Founders
Dr. Dimitris Antonis Maniatakis
Dimitris Maniatakis, businessman and economist, was born in Koroni, Messinia. He is the president of the Maniatakeion Foundation, which he established in 1995 together with his wife, Eleni Tagonidi-Maniataki, writer.
In 2020, they were both awarded the Italian honour Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in recognition of their cultural and social contribution.
He holds an honorary doctorate from Kingston University and has been recognized by the Athens University of Economics and Business for his contribution to academic and market research. He has also received honorary distinction from New York College.
He was a founding member and CEO of ICAP, Greece’s leading business and consulting and credit risk assessment firm. He later served as CEO of PPC.S.A. (2005-2006), having first joined its Board of Directors in 2004.
He founded the non-profit organization DRYOPAS in 2002, publishing the newspaper Koroni, which provided timely and objective news to the global Koroni community.
He serves as Vice President of the ecclesiastical foundation “Holy Shrine of Panagia Eleistria,” established and chaired by His Eminence, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia. The foundation provides financial support to the Fund for the Relief of Needy Messinian Students of the Holy Metropolis of Messinia, which is dedicated to awarding scholarships in higher education to financially disadvantaged students. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of this Fund.
From 2012 to 2024, he served as Secretary General of the Hellenic-African Chamber of Commerce and Development. During the period 2012–2015, he was an external member of the Board of Directors of the Technological Educational Institute of Kalamata, where he contributed to the development of business initiatives and to aligning academic curricula with the evolving needs of the local economy.
He has served on boards of directors of companies, organizations, and associations in Greece and abroad, including the international organization FEBIS (Federation of Business Information Services), TNS ICAP (Taylor Nelson Sofres ICAP), Eurobusiness, the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV), and the Entrepreneurship Club. He has also acted as a special advisor on financial policy matters to international organizations such as COFACE, GRAYDON, and HERMES.
He has delivered lectures and authored numerous articles on economic issues, published in newspapers and journals in Greece and internationally.
Eleni Tagonidi Maniataki
Eleni Tagonidi-Maniataki, writer, was born in Cairo, Egypt. She graduated from the British College of Egypt and pursued studies in sociology and philosophy.
She worked for many years at the Embassy of Saudi Arbia and is fluent in English, French, Italian and Arabic.
Member of the National Society of Greek Writers, she has authored numerous books, essays and studies, and has delivered lectures in Greece and internationally.
Her work has received significant recognition. Her trilogy Harmoniztion, Eu Zin, and the Revolution of the Angels, was awarded by the Society of Christian and Greek Letters. Her book Diotima: A search for Eternity draws inspiration from Plato’s Symposium.
Her book Acrobats of Chaos was translated into Italian and presented at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. The collaborative work Kalligeuston contributed to the inscription of the Mediterranean Diet to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Her publication Koroneiko Symposium highlights the cultural and social dimensions of the Mediterranean diet and local traditions. It received first prize at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards (2011), category of culinary history.
Among her other works is The Wandering Samaritan, documenting the religious heritage of the Municipality of Pylos-Nestor.
Her most recent publication (2025) is a scholarly edition and reprint of a historical medical manuscript, accompanied by extensive research and commentary.