Speaker

George Lakkotrypis was born on May 30th, 1970 in Nicosia. He earned his BSc in Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Keele, UK (1988 - 1991) and his MBA at the University of Colorado, USA, on a Fulbright scholarship (1993 - 1995). Between 1991 and 1993, he worked for J & P Overseas as IT Systems Administrator at the company’s branch in Benghazi, Libya. In 1996, after completing his MBA, he joined IBM Cyprus where he worked in sales for the following 6 years. In 2002 he became Microsoft Cyprus first employee, managing operations in the country. In 2008 he was appointed managing director for Microsoft Cyprus and Malta, while in November 2011 he was promoted to public sector director for Microsoft Central & Eastern Europe, charged with developing the company’s business in 24 countries. During this period, he also served as Non-Executive Director on the boards of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (2007 - 2011) and of the Natural Gas Public Company (2009 - 2013). In March, 2013, Mr. Lakkotrypis was appointed by the newly elected President Nicos Anastassiades as Minister of Energy, Commerce, industry and Tourism of the Republic of Cyprus. He was reconfirmed in the position after the President’s re-election in March 2018, concluding his term in office in July 2020. Currently, through his private firm, Mr. Lakkotrypis provides advisory services in areas such as digital transformation and energy transition. He also sits on the boards of various organizations as Non-Executive Director, while in October 2022, he was appointed as Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Cyprus.