The Third Thessaloniki Metropolitan Summit

Welcome and introduction:
Alasdair Ross, countries editor, The Economist’s The World Ahead 
Eftichis Pallikaris, adviser, Powergame.gr

Alasdair Ross Countries editor

Eftichis Pallikaris Adviser

Stathis Konstantinidis, deputy minister of interior, responsible for Macedonia-Thrace, Greece
Konstantinos Zervas, mayor of Thessaloniki, Greece

Konstantinos Zervas Mayor

Keynote address:

Kostis Hatzidakis, minister for national economy and finance, Greece

Kostis Hatzidakis Deputy prime minister

● New employment benefits & Greece’s economy
● Fintech and economic growth: moving forward?

Adonis Georgiadis, minister of labour and social welfare, Greece
Konstantinos Kollias, president, Economic Chamber of Greece
Alex Katsaros, CEO, TopFX Group

Adonis Georgiadis Minister of health

Konstantinos Kollias President

Alex Katsaros CEO

● Government strategy on energy projects
● An update from the Alexandroupoli FSRU project
● Energy security and supply in Europe in the current geopolitical landscape

Theodoros Skylakakis, minister of environment and energy, Greece (via connection)
Victor Parlicov, minister of energy, Moldova (via connection)
Shlomo Ben Ami, former minister of foreign affairs, Israel, vice-president, Toledo International Centre for Peace 

● The business perspective
Teodora Georgieva, executive officer, ICGB

Victor Parlicov Minister of energy

Shlomo Ben Ami Former minister of foreign affairs, Israel, Vice-president

Teodora Georgieva Executive officer

The Economist in dialogue with:
Akis Skertsos, minister of state, Greece (via connection)

Akis Skertsos Minister of state

● Greek youth as a game changer for Thessaloniki and beyond
● Policies, resources and incentives ● The new tech hub: how much progress has been made?
● Digital nomads are here to stay ● Social networks and smart cities

Konstantinos Kyranakis, deputy minister of digital governance, Greece 
Yanna Andronopoulou, general manager, Microsoft Greece, Cyprus and Malta
Vagelis Gorilas, head of public sector, Vodafone Greece
Alexandros Bregiannis, CEO, Nova ICT
Kostas Axarloglou, dean and professor of international business and strategy, Alba Graduate Business School, The American College of Greece

Alexandros Bregiannis Chief executive

Kostas Axarloglou Dean and professor of international business and strategy

Uzy Zwebner, founder and CEO, BaseCamp, co-founder, High Tech Park, Beer Sheva, Israel 
Itai Green, founder and CEO, Innovate Israel 
Nikos Efthymiadis, chairman & CEO, Thess INTEC

Uzy Zwebner Founder and CEO, BaseCamp, co-founder

Itai Green Founder and chief executive

Nikos Efthymiadis Chairman & CEO

● The government’s strategy for effective and safe transportation
● New projects in the pipeline
● Projects in the fields of mobility and connectivity

Christos Staikouras, minister of infrastructure and transport, Greece

● The business response

Alexandros Exarchou, vice-chairman of the BoD and CEO, Intrakat
Antonis Mitzalis, executive director, AVAX Group
Georgios Lioumpis, vice-chairman of the BoD & general manager, SKY express
Commentator: Fotis Kollias, director, Powergame.gr

Christos Staikouras Former minister of finance

Antonis Mitzalis Εxecutive director

Fotis Kollias Director

● Education and the economy: How is Greece performing in relation to the rest of Europe?
● Youth income policies: An update

Pavlos Marinakis, government spokesperson, secretary of the political committee, New Democracy
Dimitris Mantzos, MP, parliamentary representative, PASOK-Kinima Allagis political party

Pavlos Marinakis Deputy minister to the prime minister of Greece and government spokesperson

Dimitris Mantzos MP and parliamentary representative

● Are the conservative values on the rise? 
● Focusing on the dividing lines between conservatives and progressives in today’s European politics

Makis Voridis, minister of state, Greece
Nikos Pappas, MP, Hellenic Parliament, SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance
Panagiotis Doudonis, MP, head of national list, PASOK - Kinima Allagis

Moderator: Eftichis Pallikaris, adviser, Powergame.gr

Makis Voridis Minister of migration & asylum

Nikos Pappas MP, Hellenic Parliament, leader of parliamentary group

Panagiotis Doudonis MP, head of national list

Eftichis Pallikaris Adviser

Kostas Skrekas, minister of development, Greece 
Jerry Ismail, consul general, U.S. Consulate General Thessaloniki

● The business perspective
Panagiotis Mourgos, managing director, Texan Envipco Hellas Group

Jerry Ismail Consul general

Panagiotis Mourgos Managing director

● Electricity and renewable energy projects in the pipeline
● The post-lignite strategy for Western Macedonia

Kostas Skrekas, minister of development, Greece 

● The business perspective

Ioannis Papadopoulos, chairman of the board, DEPA Commercial 
Spyros Kiartzis, manager, new technologies & alternative energy sources, HELLENiQ ENERGY Group

Commentator: Antonis Metaxas, managing partner, Metaxas & Associates Law Firm

Ioannis Papadopoulos President / CEO

Spyros Kiartzis Manager, new technologies and alternative energy sources

Antonis Metaxas Managing partner

Ioannis Vellidis Room 1

Alasdair Ross, countries editor, The Economist’s The World Ahead 

Opening remarks:
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, regional governor, Central Macedonia, first vice-president, 
European Committee of the Regions

Alasdair Ross Countries editor

Apostolos Tzitzikostas European commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism

● Southeast Europe & EU enlargement
● How is Europe’s future intertwined with the geopolitics of the region?
● Greece’s pivotal role in the region
● The importance of securing energy supply for Europe through shipping 

Nikos Dendias, minister of national defence, Greece

Dominique de Villepin, former prime minister of France 
Wess Mitchell, former US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, USA (via connection)

Dominique de Villepin Former prime minister

Wess Mitchell Former US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs; Principal