Keynote Speakers

Polychronis Xekalakis | NVIDIA

Polychronis Xekalakis is currently the Chief Architect for NVIDIA's custom cores, where he drives the development of NVIDIA's next generation CPUs. Prior to this, he has been a principal architect for various CPU cores at both NVIDIA and Intel. Polychronis holds a Dipl. of Electrical Engineering from the University of Patras, and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Edinburgh. He has 11 granted patents and has published extensively in the fields of CPU and GPU architecture and micro-architecture.

Title: Moore's Law is Dead, the Golden Era of Computer Architects
Abstract: With Moore's Law coming to a halt, and the breakdown of Dennard's scaling, the free lunch for system designers is now over. Architects can no longer rely on improvements coming from process scaling or frequency, and are thus left with one choice, to innovate. At the same time, the importance of CPU performance is growing, making this the most exciting time to be a CPU architect. In this talk I will outline the path that CPU design has followed over the past decades, and why it is now becoming more relevant than ever. I will highlight key advances in computer architecture, and argue that we still have a lot of important work ahead of us, requiring creative thinking, tenacity and new talent.

Dino Bekis | Qualcomm

Dino Bekis is the vice president and general manager of the wearables and mixed signals solutions business unit for Qualcomm Technologies. In this role, he is responsible for leading two critical expansion platforms for Hearables/Shareables and Smart Watch/Wearables, the broad portfolio of power management solutions, and our security product offerings. Bekis started his career as an engineer, and for more than 25 years, has helped define new technologies, create new businesses, and drive the expansion and scaling of existing product lines.

As a senior leader and technologist, he delivers on and executes business strategies to develop new wireless connectivity technologies and turn these core investments into long-term sustainable franchises that drive industry innovation. Under Bekis’ leadership, his team drove increases in revenue and helped capture leading share in mobile customer’s Wi-Fi platforms, built an industry-leading client portfolio and roadmap and partnered with teams to drive new platform solutions. These and other investments have positioned the company as the frontrunner as wireless connectivity has become ubiquitous.

Kostas Mallios | Applied Materials

Kostas Mallios is Corporate Vice President for Applied AI at Applied Materials, Inc. He is responsible for accelerating the implementation of Applied’s strategy to pursue new opportunities in the $10T AI market inflection.

Kostas brings broad business and technical knowledge spanning a number of technology sectors. He spent much of his career at Microsoft, as General Manager. In Microsoft’s Product and M&A groups, he led product development, growth strategies including deal execution and integration for multibillion dollar acquisitions. Kostas also served as Vice President of R&D at Intellectual Ventures, a $9B invention capital fund. In the last ten years he has led several companies to record breaking exits and served on multiple company Boards leading growth and transformation.

Kostas co-founded PJ Tech Catalyst VC fund with Piraeus Bank and the EIF and has independently led several private equity deals in the US, Europe and Greece.

Kostas has an MBA in Management and Technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BS in Marketing Management from Siena College.

Julia Werra | McKinsey & Company

Julia Werra is an Associate Partner out of McKinsey’s Berlin office. Julia serves the automotive supply chain on semiconductors – from shortage, to supply chain management as well as shaping the next-generation automotive semiconductor roadmap.

Julia is the author of the article “Semiconductor shortage: How the automotive industry can succeed".

Thanasis Konistis | Kosmocar SA

Thanasis Konistis is an executive with more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry. Formerly Head of Volkswagen brand in Greece, currently is the Director of Group After Sales & New Business Development at Kosmocar SA, a leading Automotive Group in Greece which represents brands of the Volkswagen Group, including Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati.

Kosmocar is setting e-mobility at the forefront of its future development, through the launch of new generation electric vehicles & mobility services. From electric cars and nanocars, to e-scooters and e-bikes, Kosmocar is developing an array of innovative platforms & services in the direction of building modern, sustainable mobility ecosystems.

Thanasis is Kosmocar leader of “Astypalea: Smart & Sustainable Island” project, a global-first initiative of the Volkswagen Group and the Hellenic Republic for developing a smart & sustainable mobility ecosystem in the Greek island of Astypalea. This initiative serves as a blueprint for rapid transformation into a smart and sustainable mobility ecosystem.

Moderators

Marco Veremis | Upstream

Marco was born in Athens, in 1973. He holds a BA from the University of Warwick and an MPhil from Oxford University.

Marco started his career in 1996, as a marketing strategist with Omnicom, WPP and IPG, where he developed global communication strategies for brands such as Nestlé, Smithkline Beecham, Johnson & Johnson and Sony Electronics.

In 2002, he returned to Greece and, along with Alex Vratskides, co-founded Upstream. Since then, Upstream has evolved into a leading global technology company within the field of mobile commerce, conducting business in over 45 markets. Marco served as Upstream’s CEO until June 2017, and today is its Chairman of the Board, whilst also a partner at BigPi Venture Capital.

Marco is an active angel investor and member of the board in technology companies such as Persado, Workable, Softone, Hellas Direct and Softmotive (acquired by Microsoft).

In parallel, Marco is the Chairman of SEN/Junior Achievement Greece, Chairman of SEV’s (Hellenic Federation of Enterprises) Innovation Committee, and member of SEV’s board, of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (ΙΟΒΕ), of Endeavor and of the research and policy institute diaNEOsis. Marco has been awarded with the EY Greek “Entrepreneur of the Year” award, in 2013.

Panagiotis Karampinis | Endeavor

Panagiotis holds a degree in Financial and Banking Management from the University of Piraeus. During his studies he worked in the International Fund of Investment Funds Group in Greece and was the Head of Corporate Partnerships at AIESEC in Greece, the largest student organization in the world.

Additionally, he also is a co-founder of TEDxKalamata, a volunteer of the Red Cross Samaritan, and is a consultant to speculative and nonprofit organizations.

Panagiotis joined Endeavor in 2012 and until 2018 he worked on the development of the network, overseeing the process of selecting prospective entrepreneurs and managing a portfolio of 14 major entrepreneurs in Greece, owners of successful companies such as Workable, FrezyDerm, Ergon, Konva, Christodoulou Brothers, Metamaterial Inc and others. Panagiotis was also the Head of the Global F&B Community, a community of 80 Endeavor entrepreneurs with a high impact from 30 countries working in the F&B industry. Through the association and cooperation of all entrepreneurs, he organized F&B initiatives and events around the world to help the community develop its entrepreneurial actions and skills. Since 2018 is the Managing Director of Endeavor Greece.

Prior to becoming MD, Panagiotis led the creation of first ever global community of entrepreneurs in Endeavor. Responsible for the content, group activities, mentoring opportunities and synergies of a community of 80 Endeavor Entrepreneurs/Founders that work in the Food & Beverage sector. These entrepreneurs are leading high-growth companies in 30 countries, from CPGs in US to large scale food service chains in Brazil and Indonesia.