Following an open tender procedure by the Board of Directors of Hellenic Festival S.A., Mr Ioannis Kaplanis has been appointed new Director General on 9 March 2020, with a three-year tenure.
Short bio:
Dr Ioannis Kaplanis is an economist with degrees from the London School of Economics (PhD, BSc) and the University of Manchester (MSc).
He has worked as an economist for the OECD, at the Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development as well as the Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs. On official secondment from OECD, Dr Kaplanis served as Director General of the Hellenic Industrial Property Organization (OBI), in Athens. In the past, he worked at the Economic Team of the Mayor of London as well as in academia at the London School of Economics, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Panteion University and the Athens University of Economics and Business.
Dr Kaplanis has extensive experience advising national and regional governments on public governance, economic and development policies in order to promote sustainable and innovative cities and regions (UK, China, Mexico, Chile, Serbia and Greece).
He has served as a representative of Greece at the Administrative Council of the European Patent Office (EPO), as an elected member of the Supervisory Board of the Reserve Funds for Pensions and Social Security of the EPO, an elected member of the Bureau of the Working Party in Industry Analysis of the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation of the OECD and as a member of the Committee of Experts for setting the minimum wage in Greece.
Dr Kaplanis has delivered numerous speeches on innovation, labour economics and regional development at international scientific conferences and forums. His research has been widely published in academic journals and reports of major international organisations.
His interests include theatre and creative writing.
