Advisory Committee Board of Directors

Advisory Committee Team

Leon Sandler

Advisory Committee | Executive Director, MIT Deshpande Center for Technology Innovation

Leon Sandler is the Executive Director of the MIT Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation.

Leon Sandler

Advisory Committee | Executive Director, MIT Deshpande Center for Technology Innovation

Mr. Leon Sandler is the Executive Director of the MIT Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation. He ensures the execution of its mission of bringing MIT technologies from the laboratories to commercial products, where they can have an impact on society. Since 2002 the Center has funded over 150 projects. Thirty-five of these have spun out into companies that have raised over $700 million in capital. Before joining the Deshpande Center in 2006, Mr. Sandler held senior management positions in companies such as Boston Consulting Group, Eastman Kodak, Texas Instruments and Digital Equipment Corporation. He founded the consulting firm Monmouth Group, co-founded a startup and served as the CEO of several others; and assisted many ventures as an interim executive or advisor. Mr. Sandler received his B.S. degree and his M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Natal University in South Africa, and his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Vassilis Papakonstantinou

Advisory Committee | Vice-Chairman, MIT Enterprise Forum Greece

Vassilis Papakonstantinou is the co-founder and partner of Blue Dome Capital and a technology entrepreneur with over 20 years of hands-on experience across a range of industry sectors.

Vassilis Papakonstantinou

Advisory Committee | Vice-Chairman, MIT Enterprise Forum Greece

Vassilis Papakonstantinou is a technology entrepreneur with over 25 years of hands-on experience across a range of industry sectors. He likes building things and connecting people and ideas. He is a co-founder and partner of Blue Dome Capital, an investment manager seeking to capture emerging investment opportunities in technology transfer and innovation-driven ventures in Central & South Eastern Europe. He is the co-founder of Mobiltron, Inc, a technology company developing a passive authentication platform using behavioral biometrics for mobile applications. He is a partner of Sylipsis, Inc, a company helping researchers move their ideas from the lab to the market and providing managed technology development as a service. He consults the Boards of the Eugenides Foundation and Olympia Group on issues related to technology and innovation. He sits on the Board of Fasmatech, a startup developing mass spectroscopy technology. Until recently he was also on the Board of VIORYL, a chemical engineering company, and Metis Cybertechnologies, a company developing vessel performance solutions. He is the co-founder and Vice-Chairman of the MIT Enterprise Forum Greece, the Greek chapter of an MIT inspired global network, that enables technology entrepreneurs to rapidly transform ideas into world-changing companies. He is the co-founder and Treasurer of the Greek Technology Enterprise Forum, Inc (also knows as Hellenic Innovation Network), a US-based charity that supports the entrepreneurial growth of the Greek tech ecosystem. He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and Ocean Systems Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has conducted research in automated control systems, risk management and system dynamics. He is an active volunteer of the MIT Alumni Association since graduation and has served as Chairman of the MIT Club of Greece from Jan 2011 to Jan 2015. He enjoys running and windsurfing.

Roula Bachtalia

Advisory Committee / Director and Steering Committee member at the egg - enter•grow•go

Roula Bachtalia is actively involved in the start-up ecosystem in Greece, driving strategic initiatives to enforce and broaden innovation and entrepreneurship in SE Europe. She has been with Eurobank for the last 15 years and has served in several functions within the Eurobank Group.

Roula Bachtalia

Advisory Committee / Director and Steering Committee member at the egg - enter•grow•go

Roula Bachtalia is Director and Steering Committee member at the egg - enter•grow•go, a vibrant startup ecosystem in Greece that encourage entrepreneurs to bring innovative ideas & turned them into successful enterprises. The egg is the established incubation & acceleration initiative formed by Eurobank, designed, and implemented with Corallia. Roula Bachtalia is member of the National Council for Research, Technology and Innovation, the supreme government advisory body responsible for shaping and implementing a national strategy for Research, Technological Development, and Innovation. She is actively involved in the start-up ecosystem in Greece, driving strategic initiatives to enforce and broaden innovation and entrepreneurship in SE Europe. Upon her involvement assessing thousands of business plans, coaching and mentoring entrepreneurs in early stage, she serves the ecosystem as a public speaker, judge, and volunteer. Roula has been with Eurobank for the last 15 years and has served in several functions within Eurobank Group. She is working in senior positions in the field of Business Development, Sales & Marketing for more than 25 years in Banking & ICT Sector. She has a postgraduate degree (MBA) in Business Administration from the Bath University in UK. Roula Bachtalia is a certified marketer by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), certified project manager by the International Project Management Association (IPMA) & EFQM Committed to Excellence validator.

Marina Hatsopoulos

Advisory Committee | Entrepreneur and Director of Levitronix Technologies

Marina Hatsopoulos, Director of Levitronix Technologies, was Founding CEO of Z Corporation, an early leader in 3D printing out of MIT.

Marina Hatsopoulos

Advisory Committee | Entrepreneur and Director of Levitronix Technologies

Marina Hatsopoulos, Director of Levitronix Technologies, was Founding CEO of Z Corporation, an early leader in 3D printing out of MIT. Prior to that, she held roles in corporate finance at the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York and in M&A at Thermo Electron Corporation, founded by her father. She is on the Board of MITEF Greece, Eurobank’s EGG program, and OK!Thess. She received an MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and holds a B.A. in Pure Mathematics and a B.A. in Music from Brown University. She has been a key supporter of the Cyprus Seeds initiative from the beginning and will continue to support it as a mentor, evaluator and possibly a contributor to the funds of Cyprus Seeds. Marina lives in Boston but often visits Greece.

Costas Markides

Advisory Committee | Robert P. Bauman Professor of Strategic Leadership London Business School

Professor Costas Markides is a renowned expert on strategy and innovation. Professor Markides is an acclaimed teacher, conference speaker and researcher who has written on the topics of strategic innovation, business model innovation, diversification and international acquisitions.

Costas Markides

Advisory Committee | Robert P. Bauman Professor of Strategic Leadership London Business School

Professor Markides received his BA and MA in Economics from Boston University, and his MBA and DBA from Harvard Business School. He is now Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and holds the Robert P Bauman Chair of Strategic Leadership at London Business School. He has written numerous award-winning books and he serves on the Editorial Boards of several academic journals including the Strategic Management Journal, the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Management and Governance, the Sloan Management Review and the European Management Journal. He is a member of the Academy of Management and the Strategic Management Society and was a Fellow of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland during 1999-2003.’

George C. Summerfield

Advisory Committee | Partner at K&L Gates

George Summerfield has represented several dozen universities throughout the United States and Canada in their respective patent procurement, licensing, and enforcement matters.

George C. Summerfield

Advisory Committee | Partner at K&L Gates

George Summerfield has represented several dozen universities throughout the United States and Canada in their respective patent procurement, licensing, and enforcement matters. He has also provided assistance to several Eastern European governments in drafting intellectual property laws through programs administered by the United States Department of State and the United States Information Agency.