Forecasting Lab Members - Durham University

Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience

Lab Member Profile

	Dr Konstantinos (Kostas) Nikolopoulos Dr Konstantinos (Kostas) Nikolopoulosis the founder and director of the IHRR Forecasting Lab. He is the Professor in Business Information Systems and Analytics in Durham University Business School. Dr Nikolopoulos studied Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (ΕΜΠ) in Greece, (DEng 2002, BEng 1997) and completed the International Teachers Programme (ITP) at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (2011). His research interests are Forecasting, Analytics and Information Systems. Dr Nikolopoulos was Professor of Business Analytics/Decision Sciences at Bangor University (2010-2020), and the College Director of Research for the College of Business, Law, Education, and Social Sciences (2011-2018). Before that he was Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Decision Sciences at the University of Manchester, and Senior Research Associate at Lancaster University (2004-05) and the National Technical University of Athens (1996-2004).
	Shujun Xiao Shujun Xiao is the Lab Manager and a PhD candidate of Durham University Business School. She received her B.A. in International Trade Practice from Shandong University of Finance and Economics, B.A. Economics with Management from Edinburgh Napier University, MSc. International Finance from Edinburgh Napier University, and MBA Management from Bangor University. She has work experience in tourism and the hospitality industry. Her research focuses on business model transformation and post-pandemic resilience in tourism sectors.
	Georgios Karamatzanis Georgios is an Assistant Professor in Strategy & Entrepreneurship at Norwich Business School. His research focuses on corporate governance, data analytics, and the impact of technology on the board of directors. He also researches Legal tech, pension governance, and stakeholder governance. He holds an LLB from Lancaster University and has completed the Legal Practice Course (LPC/LLM). He is also a PhD student at Durham University Business School. Georgios has served as the Institute of Hazard, Risk, and Resilience forecasting lab manager at Durham University and is now an external lab member.
	Alexandros Kalantzopoulos has lived and worked in London since 2014. He has two MSc degrees from Bayes Business School and Athens University of Business and recently has been accepted into the Durham PhD Program. Alexandros has been working in the banking industry from 2015 and has worked in various positions as a quantitative researcher/developer. For the last four years, he has worked as a VP - Model Validator for Barclays Bank.
	Aws Hamo Younes Aws Hamo is a DBA candidate at both Durham University Business School and Emlyon Business School. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Mosul and an MBA from Aston Business School. Aws is the founder and CEO of ADAD Engineering Services with 12 years experience in oil and gas, power, water, and petrochemical sectors in the Middle East with a focus on the Iraq market. His research focuses on International Business Strategies and Joint Ventures.
	Samantha Yarwood Connecting people to accelerate impact. Enabling leaders to embrace and lead change, supporting them to thrive in complexity and uncertainty in order to have real impact in the world. Samantha Yarwood is a seeker of new knowledge and connections who has translated her 20+ years of experience as a global leader, super connector, speaker and entrepreneur (marketer and innovator) to designing and delivering transformational solutions for an array of customers, from startups to blue-chip organisations globally to drive meaningful environmental and social change. Her purpose in life is to act as a catalyst/tool for change to help individuals and organisations reimagine the possible, positively impacting the world. She believes that leadership grows – and that we need to cultivate as much of it as we can to truly transform our world(s). She supports leaders at all levels and sizes of organisations by combining research and practice to help people grow on the job. Samantha holds an Executive Masters of Change from INSEAD in France and is currently working on her Doctorate in Business Administration at Durham University and Emlyon.
	Marcus McHaffie Marcus McHaffie is a DBA Candidate in the global joint program between Durham and EM-Lyon. With over 20 years of experience in financial markets in Europe and Asia, he sponsors large programs of work in areas such as derivatives, treasury and trading. He has a Bachelor of Economics from Queen’s University in Ontario and has also participated in executive education at IMD in Lausanne. His research areas include decision sciences and situations of adversity, and he is interested in capabilities, adaptability, and resilience. Coming from an industry inherently connected to risk, he also consults and researches within the risk management domain. He currently works for a large financial institution with an emphasis on ESG.
	Sola Sonuga Sola Sonuga is a Post Graduate Researcher (PGR) in the Durham-Emlyon Global Doctor of Business Administration (GDBA) programme. A member of the GDBA 2021 cohort, Sola is researching financial technology (FinTech) firms with a particular focus on firm failure prediction and the effects of network/networking capability, scaling, and strategic alliances on firm performance. With over three decades' worth of experience in the chemicals, automotive, telecommunications, mining, and financial services industries, he currently works as a director in the finance function of a global bank and is the Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) lead.
	Richard Boyce Richard Boyce joined Ortec Finance in February 2019 as the Managing Director of Ortec Finance’s North American offices. Richard’s current focus is increasing the Ortec Finance presence in North-America and to better serve North American clients. Richard is responsible for managing institutional clients, both asset managers and owners. Prior to Ortec Finance, Richard spent time as a financial analyst for State Street and as an Account Manager for Thomson Reuters/Refinitiv in Toronto, Canada. Richard holds a BA in Economics from Fredonia State University, and an MBA in Finance from Durham University. Richard’s DBA research will be focused on the strategic growth of FinTech organization in times of economic uncertainty.
	Dr. Vasileios (Vassilis) Bougioukos Dr. Vasileios (Vassilis) Bougioukos is working as a research associate at IHRR Forecasting lab. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Bangor University (Wales, UK). His research focuses mainly on social investments, labour market reforms and judgmental forecasting. Moreover, he holds an MSc in European Political Economy from the London School of Economics and earned a bachelor's degree from the Athens University of Economics and Business in the field of International and European Economic Studies. Vasileios has offered teaching and research support in various institutes around the UK, such as Bangor University, SOAS, the London Business School and the London School of Economics. He is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at Notre Dame University, London Campus. Vasileios also has international experience, as he has spent time working in China in various academic positions.
	Chris Eluwa With over 20 years of experience in project management and a proven track record of successful project delivery, Chris is a Project Director aspiring towards a future C-suite role. His extensive expertise spans various industries both in public and private sectors. Chris is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration (Global DBA) at Durham University Business School. His research topic is in Artificial Intelligence (Bias Mitigation in AI Algorithms for Fair Decision-Making )Past qualifications include a BSc (Hons) and an MSc, further solidifying my foundation in business administration and management.
Visiting members
	Apostolos Kourtis Apostolos Kourtis is the Head of the Finance Group and an Associate Professor in Finance at Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia (UEA). He is also a visiting instructor in Blockchain/Decentralized Finance at the University of Nicosia. His research has led to the development of cutting-edge forecasting and optimisation approaches in financial decision-making. He has published papers in high-profile peer-reviewed journals, such as the Journal of Banking and Finance and the Journal of Empirical Finance, while his articles have been featured in several popular media outlets, including the Financial Times and the Telegraph. He holds a PhD in Finance from the Athens University of Economics and Business, an MSc in Applied and Computational Mathematics from the University of Oxford and a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Athens.