Scholar
Research in International Business and Economics, with a particular emphasis on foreign direct investment, sustainable FDI and regional investment dynamics.
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About
Scholarship shaped by practice.
Panos Kontakos is a practitioner-academic in International Business whose work brings together foreign direct investment, sustainability, regional economic dynamics and the institutional realities of international business.
An integrated professional identity
His career combines academic enquiry with substantial leadership in higher education and sixteen years of senior experience in financial institutions across South-East Europe and neighbouring markets.
This combination informs a distinctive perspective: investment is understood not simply as the movement of capital, but as a relationship between institutions, strategy, culture, responsibility and regional development.
Academic leader
Leadership in programme development, postgraduate education, quality assurance, online learning, curriculum renewal and university governance.
Practitioner
Senior financial-sector experience spanning governance, enterprise risk, international strategy, asset management and engagement across multiple markets.
Career perspective
From international finance to academic leadership.
A career developed across connected environments: financial institutions, international governance, university education and research.
International finance, governance and risk
Progression through analytical and senior executive roles in asset management, international governance, programme risk, operational risk and internal controls within financial institutions operating across South-East Europe and Luxembourg.
Transition into higher education
Teaching and research in economics, energy economics and international business, consolidating the connection between professional experience and academic enquiry.
Academic practice and institutional leadership
International Business teaching and research at UCLan Cyprus, alongside programme direction, postgraduate supervision, online-learning development, academic standards and university governance responsibilities.
Education & professional formation
An interdisciplinary foundation.
Economics, international finance, technology, humanities, entrepreneurship and higher education combine to support an unusually broad view of international business.
Postdoctoral research
University of Macedonia
PhD in Global Entrepreneurship
University of Macedonia
Master in Humanities
Hellenic Open University
MSc in Information Technology
University of Glasgow
MPhil in International Finance
University of Glasgow
BA in Economics
University of Macedonia
Professional qualifications & certifications
Selected credentials connecting higher-education practice with macroeconomic, financial and energy-risk expertise.
Certified Analyst in Macroeconomic Diagnostics
International Monetary Fund (IMF)Institute for Capacity Building, Washington, D.C.
Financial Risk and Regulation Certificate (FRR®)
Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP)Issued February 2020 · Credential ID 88962
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
Higher Education Academy, UKFellowship aligned with the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF).
PGCert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
UCLan UK, PrestonAwarded with a scholarship from the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning; aligned with the UKPSF.
Energy Risk Professional (ERP®)
Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP)Professional certification in energy-market and financial risk.
Certificate in Management
Harvard Business PublishingIssued December 2013
International Certificate in Banking Risk and Regulation (ICBRR)
Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP)Professional qualification in banking risk and regulatory practice.
The connecting question
How do investment, institutions and sustainability reshape international business?
That question provides the intellectual thread connecting the career and the research.
Academic CV · September 2026 · PDF