FWA Announces More 2024 International Business Conference Speakers

Alex Patelis is chief economic adviser to Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. 

He has over three decades of experience as an economist, analyst and strategist, working in a variety of positions in New York, London and Athens. 

Alex started his career with the US economics research team at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York, where he worked under Bill Dudley, Chief US economist as well as a proprietary FICC trader in the same firm. In London, he joined Citigroup Asset Management as a quantitative economist. At Merrill Lynch, he held a variety of positions, including Global head of FX & Debt strategy, as well as Managing Director of Global Research, Head of International Economics. In this capacity, Alex managed the research teams responsible for the firm's outlook on all economies outside North America, including developed and emerging countries in EMEA, the Pacific Rim region and Latin America, as well as foreign exchange, local currency and external debt bonds. For their research, Alex and his team won a variety of awards, including from Extel and Institutional Investor. He was also Chief Economist at PSQR, a global discretionary macro hedge fund.

More recently, Alex was President of Patelis Macro, an independent research boutique he launched in 2010, which focused on global macroeconomic analysis to select clients around the world.

Alex earned a Ph.D. in Economics in 1997 from Princeton University, USA, where his thesis advisor was Professor Ben Bernanke. Titled “Asset returns and monetary policy”, part of his thesis was published in the Journal of Finance. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Mathematics from Sussex University, UK. 

Maria Rita Galli is the CEO of DESFA (Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator). Until recently she held the position of the Executive Vice President Business Development & Asset Management at Snam S.p.A, a leading global energy infrastructure company and was the Chairman of the SENFLUGA Energy Holdings S.A., a consortium controlling 66% of DESFA's share capital.

Ms. Galli started her career at Eni in 1997, as a graduate in nuclear engineering from the Milan Polytechnic University. At Eni, she went through various roles within the International Business Development Department, joined relevant international projects and was involved in M&A activities. As a member of Eni's Board of Directors, she also oversaw the operations of some of the Group’s companies abroad (Galp, Distrigas, eni Gas&Power Trading BV, eni Gas&Power France, GVS GmbH, etc.)

Since 2006, she has been in charge of the International Business Development unit and, from January 2010, she has been in charge of the International Business Development and Assets Management department. 

In October 2016, she joined Snam as the Head of Business Development and International Asset Management.

Eleni Bathianaki

Managing Partner

Founding Partner at Halcyon Equity Partners SICAR

Halcyon Equity Partners GP S.à r.l.  is the GP manager of a private equity fund based in Luxembourg, Halcyon Equity Partners S.C.A. SICAR (the "Fund"), with a f € 117million total commitments, expected to reach € 170 million by the end of 2024. Halcyon Equity Partners S.C.A. SICAR is backed by private and institutional investors, including the European Investment Fund, the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments. Halcyon Equity Partners S.C.A. SICAR will invest in Greek non-listed mature Scale-up SMEs and Small Mid-cap companies with strong management teams depicting a competitive edge and a scalable business model, with an organic and/or inorganic growth potential. The Fund’s investment strategy seeks to identify investment opportunities that are driven by innovation and entrepreneurship, while focusing on implementing a strong value-creation roadmap for the investee companies, accelerating their growth and delivering superior value to all stakeholders.  Halcyon is the first female led PE fund in Greece.

• 23+ years of experience in investment banking, strategic advisory and private equity positions
• Previously, she was a Partner and a member of the founding team of EOS Equity Partners, since 2016, a Greek Private Equity Growth Fund with € 150m assets under management. She was a Key Executive of the fund, member of the Investment Committee and a Board member of the fund’s manager
• She was responsible for the souring, origination, operational, structuring and strategic advice throughout the investment period and divestment of the portfolio companies. She was also responsible for the legal, operational (reporting to LPs) functions of the fund as well as key relationship with the supranationals (EIF/EBRD)
• Prior to this role, she was a Senior Manager at Piraeus Bank Group Strategy/Transformation unit, leading several strategic projects for the Group including a number of M&A and capital issuance transactions during the period 2009 to 2016, for a period of 7 years
• Eleni worked in the Investment Banking Group of Morgan Stanley being responsible for the origination, advisory and execution of M&A and capital market transactions for public and private sector corporates in Greece and CEE region for 2 years
• She started her career at Citigroup Global Market Investment Banking Unit in 2002, being involved in multiple M&A, privatization and capital market transactions across a very diversified number of sectors and a regional focus on Greece, CEE and North Africa, for 7 years
• She holds a Banking and International Finance Degree from City University Business School London and a MSc in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics
• She holds Board positions in a number of Greek companies. She is a mentor in Endeavor Greece and a Member of the Board of Directors in the Greek NGO, Desmos