Speech: What are the factors that will continue to shape the HR Agenda and what Unilever does to prepare for this change
by Maria Provelegiou
HR Director Greece & Cyprus
Unilever

How is the World changing around us? How fast? What are the emerging trends in the VUCA world we live in? How is the workforce changing with Millennials in place? How do all these changes affect the HR agenda of companies? HR can and should play a leading role in “laying the road ahead” for companies, not just “filling the cracks” of the road ahead. To this end, HR needs to be ‘thin skinned’ to all changes happening around the world and to act proactively for building the right skills and capabilities of future leaders as well as for attracting effectively young talent – with Generation Z soon to join the workplace.

Speaker’s Biography

Maria Provelegiou was born in Athens. She studied Chemical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens and then she did her master’s degree in Strategic HR Management at ALBA. She started her career in 1993, at a small Pharmaceutical Company, where she worked as an engineer. In 1995, she moved to Unilever where she worked in various roles in Supply Chain, as an engineer, and then in 2001, she had a career shift to HR. From 2001 till 2008 Maria undertook various HR roles within Unilever, starting as the Factory HR Manager & Company Talent Manager and evolving as the HR Business Partner for all Unilever Factories in Greece as well as for other functions in the business. At the end of 2008, she joined Lafarge in Greece working as the Country HR Development Manager and in 2009 she moved to Hellenic Petroleum where she held various HR roles in Refining and in Retail. Since February 2016, Maria has re-joined Unilever, as the HR Director for Greece and Cyprus. She is a proud mother of three children: Danae, George and Olia.

Speech: Diversity and Inclusion: the Future of Talent Management
by Eleftherios Paraskevas
Talent Manager, Northern Europe
Procter and Gamble

Talent Management will remain relevant and effective only to the extent it can follow the trends of an increasingly diversified workforce. Attraction, selection, on-boarding and retention, in particular, need to be fully integrated with a strategic approach to Diversity and Inclusion. Traditional Talent Management where Diversity and Inclusion is just represented with a single KPI, like gender ratio, can no longer serve the needs of any organisation. We ought to broaden our perspective on how we look, think and talk about Diversity and Inclusion. Companies that are intentionally inclusive in Talent Management enjoy an uncontested business advantage as they can attract top talent, maximise employee productivity, increase innovation and better serve customers. As Maya Angelou put it, “in diversity there is beauty and there is strength”.

Speaker’s Biography

Eleftherios Paraskevas is a future-focused HR professional that combines business acumen and HR expertise to build high performing organisations. He obtained his BSc in Operation Research and then his MBA from Athens University of Business (AUEB). He continued his studies in New York at the Doctoral Program in Organisational Behaviour of the Baruch College. In 2007 he joined Procter and Gamble as a Human Resources Manager. He worked as HR Business Partner across a variety of functions and countries, where he focused on organisational design, talent management, employee relations and change management. He is currently based in London leading Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development and Talent Management for the UK, Ireland and Nordics. He is a diversity and inclusion advocate fostering a more inclusive work environment for every employee, regardless of mental or physical limitations.

Speech: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, or Creating Leadership in the Corporate World
by Valentina Kislaya
President and Founder
Leaders and Image

The outward-and-forward looking companies require truly great leaders within. Developing leadership in the company is a high-risk investment that requires a great deal of risk intelligence. Describing the leader as the biggest potential point of failure, the 15-minute presentation touches upon the current corporate landscape and the lack of discretionary effort in the teams. With practical and nuanced advice on how to revamp the executive presence of one and role-model leadership in the workplace for many, the speaker provides the insider’s look at how large companies and corporations can be transformed. The presentation brings up the problem of personal self-awareness and courage as core skills for inspiring others to lead the desperately needed change and evoke the personal innovation.

Speaker’s Biography

Valentina Kislaya is president and founder of Leaders and Image Ltd., an organization acclaimed for its coaching expertise across the entire corporate spectrum — from high-ranking executives to aspiring men and women. A vibrant leader and coach skilled at inspiring clients, colleagues and team members to achieve ambitious goals, she is adept at building alliances and highly respected for her dynamic presentation style. Valentina is an official Licensee of North America-based Corporate Class Inc., recognized as an innovator in the fields of executive presence and leadership training. Coaches Training Institute (CTI) is acknowledged as a pioneer within the coaching profession. Valentina studied with CTI and is a graduate of its Barcelona based advanced training program. Skilled at making perceptive and penetrating observations, Valentina articulates her insights to empower clients to strategically develop executive presence with their own individual identity to communicate authentic leadership. One of the distinctive hallmarks of her polished leadership and coaching style is Valentina’s high taste level. Her impeccable sense of flair is reflected in every undertaking. Prior to becoming a Leadership Coach, Valentina completed advanced training at the London Image Institute, internationally recognized for image training. She is a member of AICI, Association of Image Consultants International.

Speech: Apple Project
by Zoi Zachariadou
People & Culture Director
ISS Facility Services S.A.

The Apple Project is an employee recognition and reward program, aiming at excellence. 24 hours, 365 days a year, our people provide high quality services to our customers’ premises. The “apple project” highlights all those innovations and best practices happening during working hours, that go the extra mile. We are looking for all those little miracles that happen every day, in order to be awarded and shared within the organization and our customers. Our employees are trained to find and to serve our customer’s purpose, to be excellent and proud of what they do, to do the unexpected, to add value to our services.

Speaker’s Biography

Zoi Zachariadou is the People & Culture Director of ISS Facility Services S.A. and a member of the Executive Management Committee, since November 2014. She started her carrier in Marketing, in one the largest wine producing companies in Greece. Since then she has held, leading positions in Marketing Departments, in Multinational Companies such as Freudenberg Household Products handling brands like Vileda and Wettex and also in the Commercial Department of IMAKO Media, a large publishing company. She joined, ISS Facility Services S.A. in 2008, as an HR Manager, responsible for 5.500, white collar and front line employees. She holds a bachelor degree in Business Administration at the University of Piraeus and is a certified Global Career Development Facilitator.

Speech: Promotion of holistic health within Piraeus Bank. The opportunity in adversity!

by Evi Chassapoyianni
Senior Manager, Human Resources & Organizational Learning
Piraeus Bank Group

Recognizing the key role of health and wellness of its employees and aiming to provide them with a healthy work environment, Piraeus Bank has established policies and practices that promote the holistic health of the organization with emphasis on prevention. It also provides counseling and support for the management of critical incidents occurring at work or at home. As part of the Corporate Responsibility and showing active care for the promotion of health – wellness and resilience of both the workforce and the organization, Piraeus Bank has systematically provided since 2007 Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). The EAPs started in the organization along with the beginning of the economic crisis in the country. The Bank at this situation chose to invest in innovative programs that focus on strengthening and supporting the employees, thus showing once again the management commitment to the prevention culture. In today’s extremely unfavorable situation experienced by the entire country, Piraeus Bank continues to promote organizational health, remains stable and consistently empowers employees through innovative educational, development and support programs.

Speaker’s Biography

Evi Chassapoyianni was born and raised in Athens. She studied at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and is holding a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology from the School of Philosophy, with a major in Psychology. She started her professional career in 1997 as a Business Consultant at Inchcape Holdings Hellas and Toyota Hellas. Evi has been working for Piraeus Bank in Group HR since 2000. She has contributed to the areas of Training & Development, Leadership Development and HR systems. In 2007, she assumed the responsibilities of Manager in Internal Communication and Organizational Health. As of 2014, she possesses the role of Senior Manager in Organizational Health, within Group HR & Organizational Learning. Key responsibility of her role is to enhance a holistic approach towards organizational health and to empower employee’s contribution to society, environment and culture through volunteerism actions. Her professional interests are related to organizational culture, employee satisfaction and engagement, leadership development, coaching, positive psychology, employee assistance, mental health and well-being. Evi contributes voluntarily to the action of NGOs namely Junior Achievement Greece, Future Leaders, SOS Villages. She is a member of the certified Greek Employee Assistance Association (EAPA) since 2011, having assumed the role of Vice President on February 2015. ChassapoyianniE@piraeusbank.gr

Speech: Talent Management
by Maria Sergiou
Head of HR
MTN Cyprus

and Ioanna Savva Ioannou
HR L&D and Talent Manager
MTN Cyprus

I would like to welcome you to the world of Talent Management in MTN Cyprus. In light of changing business environment and new digital strategy, MTN must ensure that we have the right people, with the right skills and leadership capabilities to deliver against the new organisational strategy. For MTN to thrive, we need quality talent to be a key strategic business imperative. The more we can put the right person, with the right attitude, culture-fit, experience, and skills in the right job, at the right time, the better positioned MTN will be to remain competitive and profitable. At the end of 2014 MTN launched the new Global Talent Standards (GTS) across the Group. Having engaged with several stakeholders from executive level, to line managers and the HR fraternity, the Global Talent Standards were conceived and developed. It is against these standards that individuals will be empowered to manage their careers more effectively and line managers equipped to make better quality people decisions and appointments. The Global Talent Standards (GTS)provide a robust framework for minimum entry requirements needed to be appointed into a position at a certain level.

Speaker’s Biography

Maria Sergiou is a passionate, business oriented, CIPD qualified senior professional with a BSc Degree in Accounting and an MSc Degree in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations. Maria has over 18 years of multinational HR experience, in designing and implementing successful HR management strategies and in leading, motivating and developing people across diverse cultures to assist the organization in achieving its desired results. She worked in Hyperion Systems Engineering for 16 years as HR Vice President where she led a team of professionals and was responsible to plan, direct, and manage human resource activities. She currently holds the position of the Head of HR of MTN Cyprus Ltd. Apart from managing the HR overall strategy, she is also responsible to drive internal MTN Culture towards higher performance; to ensure implementation of the Recruitment strategy in attracting top notch candidates; to maintain core employees and develop them at the required company talent levels.

Ioanna Savva Ioannou is a professional person, excellent at establishing and maintaining relationships at all levels within and outside of any given organisation. She has proven skills in building and developing new processes and identifying both the required operational strategies and the skills required to achieve them. Ioanna spent quite some time in Germany, Heidelberg where she worked at a 4-star hotel. She became fluent in German and gained the experience and confidence to communicate effectively with people from different cultures and background and has improved her social and inter-personal skills. In 2004 she came back to Cyprus and she studied Hospitality Management in the University of Nicosia. Ioanna has been working in the HR field the last 7 years and has experience in Recruitment, Employee Relations, L&D and Talent and HR Practices. She currently holds the position of L&D and Talent Manager in MTN Cyprus. She directs and manages the coordination of succession planning, key talent/high-potential development, and performance management to achieve business goals and create an internal bench of top talent. In addition, she supports through the delivery of Talent Engagement initiatives, Retention & Promoting Training & Developing to all MTN Cyprus and business functions.

Speech: Applying Field Coaching on Sales
by Marios Mouzouris
Human Resources Manager
Leroy Merlin Cyprus

The Workshop aims at helping the participants to understand how by applying Field Coaching on the terrain:
– you develop the selling skills/ Knowledge of the sales people and the coaching skills of their Managers
– you reach to an agreement to the coaching objectives and priorities by both parts (sales people & Managers)
– you observe the sales people in the field during an actualcontact with the customer
– you give regular constructive feedback for the performanceimmediately afterwards
– you help sales people to have a positive feeling about themselves and the skills they’ve performed well and also to be determined to strengthen any skills identified as development needs

Speaker’s Biography

Marios Mouzouris is the Human Resources Manager of Leroy Merlin Cyprus since 2012. He holds a BA Degree in Political Science with Minor in Sociology from the University of Cyprus and an MBA from Stirling University (UK). In 2003 he joined the Business Administration department of the Philips College as a lecturer. He participated in various academic projects and he published some academic articles and surveys. In 2006 he became an HR consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He was engaged in the design and delivery of several seminars in a wide spectrum of areas, including communication skills, management skills, team building skills and in undertaking of executive and non-executive recruitment assignments. He was also engaged in the design and implementation of appraisal systems and partnership plans. From 2008 until 2012 he was the Human Resources Manager of Marangos Bakeries Ltd. As a Human Resources Manager in his current and his previous company he participated/participates in the creation and development of recruitment, development and appraisal HR tools and procedures.

Speech: Transforming Corporate Culture – 7 Insights from the Celestyal Cruises journey
Taleen Tchalikian
Human Resources Director
Celestyal Cruises

Paris Thomas
Director – Change Strategist
Open Box Communication

This workshop introduces the realities of Change Management, in the form of 7 insights gained through the journey of Celestyal Cruises’ Cultural Transformation, which has led them into new directions, new mindsets and new behaviours. Celestyal Cruises was in thorny financial straits a mere four years ago – since then the company has turned around its financial situation and has been given a number of local and international awards for Culture Change, Employee Wellness, Performance Management and Rewards Strategies, in addition to being named the best HR Department in Greece. The workshop will be facilitated by Taleen Tchalikian, HR Director of Celestyal Cruises and Paris Thomas, Director of Open Box. Together, they will take you step by step through the 7 insights, the challenges they faced and the solutions they implemented to accomplish the transformation they set out to realize. A dynamic Q&A session will follow, that will challenge you to explore your own realities of transforming your organisation.

Speaker’s Biography

Taleen Tchalikian is a senior HR professional with a track record for turning around financially-challenged organizations. She has significant change leadership experience and strong people skills. She is a strategic leader on emerging HR fundamentals partnering with CEO’s and Senior Management on aligning HR Strategy. Currently the Human Resources Director at Celestyal Cruises, Taleen has global HR experience. She worked for a number of years in New York and New Jersey in the Entertainment industry, at NBC’s Channel 4, CNBC and MSNBC. During her tenure at NBC, Taleen received her Six Sigma Green Belt Certification from GE. Upon returning to Cyprus after more than a decade in the USA, Taleen worked in a multinational corporate environment, and received multiple Gold awards in the EMEA and North America for Best Call Center, Best Recruitment Campaign and Best Assessment Center. Most recently, at Celestyal Cruises she received multiple awards for Best HR Department, Change Management Strategy, Cross-Border Integration, Reward Strategy, Health and Wellbeing Initiative, Corporate Social Responsibility. Taleen is frequently invited to lecture on various HR topics as well as participate as panellist at various HR conferences with well known HR experts such as David Ulrich. She has served on the Board of the Cyprus Human Resources Management Association for a number of years and is currently a member of the SHRM, CYRMA and WISTA. She received her Bachelor’s in Communications from the University of La Verne in California and an MBA in Marketing from Maastricht School of Management.

Paris Thomas is a passionate communicator and a serial entrepreneur. He holds a BA in Communication Science, an MBA in Strategic Management, and is one of 30 globally certified trainers on Alexander Osterwalder’s groundbreaking Business Model Generation (BMG) methodology. As a highly skilled trainer, Paris has facilitated workshops in a variety of industries such as Pharmaceuticals, Financial, R&D, High-Tech, Government, and large Clean-tech Startups. He has run in-house workshops and prototyping sessions, as well as public masterclasses in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. His solid background as a robust communicator is comprised of serving major Canadian organisations at senior management level, lobbying government, and facilitating and training throughout Europe and the Middle East. Paris is also co-founder and COO of ENERMAP and co-founder and director of Chrysalis LEAP. Paris effectively combines his background in public relations, communications, crisis management, and his skills in facilitation, training, and strategic brainstorming, into a portfolio of services that delivers results in a rolled-up sleeves type of approach.

Speech: Integrating Succession Planning in Talent Management Strategy: Key for Sustainable growth
Nita Jha
Head of Group HR & Support Services
MSC Shipmanagement Limited

HR has the onus to facilitate the internal talent mobility by ensuring that the present workforce is ready to take up responsibility and challenges that organizations need today and tomorrow. Recently published Global Human Capital Trends 2015 survey reveals that only 10% organizations feel comfortable with their succession planning and over 51% consider that their succession planning is either weak or nonexistent. An absence of effective succession planning undermines organization’s effectiveness and its sustainability. Retention of high performers and high potentials in organization is key to successful succession planning. Objective of the workshop will be to raise awareness among the participants regarding importance of succession planning, take away learnings from discussions and case study and how they can:
-Contribute to Organizations effectiveness by ensuring readiness of well-trained talent
-Commence succession planning process or enhance their existing one which will ensure that there is successor for each key ranks
-Do talent scanning required and adapt the training and development needs
-Integrate succession planning in their talent management program.

Speaker’s Biography

Nita Jha is responsible for Group Human resources function for MSC Shipmanagement Limited Offices at Cyprus, India and Ukraine. MSC Shipmanagement Limited based at Limassol is today managing over 175 Container vessels and has grown nearly 6 times in past 6 years. In her current role, Nita has positioned HR as a true strategic partner and she is focused on making her company as an irresistible place to work with strong focus on family culture, ethics and cultural diversity. She has implemented new performance management systems, leadership development programs to ensure that all human capital needs are readily available. Nita is passionate about acquiring and transferring knowledge and this is reflected by numerous degrees that she is equipped with: Masters in English, Bachelor of Education, Diploma in Ship Management, M.Sc in Human Resource Management. She is also an alumni of CIIM and IESE business school, Barcelona. She is also a Chartered Member of CIPD, UK and has worked at India and Hong Kong prior moving to Cyprus with her family. Nita, besides her work, loves to sing and dance and is fun loving person.

Alexandros Diogenous was born in 1971 in Nicosia, Cyprus. He holds an M.A. in Engineering & Management from Cambridge University (Magdalene College) and an M.Sc. in Finance from London Business School. From 1997 until 1999, he worked at Alpha Finance, Greece as a financial analyst consulting clients on corporate finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions. In 1999 he returned to Cyprus to join his family business, the Tseriotis group of companies which employs approximately 500 people and is involved in the following sectors:
Automotive (Unicars Ltd, Uniwheels Car Rental Limited)
FMCG (Tryfon Tseriotis Ltd, Unilever PMT Ltd, Unilever Tseriotis Cyprus Ltd and DIAPO Ltd)
ICT (Pylones Hellas S.A, Mellon Cyprus Ltd, Omnitouch Ltd)
Initially he was in charge of strategic and business development and the ICT operations. In 2002 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Unicars Ltd, the company’s automotive arm and subsequently became CEO of the whole group. He is a member of the board and ex-chairman of the Motor Vehicle Importers Association and has served as a director of Cyprus Stock Exchange listed companies, charitable institutions and of the Cyprus University of Technology. He is married and a father of two children. Besides work his passions are cycling and contemporary art.

Christos Mouskis is the Executive Chairman of Muskita Hotels, the company that owns the Four Seasons Hotels in Limassol, the Aldiana Resort in Alaminos, the Melia Athens, and 50% of Amathus Limassol. He is also the Chairman of Muskita Holdings, with subsidiaries in the Hotels, Aluminium Manufacturing, and Real Estate sectors. After completing his studies in Business Management and Marketing in the United States, Christos returned to Cyprus and in 1989 established Muskita Hotels. This was a new division in the family business, under the umbrella of Muskita Holdings. Christos is dedicated to reinforcing the competitive advantage of each hotel by focusing not only on the high standard of facilities, but above all on the main asset of any business: its human resources. His hands-on management style and day-to-day involvement in operations is accompanied by ongoing investment in people and a clearly defined corporate culture. The Four Seasons, the flagship hotel, is the first hotel in Cyprus to achieve ‘Investors in People’ certification and is the winner of the InBusiness Award for ‘Best Workplace 2013’. It also receives regular industry awards, recognizing it as the best hotel on the island for over 20 years. Apart from his position within Muskita Holdings, Christos is one of the founding members of the Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises and a member of many business federations and professional associations. He has received several personal awards of excellence, in particular from the CTO, OEB and KEBE and other associations, for his contribution to Cyprus tourism. The Cyprus Hotel Managers Association named him ‘Hospitality Personality of the Year 2012’.

Christos Papaellinas was born in Nicosia in 1966. He graduated from Acropolis Lyceum in 1984. He completed his military service in 1986. In 1990 he has completed his Bachelor Degree (B.Sc.) in Economics. He acquired his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at the Imperial College of London. He joined C. A. Papaellinas Ltd in 1991 and since 1999 he holds the position of Chief Executive Officer. He is the Vice President of the Executive Committee of the Federation of Employers and Industrialists, a member of Interfund board and member of the Council of the University of Cyprus. He has served also as a member of the board of Eurobank EFG, of Laiki Group and Cyprus Airways. Christos Papaellinas is married to Clea Hadjistefanou and he is the father of Andreas who is 15 years old.

Panayiotis Papaphilippou was born in 1946 and moved to Nicosia at the age of four where he completed his primary and secondary education. After completing his military service he started his first business and opened his first confectionery shop. He studied all matters relating to sweets, ice cream and gastronomy in general, and obtained his diplomas in business administration through mail correspondence courses. Becoming an expert at making high quality innovative ice cream was a challenge for Mr. Papafilippou. At first he encountered a lot of difficulties but being passionate about his work he was able to persevere and pave new ground for ice cream in Cyprus. Today, the company is the industry leader in the local market, whiles also exporting its products to Europe and other countries. Mr. Papaphilippou has pioneered and innovated in the field of ice cream andin the gastronomy worldin general, creating a Mediterranean product. He has contributed a great deal to social work and is a member of a number of committees. He continues to be actively involved in the industry, commerce and social life.