The “Anniversary Symposium of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission 2026” is being organized on Wednesday, September 9 in Athens, with the central theme “The Future of Capital Markets: Honoring Regulatory Progress and Designing the New Era”.
The symposium will take place in the Cotsen Hall of the Gennadius Library.
With the central axis “Our History - Our Strategy - Our New Horizons” the Symposium aspires to constitute a high-level international dialogue on the course of capital markets, the transformation of the financial system and the challenges that supervisory authorities, businesses and investors are called upon to face in the next day.
At the same time, the event connects the historical course and institutional legacy of the Capital Market Commission with the major challenges and opportunities shaping the future of capital markets.
The focus will be on strengthening market transparency and integrity, investor protection, financial stability, the competitiveness of capital markets, the digital transition, artificial intelligence, the tokenization of securities, crypto-assets and the implementation of the European MiCA Regulation, as well as the need for effective international supervisory cooperation.
The opening of the proceedings will be carried out by the president of the Capital Market Commission, Vasiliki Lazarakou, and this will be followed by a presentation of the current operation of the Capital Market Commission by the vice presidents, Michalis Fekkas and Anastasia Stamou.
The keynote speech will be delivered by the Minister of National Economy and Finance and president of the Eurogroup, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, on the role of capital markets as a lever for growth and competitiveness and their contribution to the Savings and Investments Union.
A central role will also be played by the Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Nikos Papathanasis, as this event coincides with the completion of the Digital Transformation project of the Capital Market Commission that was financed by the Recovery Fund.
Greetings will also be delivered by the president of the Hellenic Bank Association, George Zanias, the independent non-executive member of the supervisory board of Euronext, George Chatzinikolaou, the president of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises and Industries (SEV), Spyros Theodoropoulos, and the president of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), Jean-Paul Servais.
International participation in the event is of particular importance. Specifically, important figures from the field of European and international organizations are participating, such as Carmine Di Noia from the OECD, Rodrigo Buenaventura, secretary general of IOSCO, Gabriela Figueiredo Dias, president of IESBA, and Michele Siri, president of the ESAs Board of Appeals.
At the same time, the heads of the supervisory authorities of 8 member states of the European Union will be present: Chiara Mosca (CONSOB - Italy), Carlos San Basilio Pardo (CNMV – Spain), Gavin Seery (CBI – Ireland), Jos Heuvelman (AFM – Netherlands), Jimmy Kvarnström (FI – Sweden), George Theocharides (CySec – Cyprus), Alexandru Petrescu (ASF - Romania) and Luís Laginha de Sousa (CMVC - Portugal).
The international circle is completed by Jim Logothetis (Chair of PCAOB, US SEC), Mel Gunewardena (CFTC - USA), Tom Oppenheimer (FCA - United Kingdom) and Iliana Lana (ESMA).
The Symposium will be attended, apart from executives of the Bank of Greece (H. Chatziemmanouil) and members of the board of directors of the Capital Market Commission (P. Giannopoulos, A. Virvilios, G. Leledakis), by top executives of the business and financial market as well.
More specifically, among others, those present will include Vasileios Psaltis (Alpha Bank), Panagiotis Tzanetakis (Motor Oil), Spyros Capralos (Star Bulk), Nikos Karamouzis (SMERemediumCap), Nikos Stathopoulos (BC Partners), Yiannos Kontopoulos (Euronext Athens), N. Rivar (Euronext), Thodoris Tzouros (Piraeus Bank), Maria Laura Formisano (Bloomberg), K. Kostopoulos (Morgan Stanley), Carey Evans (BlackRock), A. Pafili (Capital Group), Rania Aikaterinari (SEV), K. Aisopos (ETE), Charoula Apalagaki (EET), G. Liakopoulos (ENEISET) and S. Kyritsis (SMEXA).
This broad participation creates a unique environment of dialogue among regulatory and supervisory authorities, governments, investors, financial institutions and businesses, with the common goal of shaping the conditions for more resilient, deeper, competitive and effective capital markets, according to the relevant announcement.
A special place in the Anniversary Symposium is occupied by the meeting of the former presidents of the Capital Market Commission, in a special anniversary discussion dedicated to the history of the institution.
The former presidents, Stavros Thomadakis, Alexis Pilavios, Anastasios Gavriilidis, Konstantinos Botopoulos and Charalambos Gotsis, will share experiences from different periods in the evolution of the Greek capital market, refer to critical decisions, important reforms, periods of crisis and decisive milestones, as well as to the challenges that tested their supervisory and administrative judgment.
An important thematic section of the Symposium concerns the independence and institutional design of supervisory authorities. The discussion includes heads of important Greek independent and supervisory authorities, among others, Antonis Vartholomaios (EEPP), Charalambos Vourliotis (Authority for Combating Money Laundering from Criminal Activities), Anastasia Rogkakou (National Transparency Authority), Eugenia Sharp (Competition Commission) and Konstantinos Tsimaras (RAAEY).
The Anniversary Symposium of the Capital Market Commission 2026 aspires to be something more than an anniversary event. To become a meeting point of institutional experience for the new reality of capital markets and to contribute to the international dialogue on the future of supervision, investments and the financing of growth, the commission emphasizes in its announcement.
More information about the program and the speakers is available on the official website of the Symposium (HCMC SYMPOSIUM 2026).