Maria Markidou Georgiadou is an innovation catalyst and serial founder who has spent the last decade supporting Cyprus’ innovation ecosystem. She is the Founder and Managing Director of Cyprus Seeds, the country’s flagship academic commercialization program, which she built from the ground up into one of Europe’s Top Innovation Hubs — as recognized by the Financial Times in 2025. Across four cycles, Cyprus Seeds has supported 24 research teams from every university and research center in Cyprus, giving rise to 6 spin-offs, 9 patent filings, and the conclusion of a licensing agreement for a gene therapy, resulting from research from the Institute of Neurology & Genetics. Before Cyprus Seeds, Maria founded IDEA — Cyprus’s first integrated accelerator and incubator which, 10 years after it was launched, remains a cornerstone of the island’s startup ecosystem. With a background spanning 25 years in banking, EU funding, and investment analysis — including roles at Merrill Lynch in New York and the Cyprus Development Bank — Maria brings a rare combination of financial rigor and entrepreneurial vision to everything she does. A Fulbright Scholar, with an MSc from Oxford, U.K. and a BSc magna cum laude from Trinity College USA, Maria serves on multiple boards and is a regular keynote speaker at conferences across Europe, the USA, and the Middle East. She believes deeply that great research deserves a life beyond the lab — and she has dedicated her career to making that happen.