Every year the European Hotel Managers Association (EHMA) awards general managers of first class and luxury hotels of international reputation who distinguished themselves for excellence in quality, implementation of new strategies, financial improvement, ethical foundation of the profession, staff management and motivation.

What matters is also innovation capacity when referring to different hotel departments to manage as well as detecting opportunities to cooperate, exchange and enhance activities in the territory where the property is located.

Panagiotis (Panos) Almyrantis received this prestigious international recognition of excellence for the year 2014 from the President of the European Hotel Managers Association Hans E. Koch at a ceremony held in Geneva on April 18, 2015 during the Gala Dinner of the 42^nd EHMA annual General Meeting.

Panagiotis (Panos) Almyrantis, is the general manager of Daios Cove Luxury Resort and Villas in Crete, Greece since 2010.

His outstanding academic background with several recognitions was followed by management of sales and operations departments and then to management of hotels such as Holiday Inn Golf Resort Naples Castel Volturno in Italy (2007-2009) and King George in Athens (2009–2010) which granted him several important awards.

Mrs. Gerekou since August 2019 has been appointed, President of the Greek National Tourism Organization, by decision of the Greek Government and the Ministry for Tourism.

Angela Gerekou was born in the island of Corfu. She holds a degree from the School of Architecture of the University Of Rome, Italy.

She has worked as an Architect for the Hellenic Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works, on special programs for the renovation of underdeveloped areas of Athens and she has also worked out a great number of architectural projects for the island of Corfu.

Angela Gerekou, also has a significant career in acting. She studied in Derek Jakoby’s “London Academy of Performing Art” in London, UK and she was a member of Federico Fellini’s student group in Italy.

She is also a member of the European Film Academy.

Dimitris Skalkos was born in Athens in 1971. He graduated from the Department of Political Science and International Studies at Panteion University and holds a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom.

He has authored four books on political science, economic reforms, and regional development and has published a considerable number of research articles in academic journals.

He has served as a special advisor to the Ministries of Environment, Urban Planning and Public Works, Agriculture, Economy, and Development, and as an advisor to the president of New Democracy party, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on economic development matters.

During the period 2019-2024, Mr. Skalkos served as the Secretary General of Public Investments and NSRF at the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, a member of the Executive Committee of the Recovery and Resilience Fund, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Development Bank.

Simeon Iingwapha is the Acting Director of Tourism and Gaming in the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism in Namibia, with over 15 years of experience in auditing, tourism and gaming.

He holds a Master degree in Business Management and passionate about sustainable development.

As the Acting Director of Tourism and Gaming, Simeon is leading operation and strategic initiatives, enhancing and driving revenue growth of the tourism and gaming industry in Namibia. He is overseeing the establishment of the Lotteries and Gambling Boards public enterprises in Namibia

Dimitris Manikis was appointed President and Managing Director for EMEA in April 2018. In his current role as President of EMEA, he is responsible for the development of all of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ brands in the EMEA region as well as maximising the performance of all new and existing franchise and managed hotels. He focuses on driving the strategic objectives of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts including quality and technology solutions as well as new business, loyalty, sales and marketing.

Dimitris Manikis has a long-standing career and deep knowledge of the hospitality industry. Prior to joining Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, he spent over 27 years with RCI, the worldwide leader in vacation exchange, across a number of senior roles, and most recently served as Vice President of Business Development for EMEA. Earlier in his career, he also held a number key positions in the region as Managing Director of RCI Greece and RCI South Africa.

Dimitris is an Industry Advisory Board member for Hotelschool the Hague, a Senior Advisory Board member for the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance and a Board member for Christel House Europe.

A Greek national, Dimitris was born in Athens and holds a Bachelor degree in Tourism and Administration from the Technical University of Patras in Greece, and an MSc Postgraduate degree in Tourism Marketing from the University of Surrey. His passion for people and work ethic comes from his father, who built up a grocery retail business in Athens where Dimitris learned the value of elevated customer service, having a positive outlook and hard work as being the foundations of success in both business and life.

He is based in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ London office.

Andreas Fiorentinos was born in Mykonos, in 1963. He is a third-generation hotelier with extensive experience in the tourism and administrative sectors.

He graduated from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL, with a major in International Business and a minor in Political Science.

Furthermore, he has served in the following capacities:

• Deputy Secretary General at the Greek National Tourism Organization from September 2012 to February 2014
• Vice President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels
• Secretary-General of the Hellenic Hotel Federation and President of the Mykonos Hoteliers Association

He has served as the head of the tourism sector for the NEA DIMOKRATIA political party since February 2021.

He is fluent in English.

Ayomide Adeagbo is an award-winning photographer, photojournalist, published author, creative and founder of Xtreme Media, with a career spanning over a decade at the intersection of photography, journalism and politics. Through his passion for photography and a heart for change, he sensationally impacted the media space in Nigeria, blazing the trail for fellow creatives.

Ayomide has served as the S.A Visual Communications and Personal Photographer to the Speaker of the 9^th House of Representatives, where he stood as a testament of the relationship between creativity and governance.

Afterwards, he was the Head of Digital Communications (Office of the Executive Vice Chairman) at the Nigerian Communications Commission.

He is now the Special Assistant to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, where he works towards ensuring the creative industry is at the forefront of national and global affairs.

Being an influential figure in government, he uses his distinct combination of creativity, strategic thinking and leadership to bring about significant change in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Ayomide’s story is one of unrelenting commitment to the values of ingenuity, inventiveness, and public service.