Miguel Armaza sits down with Alexis Pantazis and Emilios Markou, Co-Founders of Hellas Direct, a digital-first, full-stack insurance company located in Greece.

Modeling itself on Amazon, Hellas Direct aims to disrupt the insurance value chain by adopting an extreme focus on operational excellence and data analytics. Hellas Direct was recently listed by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s 1,000 Fastest Growing Companies.

The company is backed by a roster of leading investors, including Portag3, the IFC from the World Bank, Endeavor Catalyst, and a number of world-renowned angel investors.

Alexis Pantazis

Alexis Pantazis is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hellas Direct. Prior to Hellas Direct, he was an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs where he led principal investing and new strategic initiatives for the firm in the European investment management field. A former strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, he also worked for Miramax Films in New York and the Competition Directorate General of the European Commission in Brussels. Alexis is a Fulbright and British Chevening Scholar, a Robert & Diane Levy Fellow and an Endeavor Global Entrepreneur.

Emilios Markou

Emilios Markou is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hellas Direct. Prior to Hellas Direct, he was a Director in the European Financial Institutions Structuring team at Barclays Capital. Before that, he was an Executive Director at the Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Division where he led a number of projects within the firm's European insurance practice. A former strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company, Emilios advised a number of European, US and Asian clients on numerous strategic issues in insurance, banking, energy and transportation. Emilios is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (FIA) in the United Kingdom and an Endeavor Global Entrepreneur.

Hellas Direct profile

Hellas Direct is a digital-first, full-stack insurance company, empowered by cutting-edge technology and the use of advanced analytics. The company is backed by a roster of leading investors, including Portag3, IFC (a member of the World Bank), Endeavor Catalyst, former Goldman Sachs economist Lord O’Neill and private equity veteran Jon Moulton. Modelling itself on Amazon, Hellas Direct aims to disrupt the insurance value chain by adopting an extreme focus on operational excellence. Hellas Direct was recently listed by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s 1,000 Fastest Growing Companies.