Board of Directors

Jeremy Downward

Board Chairman | Aristeus Financial Services Ltd

Jeremy Downward is the Board Chairman and Executive Officer of Aristeus Financial Services Ltd, a fully regulated asset management firm in Cyprus.

Jeremy Downward

Board Chairman | Aristeus Financial Services Ltd

Jeremy Downward is the Board Chairman and Executive Officer of Aristeus Financial Services Ltd, a fully regulated asset management firm in Cyprus. In 2001 he set up a family office and was its Chief Investment officer, managing the investments of a number of Trusts and Foundations of a prominent European family. He remains on the Board. Jeremy was a founding partner and board member of Greece’s first private sector investment bank, Alpha Finance, from 1989 to 2001.

George Saveriades, PhD

Board Member | Technical Director, Omnihealth LTD

Dr Saveriades holds a B.S., M.S. and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University, MA, USA. He has a strong background in mathematics and research experience in neuroscience.

George Saveriades, PhD

Board Member | Technical Director, Omnihealth LTD

Dr Saveriades holds a B.S., M.S. and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University, MA, USA. He has a strong background in mathematics and research experience in neuroscience. He is a Member of the Board and Advisory Board at Cleoo Ltd, an online marketing company headquartered in the UK, Switzerland and Singapore and he is the Technical Director/Founder of Omnihealth Ltd, a patient centric personal Health Record platform.

Patrick Michaels

Board Member | Chairman, Zuri-Invest AG and President & CEO, Asty Capital AG

Michaels is the Chairman for Zuri-Invest AG. He is also the President and the CEO of Asty Capital AG. Furthermore, he was the Managing Director for Precious Capital AG from 2005-07 and 2008-14.

Patrick Michaels

Board Member | Chairman, Zuri-Invest AG and President & CEO, Asty Capital AG

Michaels is the Chairman for Zuri-Invest AG. He is also the President and the CEO of Asty Capital AG. Furthermore, he was the Managing Director for Precious Capital AG from 2005-07 and 2008-14. He has substantial experience in the fields of asset allocation, fund management and mining finance. Also, he has a background in economics and law, with extensive training in investment research and private banking at UBS Zurich as well as a postgraduate course at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.

Antonis Antoniou

Board Member | Eurobank Cyprus

General Manager – Wealth Management & Global Markets of Eurobank. He is also a Board member of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA).

Antonis Antoniou

Board Member | Eurobank Cyprus

Antonis Antoniou joined Eurobank Cyprus in 2007 and he currently holds the position of General Manager – Wealth Management & Global Markets. He started his career at Laiki Bank where he served for six years as Head of the Market Risk Management Unit. He then moved to the Private Banking Unit of Laiki Bank as Assistant Manager and later served as Manager, a position he held until his move to Eurobank Cyprus. Mr. Antoniou graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a BSc Degree in Actuarial Science and obtained an MSc in Shipping, Trade and Finance from the City Business School. He is also registered in the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Register of Registered Persons as holder of the Advanced Certification. Antonis is also a Board member of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA).

Stavros Pantziaris

Board Member | EY, Cyprus

Stavros Pantziaris

Board Member | EY, Cyprus

Stavros Pantzaris is currently the Chairman of EY in Cyprus having served as Country Managing Partner during the period from 2015 – 2020. He was first employed at EY in Cyprus as a manager in 1994 and joined the partnership in 1998. During his professional career he has been involved in the provision of assurance services to both local and multinational corporations in most sectors of the economy. Also, he has been involved in the provision of advisory services, including due diligence projects. Stavros Pantzaris is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation.

Anna Protopapas

Board Member | President and CEO Mersana Therapeutics

Since 2015, Ms. Protopapas has been the Chief Executive Officer of Mersana, a start-up biotech company developing novel therapies for cancer patients.

Anna Protopapas

Board Member | President and CEO Mersana Therapeutics

Since 2015, Ms. Protopapas has been the Chief Executive Officer of Mersana, a start-up biotech company developing novel therapies for cancer patients. Under her leadership, Mersana has discovered and moved into clinical development two novel cancer therapies and has raised over $250mm in equity and partnership funding including through an IPO on NASDAQ. Prior to Mersana, Ms Protopapas was a member of the executive team at Millennium and later at Takeda where she was responsible for completing over $25 billion in mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and venture investments. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science and Engineering from Princeton University, a Master’s in Chemical Engineering practice from the MIT and an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Ms Protopapas is married to Tom Kinney PhD, they live in Boston with their three children but visit Cyprus often.

Maria Markidou Georgiadou

Managing Director | Ex officio member of the Board

Ms Maria Georgiadou is the Managing Director of Cyprus Seeds, responsible for the design and implementation of the program.

Maria Markidou Georgiadou

Managing Director | Ex officio member of the Board

Ms Georgiadou is the Managing Director of Cyprus Seeds, responsible for the design and implementation of the program. Between 2014 and 2017, Maria was a full-time consultant with Bank of Cyprus in matters relating to innovation and entrepreneurship; in this capacity, she initiated and coordinated IDEA, the first Accelerator-Incubator Program in Cyprus which supports the creation of Cypriot start-ups Maria has 25 years of experience with the Cyprus Development Bank. At cdbbank, she headed for 8 years the International Banking Unit, she set up the EU Unit of the bank and attracted EU grants for SMEs in Cyprus. During her last 3 years at the Bank, she was Head of Business Development & Marketing of the cdb Group. Prior to joining cdbbank, Maria worked in the European Commission in Brussels for one year. She is an evaluator for the HORIZON 2020 program, SME Instrument, which supports the commercialization of innovative research. For the last 12 years, she is one of the two partners of the World Economic Forum in Cyprus for the production of its annual Global Competitiveness Report. Maria studied in the US, with Fulbright scholarship, and got a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Oxford, UK.