Born and raised in Athens, Greece, I studied Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of the Aegean where I received the first academic award from the Association of Greek Insurance Companies for my overall academic performance. I continued my studies at the University of Lausanne obtaining a Master degree in Banking and Finance focusing on real options, a subject on which my final thesis was based as an empirical evaluation of a particular real options model. I have also been involved in extra-curricular activities, such as student representative at the university board for three consecutive years and also member of the Greek Association for European and Atlantic Cooperation an NGO examining Euro-Atlantic relations under the aegis of NATO. In my free time I read history and politics and do cycling and swimming.