Chair of the Board of Trustees
Jimmy Athanasopoulos is the Chair of the Board of Trustees and currently serves as CEO Partner of a leading international shipping company, providing strategic leadership across global operations, corporate governance, and long-term investment strategy. He guides organizational growth and sustainable development initiatives within the maritime sector.
In addition to his executive role, Jimmy acts as a trusted strategic advisor to several ultra–high-net-worth individuals and their organizations, supporting initiatives across energy, real estate, shipping, and emerging ventures, with a focus on strategic vision and impactful investment programs.
Previously, Jimmy served as Greece Representative for the Libra Group in the area of Social Responsibility, leading philanthropic initiatives and institutional partnerships. His earlier career includes senior roles with DNV, Tyco Healthcare, and Tetra Pak, followed by leadership positions in shipping finance, including Chief Financial Controller at FreeSeas Inc. and senior finance leadership at G. Bros Maritime S.A. He later led the Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award (now Envolve Entrepreneurship) and served as Head of Social Responsibility for the Libra Group, as well as Interim CFO of EuroEnergy.
Jimmy holds an MBA from Northeastern Illinois University and completed executive education in Corporate Social Responsibility at Harvard Business School. He sits on the Advisory Council of the American Community School in Athens and has previously served on the Board of The HOME Project, supporting refugee and child welfare initiatives.
Acting President, Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Themis Kaniklidou is Acting President, Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Hellenic American University. In this role, Dr. Kaniklidou is responsible for the academic enterprise of the University, across the Athens and Nashua instructional locations. She is also Associate Professor in Translation and Communication and Associate Director of the Ph.D. program at Hellenic American University.
Before assuming this role, she served as Associate Provost and Director of the Master of Arts in Translation She completed her Ph.D. (Language and Communication) working on Media Discourse and Translation at the University of Athens where she wrote her thesis on Narrative Theory and News Translation. She also holds an M.A. in Specialized Translation from the University of Surrey (2004) and a B.A. in Translation (2002) from the Ionian University of Foreign Languages – Department of Translation and Interpreting. Themis has been involved in various projects that link academia with the translation industry and EU institutions, and since 2015, is an active member of EURASHE. She has organized international conferences, has given keynote addresses and has participated in panel discussions as a discussant. Since 2008, Themis has been teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in Translation Studies, Terminology, EU Translation, and Language and Communication, Greek culture and ethics and western culture. She has been visiting scholar at the communications department at Rollins College, USA and a part-time lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has supervised M.A. dissertations and has been mentoring graduate and Ph.D. students. Themis Kaniklidou has chaired the steering committee of International Conferences Europe in Discourse. Themis has published her work in peer-reviewed journals and has written chapters for edited textbooks. She has refereed articles for Rodopi and TEXT and TALK. Dr. Kaniklidou is the founder and co-coach of the HAU debate team.
Dean of Digital Learning and Education innovation
Dimitris Tolias holds a B.A. in Literature and Linguistics from the University of Athens, an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Exeter, UK, and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Hellenic American University, USA. From 1991 to 2001, he taught writing and research courses at the American College of Greece (Deree College). Between 1995 and 1999, he also taught writing and methodology courses in the English Department of the University of Athens.
Dr. Tolias is the author and co-author of several course books on teaching Greek as a Foreign/Second Language and co-author and editor-in-chief of a handbook for teachers of Greek as a Foreign Language. At Hellenic American University, he has served as Head Librarian and currently teaches courses in academic writing, communication, critical thinking, second language acquisition, critical discourse analysis, intercultural communication, and the application of artificial intelligence in education and professional settings.
He serves as the Director of the M.A. in Applied Linguistics/TESOL Program and the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence. Since September 1, 2021, he has held the position of Dean for Digital Learning and Education Innovation. In this role, he oversees the university's digital transformation initiatives and provides strategic direction for integrating innovative technologies into teaching and learning.
Dr. Tolias is deeply involved in training academics and professionals in artificial intelligence, large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), focusing on their pedagogical and practical applications in various professional domains. His research interests include e-learning, the design of virtual learning environments, and understanding and leveraging AI tools to enhance teaching, learning, and professional practices.
Dean and Executive Director of the Nashua Campus
Marieke Martin received her Bachelor of Science in BioScience and Technology from the University of New Hampshire, and her Masters in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University. Currently, she is working toward completing her Ph.D. dissertation in International Business Strategy, from Southern of New Hampshire University. Her area of research focused, under the tutelage of the former chief economist for OPEC, on Emerging Capital Markets, (specifically Eastern European Market nations such as Russia and Turkey), innovation and international new ventures. Ms. Martin has worked in the private sector participating in many government-funded research projects focused both in finance and biotechnology. Prior to her recruitment at CitiGroup as a Wealth Manager, she worked as the Northeast Technical Specialist for the German biotech firm Machery-Nagel, a worldwide maker of medical research chemicals and filters, where she worked on corporate and government research project implementation and management, and U.S. and international business development.
11/26/2025