Michalis Pikounis – Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

Michalis Pikounis was born in Athens in October 1975. After completing secondary school and Year 10 at Kostea-Geitona Schools, he attended the International Baccalaureate programme at Moraitis School, graduating in 1993. He went on to study at the University of Edinburgh, earning a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science & Management Science, and completed his education with a Master's in Management from the London School of Economics (1998).

He subsequently joined Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in London, where he remained for two years before requesting a transfer to the firm's Athens office, where he spent a further year. During those three years he worked on a series of projects in the telecommunications and internet sectors for clients including Cable & Wireless (London), OTE, and Cosmote.

After completing his military service in the Hellenic Navy, he spent the following five years at ATKOSoft — initially as a management consultant (one year) and then as Director of Research and Project Implementation (four years).

Since June 2009, Michalis Pikounis has been exclusively focused on House of Wine as General Manager, overseeing everything from its conception through to daily operations. He is married with two children.

Giovanna Lykou – Catalogue Manager – Exclusive Club Coordinator

Giovanna Lykou was born and raised in Athens. She swam non-stop until the age of 19 and, having covered a distance equal to the circumference of the Earth, she finally stopped — and savoured her first glass of wine.

She graduated from the Department of History and Archaeology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, specialising in Art History with an emphasis on Contemporary Art. She studied Sommellerie to be certain of what to drink on every occasion, and so enchanted by that journey, she made it her mission to make wine accessible to everyone.

She has worked as a sommelier in some of the most important wine bars and fine-dining restaurants in the country, with the highlight being her three-year tenure at the two-Michelin-star restaurant Spondi. She is a certified Sherry Educator, having received an honorary distinction and award for excellence in blind tasting from the Consejo Regulador de la D.O. "Jerez Xérès Sherry." She is also a certified spirits educator and has represented acclaimed companies and products throughout her professional career. For the past four years she has been a lecturer in the sommellerie programme at LE MONDE school, from which she herself graduated. Her relationship with wine and spirits is expressed in words across various websites and publications, with her favourite being her column for the sommelier section of Kathimerini newspaper. She has made appearances on radio and television, and has organised presentations, tastings, and educational events.

She loves talking about all of this but insists on doing so with humour and self-deprecation. She wishes she could speak every language in the world and, with the press of a button, find herself in Brooke Square on Skyros, gazing out at the sea. She toasts to it at every opportunity.

Maria Kefala – Trade Marketing & Business Development Manager

Maria Kefala was born and raised in Nafplio. She graduated from the Department of Tourism Business Management at the Technological Educational Institute of Heraklion, Crete.

In 2004, prompted by a job advertisement whose newspaper clipping she still keeps, she began working at one of the largest wine and spirits production, import, and distribution companies in Greece. And so her journey into the magical world of wine began.

Alongside her career she furthered her wine education, obtaining the WSET Foundation and Intermediate Certificates as well as the WSET HESTIA Advanced Certificate, in addition to a Digital Marketing qualification — with the goal of combining two great passions: wine and technology.

She has worked at leading wine production, trade, and distribution companies and has managed a significant portfolio of wineries from around the world.

Since 2020 she has been actively involved in the creation and development of the innovative platform oensights.com, which collects, analyses, and presents data from the Greek and global wine ecosystem for wine industry professionals.

Kyriakos Kontogiorgis – Spirits Consultant

Kyriakos Kontogiorgis has been involved with wines and spirits since 1992. He owns a company specialising in the trade of these products and is also a well-known collector of whisky and cognac. He has been a regular contributor to Whisky Magazine for a number of years and maintains ongoing relationships with all the major whisky auction houses, including Christie's, McTear's, and Bonhams. His engagement of over 22 years in this field has given him deep and comprehensive expertise in whisky, spanning both technical knowledge and historical detail.