myriad of topics focused on Business and Societal impact. George's role as Global Chairman and CEO of Ideagen Global, A Global Streaming TV,  Radio/Podcast, and Magazine Platform where the world's Global Leaders and CEOs from companies, NGOs, and public sector convene is focused on developing partnerships and solutions to the world's most vexing issues. 

George's philanthropic leadership includes service on boards including as President of the St.  George Greek Orthodox Monastery, Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Board Member of  The Ideagen Foundation (2021), and VP of the Georgetown Visitation VFC. George is also a  member of the Forbes Business Council.  

Alexandria, Virginia, and Clearwater, Florida are home for George and his family, including his wife Adriana and three children, George II, Alexandra, and Evangelia. George is fluent in Modern Greek and enjoys learning how to play golf.

Constantine Stergides is a journalist by trade, but now manages his own company which specializes in "wine communications" (i.e. wine-related event management and publications).

Mr. Stergides has three daughters, two of whom are ACS graduates and are now students in the US (University of Washington and Bard College). His wife, Nathalie, is an architect, a contemporary dance instructor and, currently, a somatic-psychoeducation therapist.

Mr. Stergides' educational background includes: B.A. University of Washington, Political Science; M.A. University of Paris XII, Urban Planning; D.E.A. (Pre-doctorate) University of Paris XII, Urban Transportation; M.A. University of Paris Sorbonne, Journalism (Foreign Correspondence).

Carl Watson joined the Foreign Service in 2004.  Prior to his current role, he has been posted to Japan, Russia, China, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and to the State Department’s Office of Western European Affairs.  He most recently served as Director of the Office of Policy Analysis and Public Diplomacy in the Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources.  

Before joining the American diplomatic corps, Carl worked at the Business Council for International Understanding, advising U.S. ambassadors on commercial issues in their host countries.  

Carl earned a Masters degree in International Economic Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a Masters in Economics from IEP/Sciences-Po Paris.  He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in East Asian Studies from Columbia College.