AIPFE Mentors 2022
Leonidas Alexandrou
Area of Employment: Training and Development
Leonidas Alexandrou combines a successful background in business with a true passion for identifying, nurturing and releasing the creative potential in young people. Born in South Africa but returning to his Cypriot roots at the age of eight, he brings together his birth country's commitment to innovation and his ancestral homeland's love of family, children and values.
Having held a wide range of leadership roles in the sporting, educational and commercial worlds, it is his mission to empower the new generation of innovators, pioneers and leaders as they navigate the critical early years - but always in the context of a respectful and nurturing environment. "Believe in yourself" was the motto that pushed Leonidas to excel in mentoring young professionals.
Myria Avraamidou
Area of Employment: Human Resource Management
Myria Avraamidou is a graduate of the University of Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian University and holds a degree BA (Hons) in Business Studies and Marketing, as well as a MPhil in Human Resource Management.
Myria is a results-driven professional with proven business development and project management experience. She brings in a wealth of experience in Human Resource Management and acts as project coordinator between AIPFE and the Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB) for OEB’s training seminars. Myria is a Trainer approved by HRDA, an HR people specialist and a Management Lecturer. She has a great interest in research, especially in the areas of gender equality, coaching and female leadership.
Myria is a strong believer in innovation, commitment and change through the exchange process of knowledge and learning experience. She is a firm believer that we can rise through life's challenges, serve the society and become better humans by inspiring and empowering others. Myria is an executive director and a BoD Member of a family business M. Avraamides & Co. Ltd.
Evgenia Chamilou
Area of Employment: Public International Law/Human Rights
Evgenia is a 23-year-old Cypriot and Graduate of LLB Law (Warwick 2020) and LLM with Specialism in Public International Law (LSE 2021). She has a strong interest in diplomacy and international organisations and has obtained work experience from the European Parliament and the Council of Europe.
Currently, she is working as a trainee at the European Court of Human Rights. Beyond her academic and careers background, she identifies herself as an activist, especially in her capacity as a UN Youth Champion for Environment and Peace, her recent nomination as Young European for 2022 and her award as an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society.
She is also the President of the Youth House of Representatives, board member of the Cyprus Youth DiplomaCY and co-founder of Green Deal 4 Cyprus. Currently, she is the Legal Assistant to the Judge of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Georgios A. Serghides, at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.
Savvas Christodoulou
Area of Employment: Marketing
Savvas Chrstodoulou has 29 years of experience in Marketing, combining knowledge of Strategy and Market research. He studied Business & Economics at Prague University and has worked for International clients in Cyprus, the Middle East and Europe as well as for high end projects in Cyprus such as Aphrodite Hills, Amathus hotels, Limassol Marina and Ayia Napa Marina. Currently, he works at the Nicosia Mall, the largest shopping center in Cyprus as a Marketing Manager.
Olivia Constantinides
Area of Employment: Social Media
As a confused young adult not knowing what to do with her life, Olivia decided to keep herself busy and signed up for a makeup course while working for her family owned business, Constantinides Bakery.
During her participation in the “Star Cyprus” beauty competition in 2014, she was criticised by the judges on live TV for her “extra kilos”. It was at that point that she made a decision to stop taking into account people's judgements and begin her journey towards self-love, helping to empower other women along the way.
Through her own experiences and thoughts, she hopes women will be inspired to accept themselves and ignore the world's judgement.
Xenia Danos
Area of Employment: Education
As a long-term meditator and a born leader, Xenia had to find ways of standing up to cultural and other constraints in order to allow space for her to be herself while learning and developing. She started meditation at the age of 8 and has never stopped since then.
Even though she was diagnosed with dyslexia from an early age, she completed his last 2 degrees on full scholarship and today she’s a Global Expert in Teaching and Learning. She knows for a fact that limitations can shift; people have almost unlimited potential; and that true inner power lies within your authentic self. She’s passionate about guiding women to find their inner power and free themselves into a life of growth, balance and happiness. Currently she offers training workshops and coaching to people ready to unveil their true potential.
Marianna Prokopi-Demetriades
Area of Employment: Biotechnology, cancer research, regenerative medicine
Marianna is a biotech innovator, entrepreneur and Clin. Assoc. Prof. in Research Oncology. Her research focuses on personalized oncology and its translation into innovative solutions for improving the quality of life in cancer patients.
She is co-founder of three biotech companies; RSL Revolutionary Labs (est.2018) develops dermaceuticals for the relief of cancer treatment side effects; Promed Bioscience (est.2017) develops biomaterials for medical applications such as synthesis of artificial tissues; Theramir (est.2016) develops microRNA-personalized therapies and diagnostics for cancer.
She has received numerous awards such as the Cyprus "Life Sciences"Award (2021), the ASBMB conference Award for the therapeutic platform EVmiR (2021), the Madame Figaro “Woman of the Year Innovation” Award (2020), the Peter Baker Award (2009) and the Graduate of the Year Award (2009) from King’s College London.
Marianna volunteers as a mentor for young people in many entrepreneurship programs (Junior Achievement Cyprus, ARIS-Deloitte etc.), was selected as Global Ambassador for Cyprus (WomenTech Network 2022), included in the list "10 Women to watch in 2022" by the Global Woman Network and serves in the scientific advisory board of Europa Donna Cyprus.
Burak Doluay
Area of Employment: Social Entrepreneur/ Entrepreneurship programmes development/ co-working management
Burak Doluay is co-founder of CyprusInno, an inter-communal social enterprise that uses entrepreneurship as a peace-building mechanism and the Base by CyprusInno which is world’s first social impact generator in an UN controlled Buffer Zone in Cyprus.
He is also the Entrepreneurship Community Manager at CYENS CoE. He has been active in civil society for over 8 years. He is a fellow of the U.S. Department of State programmes SUSI on Social Entrepreneurship and the YTILI 2018 fellows of GMF of United States. On September 2018, he was selected as one of the UN Young Leaders for SDGs by Office of UN Secretary Generals Envoy on Youth.
Paul Iacovou
Area of Employment: Communications
Paul’s career is a hybrid of the advertising, marketing and entertainment space, producing work for over 25 years in a wide-ranging spectrum from blue-chip companies to the film and music industries.
Paul has been involved in the branding, marketing, advertising and management of many projects throughout his career, advising individuals, companies and organisations on the unique components that help an idea, a product or a service successfully come to life and reach its target audience.
His experience in the entertainment industry has led him to pursue his passion for film, earning him multiple international awards for his recent work as a Film Producer. The recognition he received has allowed him to take an active role in helping to drive the tax-credits scheme for the film industry in Cyprus.
Paul has been successfully running his own companies for more than 30 years. His extensive experience in business, exposure to a wide range of industries, coupled with a very level head and attention to detail, allows him to bring a fresh perspective to any new business idea or working practices.
Cleopatra Kitti
Area of Employment: Corporate Advisory, Boards, Public Policy
For over 30 years, Cleopatra has been a trusted source of insight and advice to leaders in business, government and international organisations. Her knowledge of the socio-economic and cultural dynamics that impact markets across Europe, Middle East, North Africa and the Levant, and her extensive international network, gives her a unique understanding of the real time drivers which define opportunity and risk in the region.
Cleopatra is founder of the Mediterranean Growth Initiative (MGI.online), the only real time data analysis and networking platform for the economies of the Mediterranean, and has co-founded The Mediterranean Program at ELIAMEP, Greece's preeminent European Think Tank. As their Senior Policy Advisor, she delivers geo-economic analysis, promoting a positive agenda from a lens of connectivity.
Antigoni Komodiki
Area of Employment: Entrepreneurship & Education
Antigoni Komodiki is the Chief Executive Officer at Junior Achievement Cyprus (Member of JA Worldwide). Her duties involve the overall development of the Organisation and supervision of activities. She works hard for the development of the entrepreneurial mindset and culture in the young people of Cyprus.
Aside from her degree in Pedagogy, she holds an MA in Educational Leadership and a PGCE in Gifted Education. She is currently a PhD Candidate studying Environmental Entrepreneurship Education at the Cyprus University of Technology.
Her research interests include environmental entrepreneurial programmes and how those influence the development of the Environmental Science Agency. Antigoni believes in the boundless potential of young people and she always tries to offer equal opportunities, especially to underserved groups.
Paul Koronis
Area of Employment: Consulting, Training, Strategy & Project management
With 20+ years of experience with interdisciplinary teams and spanning industries including B2B, Banking & Finance, the Digital World, and not-for-profit organisations, Paul enjoys blurring the lines between strategy and creativity. He studied at Durham University, graduating with a BSc (Hons) in Natural Sciences (Psychology & Anthropology) and a Masters degree in International & Marketing Management.
Paul is one of the Co-Founders of award-winning T.L. Gardens of the Future (New European Bauhaus Prizes 2022 winner), and eleven-eleven, working with organisations seeking to lead and address uncertainty with agility, building next-generation products, services, and experiences.
He has been involved in the creation and moderation of Lean In Circles in Nicosia. These knowledge-sharing groups act via peer-to-peer interaction, executive education, discussions, and benchmarking, with the aim to empower female managers and team leaders in the workplace.
As the license holder of #TEDxNicosia since 2014, he has curated and produced with his team over 12 events under license by TED.com.
His passion lies in the world of ideas and strongly believes ideas are assets and tools that connect communities, curiosity, initiate meaningful conversations and lead to impact.
Kalia Larkou
Area of Employment: Compliance & Coaching
Kalia Larkou is Chief Compliance, Risk and Sustainability Officer of Unifrutti Group, a group with presence across over 10 countries around the globe and over 14,000 employees.
She is responsible for the entire group in the areas of compliance, risk, corporate governance, and sustainability across its operations. Kalia has previously worked in the accounting profession as well as in the Financial and Banking industry, working for the largest banking institution in Cyprus. She held managerial positions in both front line and control functions.
Kalia has also worked as a Sustainability and Corporate Governance Consultant (including diversity) as well as an approved trainer, and has delivered many projects and seminars both in Cyprus and abroad.
She is an Executive and Business Coach, and a member of the Global Academy of Coaching.
Stelios Mitsides
Area of Employment: Business
Stelios is an (EMCC European Mentoring and Coaching Council) Accredited Coach Practitioner Level, since November 2020, practicing Life and Business Coaching. He comes from a Business (BA and MSc) and Psychology (BSc) background and he has been in the corporate world since 2003.
He has a passion for Positivity and Well Being, and is focused, inspired and committed towards guiding people on how to restore balance in their everyday life in a harmonious way. With a Person-Centered coaching approach, he can guide individuals towards finding their inner wisdom, unlocking their unlimited potential and tackling any barriers along the way.
His areas of expertise are setting goals, career development, personal development, managing stress, dating and building healthy relationships. He would love to empower and mentor women simply because he believes in women's limitless capabilities and potential as is inspired by the feminine energy.
Christina Orphanidou
Area of Employment: Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Consulting
After completing a DPhil at the University of Oxford and an academic research career in Cyprus and the UK, Christina Orphanidou switched at the age of 39, moving from academia to consulting while also having two young children and having faced a lot of challenges. Christina would like to share her lessons-learnt with women who are worried about switching to plan B, C or D in their lives!
She’s very interested in empowering women and promoting them in technology careers and has thus also co-established in Cyprus the local chapter of the global organisation 'Women in Machine Learning and Data Science'.
Christina also actively participates in outreach activities for various age groups and social groups, promoting digital upskilling and technology awareness to prepare the new generation for the new world realities. Currently, she’s leading PwC's analytics team providing analytics and AI-enabled solutions to private and public organisations in Cyprus and overseas as Senior Manager & Head of Data and AI Lab at PwC Cyprus.
Cleo Papadopoulou
Area of Employment: Diversity, Equality & Inclusion
Cleo went to London to study dance but qualified as an accountant instead! She joined PwC in 1992 and ten years and three children later she became the first female partner. Throughout her career, her focus has always been on people. Her favorite quote (and the reason she became an accredited coach and mentor) is: "We leave nothing behind other than the lives of the people we touch and affect positively".
Driven by uncompromising values, she is passionate about Diversity Equality & Inclusion. Being the Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer of PwC Cyprus is not just a role but a mission to accelerate gender equity.
When she’s not working, she’s dancing! Having mastered work/life integration, today she is Zumba Instructor, an active gardener, a lover of interior design, a blog writer as well as a nonstop traveler/explorer.
Xenia Papandreou
Area of Employment: Psychology & Counselling
Xenia is a Licensed Counselling Psychologist, working in private practice with adults and adolescents. She is also a team member of the NGO Step Up Stop Slavery, which is committed to addressing the problem of human trafficking in Cyprus.
Born in the UK, she started her career in Portfolio Management at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. Upon moving to Cyprus, she founded a football academy and a holiday camp for youth. She currently serves as Vice President of Education for Nicosia Toastmasters Public Speaking Club, and has in the past been a Youth Leadership Coordinator for Toastmasters, as well as a Business Mentor for the Junior Achievement Programme.
Her aim is to offer empowerment, emotional support and a space where the next generation of female leaders can be heard and feel free to explore their doubts and struggles.
Monica Ioannidou Polemitis
Area of Employment: Consulting, Investment
Monica has 15+ years of experience leading financial and strategic advisory engagements with large corporates, SMEs, and startups. She is a mentor and a coach in accelerators in Europe and beyond, and as such, she has advised and assisted a large number of startups with their strategy and the securing of financing. Monica has also published on innovation financing, open data, energy & renewables, and technology trends.
Today, she is an Executive Director and Head of Portfolio Management at MAP Fund Management Services and a member of Business Professional Women. As a long term meditator and a born leader, she's had to find ways of standing up to cultural and other constraints in order to allow space for her to be herself while learning and developing. She started meditation at the age of 8 and has never stopped.
Even though she was diagnosed with dyslexia from an early age, she completed her last 2 degrees in full scholarship and today is a Global Expert in Teaching and Learning.
She knows for a fact that limitations can shift; people have almost unlimited potential; and that true inner power lies within your authentic self. She lives to guide women to find their inner power and free themselves into a life of growth, balance and happiness.
Chriso Savva
Area of Employment: Law
Chriso Savva is an experienced lawyer with extensive business experience.Through the years she has established herself as an advisor and mentor on matters of business, business development, resolving client issues and entrepreneurship.
She has been a public speaker at a number of international conferences. She is of the conviction that personal contact and consistency in the way business is conducted is the best way to inspire young persons and clients alike.
Steven Stavrou
Area of Employment: Biotech & Healthtech, Entrepreneurship
Steven is a biotech and life sciences advisor, digital health strategist, published researcher, and social entrepreneur.
Steven began at NYU conducting research in mass spectrometry and later in neuropsychology at Binghamton University. In his professional career, Steven helped run a specialty medical website for cardiologists, served as a pro-bono advisor for the UNOPS on healthcare innovation in Africa, and consulted biotech and digital medicine companies on medical affairs in the rare disease space.
In 2016, he launched his first social venture, CyprusInno, which became an award-winning platform connecting entrepreneurs. CyprusInno is a social venture connecting entrepreneurs across Cyprus and operating an innovation center within the buffer zone. Steven received bachelor’s degrees in Biological Anthropology and Journalism from Binghamton University, where he also studied Pre-Medicine.
He received an MBA from Babson College as the Price-Babson MBA Fellow. Steven is 2022 Obama Leader and was a Yunus Fellow.
