Mentors

Maria Gabriella ANGAGNOSTOPOULOS

Maria Gabriella Anagnostopoulos is Chief Operating Officer of Envolve Entrepreneurship in Greece, responsible for planning, execution and promotion. To date she actively participated in the evaluation of over 8,000 business plans from a wide range of business sectors and has managed multiple acceleration programs.

A US national, Maria Gabriella completed her studies in Athens, Greece. She holds a MSc in International Economics and Finance from the Athens University of Economics and Business and a BSc in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Athens.
 

Konstantinos KISSAS

Konstantinos Kissas is a Business Development and Operations Manager at Envolve Entrepreneurship Greece. He is responsible for internal operations and conducts the financial reporting of the organisation while being responsible for developing or leveraging existing relationships with businesses. In addition, he actively participates in the evaluation process of hundreds of business plans every year for the Envolve Award Greece, an annual interest-free funding startup competition.

Konstantinos holds an MBA degree from Athens University of Economics and Business. He also holds an International Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship from University of Milano-Bicocca and a BSc in Economics from University of Thessaly.
 

 Agapi KYRIAKOPOULOU

Agapi Kyriakopoulou is Marketing and ESG Manager of Envolve Entrepreneurship in Greece. In her current role, she spearheads the communication and promotional initiatives for Envolve, while actively seeking out and developing new opportunities in upskilling, aligning with the organization's commitment to fostering innovation and growth.

Agapi holds a bachelor’s degree from the Department of Business Administration of the University of Piraeus and two minors in Marketing and Entrepreneurship Management from DEREE – The American College of Greece. Agapi has also participated in an International Consulting Program at the Virginia Commonwealth University, USA. Currently pursuing her MBA at ALBA.
 

Matevž STRAUS

Matevž Straus is the Heritage+ Lead and holds an M.Sc. degree from Urban Studies from universities in Brussels, Vienna, Madrid and Copenhagen as well as an MSc degree from Market Communication and a B.A. degree from Analytical Sociology, both from the University of Ljubljana. He has been working at the crossroads of heritage and innovation for the past 10 years, has led several award-winning projects on innovating heritage - from hybrid tourist products, community-building activities, and gastronomic events.
 

Urška STARC-PECENY

Urška Starc-Peceny is a CIO and Tourism 4.0 Lead with a PhD in Business Communication from University of Salzburg, Austria. Urška is a tourism expert specialised in R&D and strategic planning and has led 10+ R&D projects (ESA, Horizon Europe, H2020, Digital Europe, etc). She has been leading the development of many Tourism 4.0 innovations (e.g. Tourism Flows, Digital Readiness Index) and has been mastering their implementation in the real environment. Urška is an external expert in i) Smart Tourism destinations project (DG Grow), ii) Crisis Management and Governance in Tourism (EISMEA), iii) expert group Together for EU Tourism (DG Grow), iv) Strategic research innovation partnership for Tourism in Slovenia (S3), etc. She is also an assistant professor for the Management and digitalization in smart communities with a focus on tourism.
 

Juan Manuel “Juanma” REVUELTA

Juanma Revuelta is an outstanding professional with an extensive career in the European field. From 2003 to 2011, he was Director General of the Delegation of the Valencian Community in Brussels, leading multifaceted strategies to interact with the institutions of the European Union.  In addition, he has played important roles in European organisations. He was the President of the Executive Committee of ERRIN (European Regions for Research and Innovation Network) from 2009 to 2011 in Brussels.

On the entrepreneurial side, he founded the Startup Europe Accelerator in 2011, focusing his efforts on helping startups access funding, strategy, networking and the EU legal framework. He is also the CEO of Finnovaregio, a foundation that promotes international and interregional cooperation to seek funding related to technology transfer, modernisation and innovation in regions.
 

Sharam YALDA

Sharam Yalda is an eco-social economist and EU innovation project and funding developer. He focuses on innovation as a business strategy aimed at transitioning towards a regenerative economy. Sharam works as an innovation consultant with experience in designing regenerative ecosystems, collaborative projects, and business models. He works on financing innovation projects through European and national research and innovation programs. Since 2013, he has been working on strategic areas of disruptive and systemic change that include challenges related to decarbonization, circular economy, and social equality. Sharam supports companies in the development of a triple and quadruple bottom line business model, with the aim of participating and driving disruptive innovation projects with the help of public sector co-financing. He also works as a change agent through advocacy with the aim of accelerating the transition towards a regenerative innovation ecosystems and business cultures.
 

Amparo GARCÍA

Hospitality Senior Manager with 15+ years of experience repositioning and managing Golf & Tennis resorts, Sports hotels, cycling hotels and chains, where I have identified unique projects and subsequently defined and consolidated transformation strategies taking them to success. Extensive experience analysing, defining and consolidating strategies to commercially transform hospitality assets - this includes new business sales and retention of key accounts. Responsible for quality management, product developer & Brand Experience, digitalization, sustainability, guest experience and online reputation, achieving a GOP improvement of +350%. Key attributes: communication, leadership, decision-making, negotiation, and customer-focus skills. 
 

Lola BORDÁS

21 years of experience in different sectors both B2B and B2C. Entrepreneur, supporting a system of female entrepreneurship, with international vision and local support, with great interest in rural environments and sustainable tourism. Lola Bordás is an expert in Spanish and European communication and marketing strategies.

She has worked in companies such as Marie Claire S.A, Dune Cerámicas, Ceraworld Cerámicas, and created her own companies such as Helpinwords, Ágora Bienestar among others.