Athens Nexus - Humans At The Heart of Technology
Technology exists to amplify real stories, shared experiences, and bold ideas. Not the other way around.
That's why we created Eleven Nexus - a pop-up event series traveling across Central and Eastern Europe to put humans back at the center of innovation. No slides. No pitches. Just stories that move us forward.
We’re the humans betting on humans - with heart, hustle, and the quiet audacity that turns 1+1 into 11.
🇬🇷 Why Athens
In partnership with Starttech Ventures
Athens has always been a city of intersections, between past and future, philosophy and invention. Today, Athens stands as one of CEE’s most dynamic emerging tech hubs: creative, resilient, and human at its core.
Eleven Nexus: Athens is an exploration of what it means to build and to trust in uncertain times.
We'll talk about security as a system, but also as a state of mind, and as the foundation that allows risk to feel like possibility instead of fear.
🏛️ What to Expect
A diverse mix of voices - from cybersecurity and defense experts, to athletes and artists, and creators
A curated mix of tech - industry - VC leaders that will spark real collaborations
Great atmosphere, drinks, and music.
✨ Program
14:00 – 14:30 | Arrival & Welcome Coffee
1️⃣ 14:30 – 15:30 | Building and Protecting Trust in a Digital-First Era
The conversation will be around balancing security with openness, building user confidence at scale, and preparing for new threats while maintaining agility.
Chara Vassiliadou - Cyber Security Strategist at Charizma
George Papakyriakopoulos – CISO, Skroutz
Argyris Makrygeorgou - SecOps Business Development Manager, Fortinet
Maria Terzi - Co-Founder & CEO of Malloc
Moderator - Evangelos Mourikis - CEO & Founder at Crowdcruit
15:30 – 15:50 | Coffee Break
2️⃣ 15:50 – 16:50 | Lessons From The Edge – Living and Building With Calculated Risk
This session draws concrete parallels between high-stakes environments from startups to sports to help us understand the mindset and structure behind sustained performance. We will explore how people who operate at the edge manage the tension between risk and control.
Avgoustos Pantazidis – Co-Founder & CEO at Lean SpaceTech
Konstantinos Tzortzis - CEO & Co-Founder at Unlimited Adrenaline
Kimonas Rakopoulo - Extreme Athlete
Katerina Soldatou – Extreme Aerial Dancer
Moderator - Ted Lelekas - Communication Strategist & Storyteller
16:50 – 17:20 | Coffee Break
3️⃣ 17:20 – 18:00 | Panel - Culture × Code: How Creativity, Emotion & Music Drive Real-Innovation
At the convergence of creative culture, storytelling and technology, we explore how emotional intelligence, cultural awareness and the language of music become strategic capabilities.
Dimitris Komninos – CEO & Founder, Mood
Michael Petychakis - Chief Technology Officer at Dialectica
Georges Perot – Founder, Athens Music Week / Innovator in Culture & Music
Anastasia Mavrogianni - Innovation Οfficer @Onassis Foundation
Moderator - Ted Lelekas - Communication Strategist & Storyteller
18:00 – 19:00 | Networking & Music Hour
This is an invite-only event with limited capacity. If you want to bring someone along, please ask them to register.