Our Research Staff
Short Bio
Dr Alexandros Antonaras, PMP
Alexandros is the Vice President of Student Services, an Associate Professor of Management and the Executive Chairman of the Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Centre (CSRC) at the University of Nicosia (CY). He holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics & Statistics with Management from Brunel University of West London [UK], an MSc in Quality Management and a PhD in Quality & Process Improvement from Cranfield University [UK].
Alexandros was the founder of the Cyprus Network for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR Cyprus), a non-profit business network and Cyprus’ National Partner Organisation of CSR Europe and served as its elected Chairman for the first 2 terms (2017-2021). He was the Executive Director and Board Member of the Cyprus Business Ethics Institute [2011-2016] and Board Member of the Cyprus Quality Association [2011-2015]. Alexandros is a certified Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Professional by the Institute of Leadership and Management. In 2019 he received an Honorary Award by the President of the Republic of Cyprus and the Commissioner of the Environment for his contribution to promoting Sustainability in Cyprus.
He is a Certified Entrepreneurship Facilitator by the Entrepreneurship Learning Initiative (USA) and an active European Excellence Assessor and Validator for the EFQM Excellence Model, a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI). He is also a certified VET Trainer by Human Resources Development Authority (CY).
Before joining the University of Nicosia as the Director of the Consultancy Unit (2010-2014), Alexandros worked at INTRALOT SA, Lamda Infrastructure Finance SA, Centre for Sustainability & Excellence and at the American College of Greece (GR). He has considerable graduate and undergraduate teaching experience and has published and presented many research papers in national and international journals and conferences. His research interests include CSR, corporate sustainability, business excellence, responsible entrepreneurship, and quality management.
Short Bio
Dr Chrysi Memtsa, MCSI, CCBI GSFP, p-q ACCA
Dr Chrysi Memtsa holds a PhD in Finance from Durham University (UK), an MSc in Business Finance from Brunel University (UK) and has graduated from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR) with a BSc in Economics.
She has over 20 years of experience in banking, asset management and financial services. She has headed Treasury, Asset Management and Transaction Advisory Divisions in leading financial institutions, pension fund and asset management companies. She’s currently engaged in Digital Payments and ESG/Sustainable Finance projects.
She also has 20+ years of teaching experience as adjunct faculty at top academic and professional institutions. Her core skill set encompasses asset management strategies, risk management, treasury activities, financial modeling, advanced data analytics, banking, payments, regulatory reporting, money and capital markets, derivatives, financial management, business strategy, financial accounting, ESG and sustainable finance. She is a certified Green and Sustainable Finance Professional (GSFP) by the Chartered Banker Institute, member of Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments (MCSI) partly-qualified ACCA, and she holds Portfolio Management Certificate by HCMC and Derivatives Market Maker/Trader Certificate by ADEX. She is also a member of the CYS Mirror Committee on Sustainable Finance (ISO/TC322). Her research work has been published in international conference proceedings and journals.
Short Bio
Dr Constantinos Hadjistassou
Constantinos Hadjistassou is Professor at the Department of Engineering at the University of Nicosia where he heads the Marine and Carbon Lab (www.carbonlab.eu). Research and innovation activities at the Marine & Carbon Lab focus on two areas: the marine environment and energy resources. Recent research projects have dealt with the energy transition, climate change, renewables, the carbon footprint, conventional energy sources, 3D printing and artificial intelligence. In parallel, Constantinos teaches under/graduate classes on natural gas, offshore engineering and pipeline networks. As one of the recognized experts on energy developments in the East Med, his insights regularly feature in the international and local media including the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Al-Jazeera and Bloomberg. Educated in the UK and US, he holds a Master’s from MIT and a PhD from the University of Oxford.
Short Bio
Sheila Sfountouri
Sheila Sfountouri is an economist and holds a Master’s in Applied Economics and Finance from the Athens University of Economics and Business. Currently, she is a PhD candidate at the University of Nicosia. The topic of her doctoral thesis concerns the investigation of integration of ESG indicators in Greek and Cypriot companies with the aim of developing an ESG Framework for effective utilization by companies. She currently works as a Strategy and Development Consultant at Dataplex S.A. in Athens, Greece.
Short Bio
Rawda Abdelaziem
Rawda Abdelaziem is currently a PhD student at the University of Nicosia, she has completed her post graduate programme: MBA (Master of Business Administration – Marketing), focusing mainly on CSR contribution towards the refugee crises in Cyprus. In 2016, Rawda has also obtained a BA in Interior Design from the University of Nicosia aiming to promote sustainability as a necessary design concept especially in crisis. The combination of both degrees has built a solid foundation and an interest to further approach the topics of CSR and risk management. The recent pandemic (Covid-19) represented a great example of how effective are traditional risk management frameworks. Her research aims to reveal the efficiency of the commonly used and traditional risk management frameworks, according to stakeholders’ perspectives. In order to achieve the initial aim, the factors affecting corporate risk need to be identified and to what extent stakeholders influence the identification of risks. Additionally, the research will be able to validate how corporate responsibility is used as a tool to improve risk management.
Short Bio
Alexander Pakhalov
Alexander Pakhalov holds an MSc in Financial Economics and a BSc in Economics from Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU).
Mr. Pakhalov is a sustainability expert with a mix of academic and industrial backgrounds. He has 10+ years of experience in corporate social responsibility, sustainable tourism, and ESG analytics. As an expert in these fields, he has collaborated with several institutions and non-profit organizations, including WWF (the leading global organization in wildlife conservation), and the National Rating Agency (one of the biggest Russia’s rating agencies).
He is an author/co-author of more than 50 journal articles and book chapters, a speaker at more than 40 international conferences, and a supervisor of more than 50 master’s and bachelor’s theses. He has significant experience in managing research projects and educational programs.
Currently, he is a PhD candidate at the University of Nicosia. The topic of his doctoral thesis concerns the consumer perception of CSR disclosure in tourism and hospitality with a particular focus on the hotel industry.
