Yiannis Armeftis was born in 1971 and raised in Limassol. He studied Architecture at the Polytechnic School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, graduating in 1994. The following year, he established his own architectural practice, which developed into Armeftis and Associates in 2004 and was renamed Armeftis and Partners in 2019. In 2007, he received the State Architecture Award for Young Architect. His firm has won numerous architectural competitions, and has represented Cyprus in the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award.

He is a member of the Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber (ETEK) and the Cyprus Architects Association.

From 2007 to 2016, Mr. Armeftis served on the Limassol Municipal Council during the mayoral term of Andreas Christou. He held key leadership roles, including Chairman of the Development and Tourism Committee, Head of the Municipal Group of the Democratic Party (DIKO) (2012–2016), and Representative of the Union of Municipalities on the Town Planning Exceptions Board (2015–2017).

In 2014, he established the Andreas Armeftis Foundation for the Study of Democracy, a scientific non-profit organisation that promotes democratic values, civic dialogue, and social conciliation. From 2018 to 2024, he served as President of the Pancyprian Organization of Relatives of Fallen Resistance Fighters.

In July 2024, Yiannis Armeftis was elected Mayor of Limassol.

As Mayor, he also serves as:

• Vice President of the Union of Municipalities of Cyprus

• Vice President of CLIMANET (Network of Cities for Climate Action)

• Member of the Board of Directors of the Limassol District Local Government Organisation (EOA)

• Vice President of ETAL (Limassol Tourism Development Company)

• President of the Board of Directors of the Pattichio Theatre

• President of the Pattichio Historical Archive

As Mayor, Yiannis Armeftis places strong emphasis on sustainable urban development, climate neutrality, quality of life, and the strategic role of port and coastal cities in addressing climate change. His vision for Limassol aligns closely with the objectives of the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, promoting integrated planning, innovation, and citizen-centred approaches for a resilient and climate-neutral urban future.

Mayor Armeftis is married to Marina Hatziloizou-Armeftis, and they have one daughter, Chrysilia.

Michael Damianos was appointed Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry on 8 December 2025. He had previously served, since 10 January 2024, as Minister of Health. He is a lawyer and studied Law (LLB) at the University of Southampton, from where he graduated with honours and received the best academic performance award. He holds a Master of Laws (LLM), specialised in International Law, awarded by the University of Cambridge. He received the best academic performance award by the Fitzwilliam College of the University of Cambridge. He holds the professional title of Solicitor, granted by the Supreme Court of England and Wales. He worked at the international law firms of Simmons & Simmons and Hogan Lovells in London, specialised in corporate, commercial and energy matters. Upon his return to Cyprus, he worked at a law firm in Nicosia and in 2010 he founded his own law firm, which bears his name. He served as a Municipal Councillor at Strovolos Municipality (2011-2016). Since 2018, he is the Vice President of Democratic Party (DIKO). Mr Damianos was born in Archangelos, Lefkosia. Originally, he comes from Polystypos, Larnaka. He is married and has two children.

Dr Maria Panayiotou was born on June 5, 1982 in Larnaka.
She studied History and Archeology at the University of Cyprus from where she graduated in 2004 with honors. In 2006 she completed her postgraduate studies at the University of Birmingham where she earned an MPhil (B) in Modern East Mediterranean History. In 2017 she was awarded a PhD in Modern and Contemporary History from the University of Cyprus.
In January 2024, she had the honor of being appointed by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, as Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, handing over the post of Environmental Commissioner of Cyprus which she held since March 2023.
She served as the Head of the Press Office and Spokesperson for the EDEK socialist political party, from March 2016 to February 2023. From 2004 to 2022 she has worked on more than seven excellence research projects, co-financed by the European Development Funds, the University of Cyprus, the Research and Innovation Foundation, and the Anastasios G. Leventis Foundation. Her employment as a member of the Scientific Team of the University of Cyprus for the “Cyprus File” project for the period 2007 – 2010, stands out. In the period 2017 – 2022 she has worked as a Specialist Scientist, teaching economic history at the Department of History and Archeology of the University of Cyprus.
Dr Panayiotou’s involvement in historical research formed a fundamental pillar in her career, gaining significant experience in archival research and skills in managing European research programs of excellence. In particular, her research into the economic history of Cyprus, the study of Cyprus’ agricultural export trade and the analysis of British fiscal policy, strengthened her skills in analyzing quantitative and qualitative data. Her significant bibliographic contributions to research on Cyprus’s ports, port infrastructure, and economic development are significant as they cover an important bibliographic gap. She has published dozens of scientific articles in mixed volumes and international scientific journals (such as the European History Quarterly) on these subjects, and has participated in numerous international scientific conferences, with the most recent being the International Conference of the Modern Greek Studies Association in Toronto, Canada.
Dr Panayiotou hails from Agios Sergios in Ammochostos and currently resides in Larnaka. Her parents are Michalis Panayiotou and Ifigenia Kossifou. She is the mother of a nine-year-old boy, Achilleas Ioannou.

Patrick CHILD is currently Deputy Director-General in DG Environment at the European Commission and contributes to the definition, coordination and implementation of strategy and policy orientation, as well as to the coherence between Environment and other Community policies, within the framework of the policy guidelines of the Commission, with particular emphasis on zero pollution, water resilience, chemicals policy, international relations, nature restoration and protection and biodiversity. He is also the Mission manager for the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, which aims to reach 100 climate-neutral cities by 2030.

From 2016-2021, he was Deputy Director-General in DG Research and Innovation (R&I) at the European Commission. As member of the Board of DG R&I, he followed in particular research and innovation in clean energy and climate technologies as well as the R&I dimension of the post-COVID recovery and resilience strategy and Horizon Europe mission on Cancer. His international roles included Commission representative and chair of the steering committee of Mission Innovation (a coalition of 24 countries and the EC working to accelerate global clean energy innovation) and lead co-chair of the Group of Earth Observations (GEO).

Until April 2016, Patrick Child was Managing Director of the European External Service with responsibility for administration and finance, covering human resources policy, security and the budget. Before he took up this post in 2011, he was director in the EC External Relations Directorate-General in the responsible for managing the network of Commission delegations. He has previously served as head of cabinet for External Relations Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Chris Patten.

With a background in the UK Finance Ministry, he joined the European Commission in 1994, where he started in the Economic and Monetary affairs Directorate General before becoming Commission press spokesman for economic and monetary union from 1995-1999. Mr Child studied mathematics at Cambridge University. He is married with two children.

Kęstutis Sadauskas is a Lithuanian national. He holds Master degrees from Vilnius University in Political Science/International Relations and Geography. From 1993 until 2006 he worked at the Lithuanian Foreign Service on multilateral issues. In September 2006 Kęstutis Sadauskas was appointed Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Vilnius. From April 2010 until October 2014 he was Head of the Cabinet of Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta responsible for Taxation, Customs, Anti-fraud, Audit, and Statistics. From November 2014 until March 2022 Sadauskas was Director for Circular Economy and Green Growth at the DG Environment of the European Commission. From 1 April 2022 Kęstutis Sadauskas is Deputy Director-General in Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission.

Elena Simion is an International Projects Expert at UEFISCDI, with more than ten years of experience in the development and implementation of international projects. Her work focuses on designing policy recommendations, innovation funding instruments, and new policy development initiatives. She currently coordinates the Horizon Europe Coordination and Support Action CapaCITIES (Fast-Tracking the National Narrative for Climate-Neutral Urban Futures), leading a consortium of more than 70 partners and associated partners across more than 20 European countries to advance the implementation of the EU Cities Mission.
Elena is also part of the M100 Mirror Mission Cities Hub in Romania.

Julio Lumbreras, PhD, Eng, MPA is Full Professor at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM). He was a member of the Board of the European Mission for “Climate-neutral and smart cities”. He is now part of the NetZeroCities consortium, and he is coordinating the multi-stakeholder platform for the implementation of the mission in Spain (citiES 2030). He is founding associate editor in the Journal on Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. He is co-author of more than 100 papers and books on air quality, climate change, sustainable cities, and Higher Education. Julio is passionate about increasing sustainability in higher education, turning universities into key agents to systemically transform cities towards sustainability.

Maria Tengvard has extensive experience in leading climate, energy and sustainability initiatives from a quadruple helix perspective. She works strategically with urban development and climate policy at the municipal, regional, national, European and international level.

Paulo Ferrão is a Distinguished Professor of Instituto Superior Técnico – University of Lisbon, President of IN+, Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research. He has been President of the COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) association from 2019 to 2021 and the President of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese National Science and Technology Foundation) from 2016 to 2019. He has been Director of the MIT-Portugal Program from 1996 to 2016. He is the Acting Chair of the European Commission Mission Board on “Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities”.

Efthimios Bakogiannis is Secretary General of Spatial Planning and Urban Environment at the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy, responsible for shaping and coordinating national policy on spatial and urban planning, land use, and sustainable territorial development. He plays a key role in advancing regulatory and urban planning reform and in integrating climate and environmental priorities into spatial planning frameworks, with an emphasis on supporting local development and climate neutrality. In parallel, he serves as an Associate Professor at the National Technical University of Athens, with teaching and research activities in spatial and urban planning, focusing on sustainable mobility policies.

Karen Vancluysen was appointed Secretary General of POLIS in 2014, after having been its Research Director for 10 years. POLIS is the European network of cities and regions working together to develop sustainable and innovative urban mobility solutions for today and tomorrow. Before POLIS, Karen worked as network manager at ACCESS-Eurocities and project manager at Langzaam Verkeer. Since 1998, Karen has been involved in European urban transport networking and policy activities, as well as EU R&I projects. She has been a speaker at many high-level events in Europe and beyond, on a wide range of sustainable mobility and innovation themes.

Dr. Nektarios Chrysoulakisis a Director of Research at FORTH and the Head of the RSLab. He is the cPI of the ERC Synergy project urbisphere, focusing on coupling dynamic cities and climate. He is the Coordinator of the CLMS-Cities project, developing innovative methods to monitor climate change mitigation activities in cities that have joined the EU Cities Mission. He also coordinates the Urban Analytics Services of the Greek National Satellite Space Programme. Dr. Chrysoulakis is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence. He has more than 350 publications in per-review journals and conference.

Prof. Kamargianni is the Director and Founder of MaaSLab (Mobility as a Service Lab). She is a Hon. Professor of Transport Systems Innovation and Sustainability at University College London (UCL). Her areas of research and work include new mobility services design, mobility integration and multimodality, and self-driving vehicles. Prof. Kamargianni has operated a research and technology development portfolio of more than 85million Euro. She has been the Project Coordinator and the Scientific and Technical Manager of several Horizon projects, including the MISSION projects metaCCAZE, COREspaces and periASTY. She works closely with public authorities and the industry to transfer her research outputs to the real world and develop sustainable and equal mobility technologies.

George is the City Finance Specialist for Greek and Cypriot cities within the European Commission’s NetZeroCities Initiative, aiming at helping cities mobilise capital for the financing of their climate investment plans. He has over 20 years of experience in the provision of financial advisory and management consulting services, with expertise in business analysis and planning, project and company valuation, financial management, and raising financing through private equity and funding programmes. George is the founder of the first citizens’ company in Limassol (COCO Collective Ownership Company Limassol Ltd) that aims to make citizens the owners and leaders of the transition to a sustainable future.

Matiss Paegle has been a Partner at the BaltCap Infrastructure Fund since 2017. He is a Non-Executive Board Member of Rail Baltica—the largest EU-funded infrastructure project—as well as the Riga Municipal Heating Company, the Riga Investors Council, the Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission Board, and five renewable energy companies operating in the wind, photovoltaic, bio-methane, and biomass sectors. He brings more than 25 years of experience in corporate finance and strategy across private equity, investment banking, energy, and aviation, and has held numerous CEO and CFO positions. He holds an MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics.

Dr. Angelos Menelaou initiated and led the establishment of the Department of Maritime Transport and Commerce at Frederick University in 1999, delivering the first accredited maritime academic degree programme in Cyprus. A strong advocate of education and skills development, he has played a pivotal role in shaping specialised shipping studies and strengthening the link between academia, industry, and society in Cyprus.

He holds advanced qualifications in business, accounting, and transportation management, and completed a doctorate focusing on the application of digital tools and workflow optimisation to improve productivity and quality in ship management organisations.

Dr. Menelaou is an accomplished maritime business executive with more than 30 years of experience across senior managerial roles in shipping economics, human resources, and project management. He currently serves as Group Business Controller at Marlow Navigation, one of the world’s largest crew management companies, employing approximately 16,000 seafarers on board internationally trading merchant vessels.

His professional and leadership roles include Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (FICS), Editor of the International Journal of Energy Sector Management (IJESM), Scientific Consultant to the Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry, Chairman of the Cy-FOS Education Committee, Member of the Board of Directors of the Limassol Blue Economy Innovation Centre, and Leader of the Limassol Sea and Coast thematic area for the EU Mission “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030.”

Athanasios Pallis is Professor & holder of the Jean Monnet Chair (European Port Policy) at the Department of Maritime Studies, University of Piraeus, Greece. He is founder & co-director of PortEconomics, the Vice Chair of the Port Performance Research Network (PPRN), and Senior Scientific Advisor to the Florence School of Regulation, European University Institute. In 2025, he was included in the 2% of the world’s most cited researchers in transport & logistics.

Carola Hein is Professor History of Architecture and Urban Planning at Delft University of Technology, Professor at Leiden and Erasmus universities, and director of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus PortCityFutures Centre. She holds the UNESCO Chair of Water, Ports and Historic Cities. She has published widely in the field of architectural, urban, and planning history, tying historical analysis to contemporary development. Her recent (co-)edited books include: Hustle and Bustle of Port Cities (2025), Port City Atlas (2023), Oil Spaces (2021), Urbanisation of the Sea (2020), Adaptive Strategies for Water Heritage (2020), The Routledge Planning History Handbook (2018).

Professor Andreas Poullikkas holds a Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) degree in mechanical engineering, a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degree in nuclear safety and turbomachinery, a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in numerical analysis and a Doctor of Technology (D.Tech.) higher doctorate degree in energy policy and energy systems optimization from Loughborough University, U.K. He is a Professor of Energy Systems at Frederick University, and he was for several years the Chairman of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority and the Chairman of the Cyprus Energy Strategy Council (both appointments by the President of Cyprus). Also, he is currently the Associate Editor of journals Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews by Elsevier and Discover Energy by Springer Nature.

Dr Nestor Fylaktos is a Research Scientist at the Cyprus Institute, specialising in the technoeconomics of renewable energy and the integration of storage in RES-heavy systems. His work encompasses energy modelling, hydrogen roadmaps, and the decarbonisation of cities. He collaborates with stakeholders, from municipal authorities to government, to develop policies that accelerate the energy transition. His research interests span distributed energy systems, clean mobility, and the energy futures of the Mediterranean. He focuses on technical and economic optimisation to eliminate emissions across the economy and urban environments.

Dr Desen Kirli is a Lecturer and Elizabeth Georgeson Fellow in “Data and Digitalisation for Net Zero” at the University of Edinburgh. As a sustainable energy researcher, her ambition is to translate academic research into implementation to achieve net zero. Her research involves the use of data-driven and digital smart grid solutions, as well as market mechanisms and end-user flexibility, to inform future energy scenarios. Most recently, she won the Scottish Renewables Young Professionals Green Energy Award and Top 50 Women in Engineering Award for her work on bottom-up decarbonisation of smart local energy systems.

Apocaloptimist and energy enthusiast with an academic background in Geography and Political Sciences. Passioned about looking at the world in energy landscapes and thinking about how these affect socio-political systems. Former Deputy Mayor of Eeklo, responsible for building a unique democratic model for renewables that allowed the locally owned and supported construction of 22 windturbines, a new heat and solar strategy and an energy poverty scheme which won the EU Social Innovation award in 2023. “We rebranded energy as a local product”. Currently employed by ICLEI as City Advisor for EU Cities Mission and passionately exploring new opportunities to envision the shared use of (big) sport stadiums and -infrastructure as catalysers for neighbourhood transitions.

Sissy Windisch is Chief Operating Officer at imby.energy, an energy management scale-up delivering intelligent solutions for energy hubs and decentralized clean energy systems. She brings extensive experience in scaling clean-energy innovations, with a strong focus on flexibility, renewable integration, and data-driven optimization. Previously, she co-founded a clean-energy crowdfunding platform that mobilized citizen investment into renewable projects, and worked in energy trading and a health-tech scale-up. Sissy also serves on the EU Mission Board for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, contributing to the acceleration of the European energy transition. 

Maria Vassilakou served (2010-2019) as Viennas Vice Mayor for Urban Planning, Traffic & Transport, Climate Protection, Energy and Public Participation. She is an experienced urban leader, devoted to livable, inclusive and green cities, with a passion for urban transformation processes. Having founded Vienna Solutions, Maria now works worldwide as a strategist and global advisor on urban transformation and transition management, sharing her experience and know-how with cities, NGOs, organizations and corporations. Since September 2019 Maria Vassilakou also serves as a member of the EU experts board advising the European Commission on the design and implementation of the European climate-neutral cities mission.

Annemie Wyckmans, architect, leads NTNU Smart Sustainable Cities. This research and innovation centre creates and coordinates multi stakeholder projects across the EU Missions and the New European Bauhaus, pursuing positive and actionable futures for cities and communities. Amongst others, she coordinates Re Value, funded by the EU Cities Mission, re valuing design and planning for climate neutrality in nine waterfront cities. She also leads the recently launched CO WATERS project, building a coalition of waterfront cities, regions, islands and ports for the Mission Ocean and Waters.

Dimitra Theochari is an architect, engineer, and landscape architect whose work focuses on ecological urbanism, nature-based solutions, and blue-green infrastructure. With over 15 years of international experience, she has led and contributed to more than 200 projects across 15 countries, ranging from climate-adaptive public spaces to large-scale urban and campus developments. She is the founder and managing director of ensphere GmbH in Hamburg, where she leads a multidisciplinary studio working at the interface of research and practice. Her work integrates systems thinking, ecological design, and cultural sensitivity to develop resilient urban landscapes that enhance biodiversity, microclimatic comfort, and urban wellbeing.

Dana Behrman is a Director, Senior Urban Designer at UNS. Dana received an MA with distinction from the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths College, University of London. She also graduated from the Architectural Association, School of Architecture in London. Dana has been practicing as an urban designer for the past fifteen years in several award-winning international offices. Apart from her professional work, Dana is a Teaching Associate at IE University of Architecture and Design in Madrid, and an External Examiner at UCL’s Bartlett School of Design in London. She also teaches a design studio at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam.

Ben studied at the University of Sheffield’s School of Architecture, graduating with his coursework selected for the RIBA Presidents Medal Exhibition. He went on to complete his Diploma in Architecture in 2000 and gained professional registration with the ARB and RIBA in 2002. Following graduation, Ben worked with an international architectural practice in London alongside one of his former tutors, before joining Foster + Partners in 2001. Ben was made a Partner in 2011 and Senior Partner in 2021. Ben is responsible for leading projects of various scale and typology globally – including the practices current projects in Cyprus.