what makes us a special Company

Dr. Vasilis Gregoriou has been Chairman and CEO of Advent Technologies Holdings Inc. since inception. Dr. Gregoriou co-founded Advent in 2012. In addition, Dr. Gregoriou is an internationally known scientist with research and/or managerial positions in both the U.S. (Northeastern, MIT, Polaroid, Princeton) and Greece (NHRF, FORTH) over his 30 year career so far in the technology sector.
His research activity extends over a wide area of subjects in the renewable energy space that include the areas of flexible photovoltaics based on organic semiconductors, optically active materials based on conjugated oligomers and polymer nanocomposites. His published work as co-author includes three books and more than 100 scientific papers. He is also co-inventor of 15 patents. Dr. Gregoriou has more than 25 years of experience in the U.S. market. He has extensive experience in the technical development of new products and in the management of such activities. He holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Duke University and he has attended the MBA program at Northeastern University. He was also a NRSA award recipient at Princeton University. He also served as President of Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS) in 2001. Dr. Gregoriou is well-qualified to serve on the board of directors following the Business Combination due to his extensive scientific, managerial and industry experience.

Emory De Castro has been Advent’s Chief Technology Officer since 2013. Dr. De Castro is responsible for the overall technical, manufacturing and product development for Advent Technologies. Prior to joining Advent, Dr. De Castro was a Vice President, Business Management and the site manager for BASF Fuel Cell Inc. in Somerset NJ. At BASF Dr. De Castro led marketing and sales, business development, quality and R&D direction all cumulating in nearly a four-fold increase in revenues. As the Executive Vice President at the E-TEK Division, De Nora North America he managed operations, created a global brand, and expanded the organization’s fuel cell component business in Asia and Europe. Dr. De Castro has over 20 patent applications spanning fuel cell materials and catalysts, electrochemical technology, sensors, and a beer bottle cap that extends shelf life. He is the recipient of the 2013 Department of Energy Award for Manufacturing R&D in lowering the cost of gas diffusion electrodes and the 2005 ECS New Technology Award given to E-TEK Division, for introducing and commercializing a new electrolysis technology. Emory De Castro received his Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati and a B.S. in Chemistry from Duke University. 

Kevin Brackman is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Advent Technologies. Mr. Brackman has more than 25 years of experience in global finance and accounting, with proven success in driving financial strategy in multi-billion dollar, publicly held corporations. From 2018 to 2020, he was Executive Vice President and CFO for Myers Industries, Inc. Prior to his promotion to CFO in 2018, he was Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller for Myers from 2015 to 2018. Previously, he held various financial leadership roles at Ingersoll-Rand, 3D Systems Corp. and Chiquita Brands International. Mr. Brackman holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Finance from Miami University (Ohio).

Jim Coffey is the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of Advent Technologies. Mr. Coffey has over thirty years of experience in corporate and securities law, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and corporate finance, and intellectual property law. He has extensive international experience having closed transactions in both North and South America, Europe, and China. Throughout the course of his career, Jim has developed strong relationships and strategic contacts within the clean energy and technology sectors and specific experience in the fuel cell industry. From 2013 to 2017, he served as general counsel to another HT PEM fuel cell company. Mr. Coffey was a Gerald L. Wallace Scholar at New York University School of Law where he received an LL.M. in Corporate Law. He received his J.D. from the New England School of Law, and his B.A., cum laude, from Providence College. Mr. Coffey is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Mergers and Acquisitions. He is recognized for his work in intellectual property law by the IAM Patent 1000. Mr. Coffey was named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer by Law and Politics magazine. He is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Coffey is a fellow of the Boston Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation.

Chris Kaskavelis joined Advent as Chief Marketing Officer in 2019. He has served for 13 years as CEO and COO in startups that eventually IPOed in Nasdaq and London Stock Exchange and has grown companies from zero to 1,200 people. From 2016 to 2018, he was a research scholar at the MIT Media Lab in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been a seed investor in the company, an angel investor, and has served on its board of directors since the first day. He has designed and been responsible for enterprise software systems designed for Fortune 500 multinationals in the areas of Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing, Supply Chain Management and Production Scheduling. He holds a Ph.D. in Supply Chain Management as well as an M.Sc. in Manufacturing Engineering from Boston University, a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and a B.A. in Business Economics from Brown University.

Naiem Hussain has a long experience in corporate finance activities such as IPOs, fundraisings and M&A at a wide spectrum of energy technology companies. He commenced his career at ICI plc, where he was involved in investor relations and corporate planning including the demerger of ICI to form Zeneca, and the subsequent IPO of Zeneca. He subsequently joined the investment bank Close Brothers with expertise in corporate finance across the energy technology sector. Also, he served as Head of Asset Management and Investment for Imperial Innovations where he managed a substantial portfolio of spin-out companies, mainly in fuel cell technologies. Mr. Hussain graduated from Oxford University, also he holds a degree in Computational Chemistry and he is a Fellow Chartered Accountant.

Nora Gourdoupi holds a BSc in Chemistry and a PhD from the University of Patras specializing in the synthesis and characterization of polymers for fuel cell applications. She joined  Advent Technologies in 2012 as a Senior Scientist and is co inventor in 18 patents. Being part of a fast-growing Small Medium Enterprise from its foundation,  Nora  has been involved in several key business processes including materials R&D as well as project managment. She currently holds the position of SVP, Corporate Business Development of the Greek branch overseeing daily operations while  being also engaged in product development, government projects and technical sales. She enjoys using her science knowledge to understand the business and technical issues customers are facing and  offer appropriate solutions.

Vasilis Kopelas is the Vice President of Advent Technologies Holdings, Inc. covering Corporate Strategy and Business Development in Mobility. Mr. Kopelas has extensive experience in the automotive and fuel cell industries. Over his 17-year career he has held senior positions in R&D, Sales & Marketing, and Business Strategy for Toyota Motor Europe and Jaguar Land-Rover in locations including Belgium, Japan, Russia, and the UK. Prior to joining Advent, Mr. Kopelas served as manager of Toyota Motor’s Fuel Cells Business Group in Brussels, Belgium, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of the company’s corporate fuel cell strategy and the commercialization of fuel cell technology solutions in a variety of sectors and applications — actively contributing to Toyota’s vision towards the creation of a hydrogen society in the EU. Mr. Kopelas holds an M.Sc. in Automotive Product Design from Cranfield University in the UK, an M.Sc. in Aeronautical & Mechanical Engineering from Patras University in Greece, and Strategic Management certificate from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S.

Morten Hougaard Sørensen is the Senior Vice President of Advent Technologies A/S in Denmark. Mr. Sørensen has more than 15 years of experience in developing multiple fuel cell technologies, covering LT-PEM, HT-PEM, DMFC — from components, stack to system, and integration. Since 2007, Mr. Sørensen has been involved in the development of more than 10 hydrogen products, and more than 20 methanol products. Since 2011, at Serenergy A/S, he lead of the 5kW platform — from technology to commercialization covering all Serenergy’s four generations of fuel cells. He has also held roles including engineering manager and R&D director at Serenergy. Born and raised in Denmark, Mr. Sørensen holds a master in System Engineering from Aalborg University. Mr. Sørensen is also a board member at the Danish Hydrogen Association.

Daniel Hennig is the Senior Vice President of Advent Technologies GmbH in Germany. He has more than 20 years of experience in production & mechanical engineering. Mr. Hennig has worked with global companies for plant managing, project managing construction, and the optimization of technical systems. He has been with fischer eco solutions GmbH since 2013, handling first technical and commercial projects — from acquisition to customer acceptance of absorption chillers, seawater desalination plants and exhaust gas evaporators. Since 2015, he was responsible for the entity’s fuel cell manufacturing. Born and raised in Achern, Germany, Mr. Hennig holds a craft certificate in electronics, a diploma in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA degree of the University of applied science in Offenburg.

Preben Rasmussen is Vice President of Advent Technologies A/S in Denmark. Mr. Rasmussen has 17 years of experience in product development, production, and supply chain Management. He has held roles including as an engineer for RTX Telecom A/S and engineering manager in RTX Products Hong Kong Co. Ltd. In Hong Kong, where he worked on streamlining methods and cooperation at Chinese factories, and on product development. Mr. Rasmussen joined SerEnergy A/S in 2013 to lead electronics design and one year later to lead production and supply chain management. From 2020, he led the service and technical Support team. Born in Denmark, Mr. Rasmussen holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electronic Engineering from Aarhus University and Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Aalborg University.

Dr. Jochen Baurmeister has more than 25 years of experience in the development and manufacturing of fuel cells and stack components.. In 1995, Dr Baumeister worked at the Hoechst AG as head of a development lab and started becoming involved in the manufacturing of fuel cell electrodes. In 1999, he joined the fuel cell spinoff of the Hoechst AG as project manager of fuel cells. In 2004, he became the vice president of technology, responsible for production of membrane-electrode assemblies, as well as customer support in the U.S., Europe, and East Asia. In 2011, Dr. Baurmeister joined Serenergy and fischer eco solutions, appointed as a board member of Serenergy A/S. Dr. Baurmeister is the author of more than 10 scientific publications and patent families. He received a M.Sc. Degree and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Kiel in 1994. Afterwards, he attended a postdoctoral program in technical chemistry at the DECHEMA (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chemisches Apparatewesen, Chemische Technik und Biotechnologie e.V.) in Frankfurt. Dr. Baumeister was born and raised in northern Germany.

Alan Kneisz is Vice President of Sales and Marketing and has been in sales or business development related roles for over 25 years in Asia, Europe and North America in Hydrogen and Telecommunication industries primarily. He has a Bachelor Degree and an MBA, while also being a thought leader on Hydrogen, speaking extensively at events and conferences globally. In various roles, Alan has been at the forefront of Hydrogen technology deployments via leaders in this technology for close to 15 years, with leaders such as Ballard, Cummins (Hydrogenics) and now Advent. His experience is centred around developing projects and major revenue contributions related to Megawatt fuel cell power systems, Renewable Energy applications, Energy Storage, Green Hydrogen production, Critical Back-up power and Hydrogen Transport solutions for Trains, Maritime, Trucks and Buses globally. He has experience in developing Joint Ventures, License agreements and development or new markets globally.

Vasilis is Vice President of Business Development at Advent Technologies specializing in the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) in the hydrogen sector. He is an experienced professional with a demonstrated history of working in several industries, skilled in International Project Management, Negotiation, Cooperation and Business Development. Vasilis has been involved in the management and implementation of several projects in countries around the world, working in close contact and collaboration with local industrial, governmental & research entities, providing viable solutions for the enhancement of the industry through the creation of international strategic synergies. He has also been heavily involved in creating “inter-European” synergy/ies with several entities (clusters, companies, EU institutions etc.) of the EU business ecosystem.