I didn’t grow up dreaming of working in blockchain or mining. I grew up on a farm in rural New Zealand. What I did learn there was how to solve problems and how to build things from scratch.

When I moved to Europe and discovered blockchain technology, something clicked. I realised this wasn’t just about cryptocurrency — it could be used to make global supply chains transparent and accountable. That idea fascinated me. Suddenly STEM wasn’t abstract — it was a powerful tool to reshape entire industries.

And honestly? It’s been so much fun. This space moves quickly. You’re constantly learning. You’re surrounded by builders.

Inclusion at Minespider is practical, not performative.
We’re fully remote, which opens doors for women in regions where tech opportunities are limited.
We doubled the number of women on our team over the years.
We actively support flexible schedules, especially for parents.
In projects like Raw Material Radar in West Africa, we help train women to become mineral traders, opening access to responsible global markets. And honestly, one of the best parts of working in this industry is seeing women step into technical and commercial roles where they were previously underrepresented.

Curiosity. Integrity. Courage.
And a strong belief that transparency improves everything — products, companies, and communities.

Scaling responsibly as Digital Product Passports become mandatory across Europe. Growth is exciting — but maintaining culture, inclusion, and impact as we grow will be the real leadership challenge.

My interest in STEM began about nine years ago, initially as a hobby. Through exploring new trends and innovations, it evolved into a passion and a professional commitment to digital education for children, young people, and teachers.

In my organization, we promote DEIS initiatives by making digital education accessible to everyone, with particular attention to girls, young people, and communities with less exposure to technological opportunities.
We design inclusive coding, robotics, and artificial intelligence programs for schools and educational communities, adapted to different levels and learning styles, and actively work to reduce the gender gap in STEM. Additionally, we integrate sustainability and social impact themes into our programs, encouraging young people to develop innovative and responsible solutions for the future.

The values that guide my work are curiosity, as a driver of continuous learning, and innovation, understood as the ability to transform ideas into concrete solutions. Another fundamental value is educational responsibility: using technology not only effectively but also consciously, with a focus on positive social impact.

My future professional challenges will mainly be linked to keeping pace with the rapid evolution of technology, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence, and integrating it effectively into educational pathways for children, young people, and teachers. Another challenge will be expanding the impact of my educational projects, making them increasingly scalable and accessible to different school and regional contexts, without losing quality or the personalized dimension of learning.

I was interested in these since my time in school, but afterwards I also chose to support these areas by facilitating their connection with the market and society.

Numerous – please see https://ascendconsulting.eu/wehubs/

Equity, sustainability, moral ambition.

Continuing to keep up with the fast pace of change in digital technologies and their permeation of all aspects of work and life.

I studied a STEM discipline — I am a Chemical Engineer. My first real professional exposure to the technology sector came when I joined HP in 1996 to take on the Product Management role for PCs and laptops. At the time, I was already a proven professional in product management, but relatively unfamiliar with the IT sector.

However, I quickly grew to love the industry — and it seemed to love me back. I went on to serve in several IT companies, both local and international, for more than 20 years, eventually moving up to the role of CEO of one of the largest IT groups in Greece.

I can share some DEIS (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Sustainability) initiatives from previous organizations where I served as Managing Director or CEO:

1. Promoting equal opportunities in recruitment and career development, ensuring that talent and performance were the primary criteria for advancement.
2. Actively supporting women in leadership roles and encouraging more balanced representation in management teams.
3. Establishing internal mentorship programs, pairing senior women leaders with junior female employees to support their professional growth and confidence.
4. Organizing speaking events and discussions with inspiring external women leaders, who shared their experiences, challenges and lessons learned with our teams.
5. Holding monthly meetings for all women managers in the company, creating a space to discuss challenges, exchange perspectives and agree on initiatives that could further strengthen inclusion and development.
6. Creating a work environment based on respect, openness and meritocracy, where different perspectives were valued and encouraged.
7. Supporting flexible working arrangements and policies that helped employees better balance their professional and personal lives.
8. Encouraging a culture of learning, inclusion and collaboration, where people felt empowered to contribute their ideas.
9. Integrating responsible and sustainable practices into the organization’s operations and strategic priorities.
10. Last but not least, establishing a Women Managers Team to objectively oversee and support the company’s Diversity & Inclusion practices.

Four years ago, while delivering a TEDx talk, I realized that my life and professional journey had been shaped by two seemingly opposite forces: ambition and humility. Ambition pushes me to aim high and pursue meaningful goals, while humility reminds me to keep learning, stay grounded, and respect the people around me. I try to practice both — and I draw inspiration from each of them.

Getting older usually means becoming wiser — and I hope this proves true for me as well. Of course, it can also mean becoming weaker, but I hope that moment will be delayed for as long as possible.

My challenge is to continue learning, staying curious, and remaining relevant so that I can keep contributing meaningfully to people around me.

My interest in STEM didn’t start in a traditional way. It developed later, through working with organizations and seeing how much of what we call “people problems” are actually system problems.

I became increasingly interested in how data, technology, and structured thinking could make invisible patterns visible, especially in how people interact, make decisions, and perform under pressure.

STEM, for me, became a way to bring objectivity into complex human environments. That’s what drew me in and continues to drive my work today.

We don’t treat DEIS as a separate layer — it’s built into how we approach interaction.
Our work is based on the idea that many inclusion challenges are not about intent, but about how interaction actually unfolds. Who speaks, who is heard, how decisions are made, and how pressure changes behaviour. By making these dynamics visible, we help teams create more balanced and effective environments where different perspectives can contribute. We also work across different countries and sectors, which requires us to design with diversity in mind from the start.
From a sustainability perspective, we operate primarily digitally and focus on creating tools that have long-term usability rather than one-off interventions.
As the organisation grows, formal initiatives may follow, but the principles are already part of how we work.

I value clarity over assumption, action over intention, and substance over appearance.
In my work, that means making things visible rather than leaving them implicit, turning discussion into decisions, and focusing on what actually works in practice.
These values guide how I approach both people and problems.

One of my future challenges is scaling my work without losing depth.
Much of what I do is rooted in nuanced understanding and context, and the challenge is to translate that into tools and approaches that remain practical and relevant at scale. Another challenge is continuing to challenge assumptions — both in others and in myself, while working in environments that often prefer familiar ways of thinking.
This requires balancing clarity with adaptability, and staying close to real-world application rather than drifting into abstraction.

Since I was a kid, I scored first in the Greek national exams, went into Electrical and Computer Engineering, and then got got into a PhD at Boston University.

We do knowledge transfer by default – every engagement ends with the team being able to run things without us. We work remotely with teams globally, which removes geographic barriers. And as a woman-founded AI company, I actively mentor women entering the field.

Honesty, craftsmanship, independence, sharing what I know.

Scaling the company without losing depth. Staying technical while growing as a business owner. Finding the balance between client work and building my own products.

After gymnasia where I studied languages when I had a young STEM teacher in physics, chemistry, programming and mathematics.

Our focus is to get girls/ women interested in STEM – and not only that – we have learned that many girls keep away from STEM because they think it is for boys only or they think they are not good enought despite they are. Apart from this we always work with UN 17 goals whenever we do activities ( better health, clean water etc).

Honesty, If you want a change – make it or do what you can to change it , be responsible, be good to other people, take good care of the nature.

To get more girls to see STEM is for them. To make teachers and parents se they have a huge responsibility in making this change.