Dr. Nikos Kontoyannis was born in 1968 in Oklahoma, USA and grew up in Greece until he returned to the States for his college studies.

He obtained a BE in Electrical Engineering with Honors from Stevens Inst. of Technology in 1989, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University in 1991, and a PhD from Carnegie Mellon University in  Biomedical Engineering in 2000.In 1998, Nikos joined Raytheon as a Radar Systems Engineer and over the next years supported ground sensor programs for the US National Missile Defense under the direction of the Missile Defense Agency.

He supported the Ground Based Radar Prototype (GBR-P) as a Requirements Lead on Radar Simulation Software, the X-Band Radar (XBR) and its Sea-based version (SBX) as a Mission Design Lead in charge of mission requirements, and the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) as a Systems Algorithms Lead in charge of system software design, integration, and testing efforts. He became Chief Engineer of the Concurrent Test, Training, & Ops (CTTO) program of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) in 2007 and remained in that post until 2010 when he resigned his position to return to Greece as a Managing Director of APELLA.

He has experience in program management, earned value management, operational organization, and efficiency improvement techniques such as Six Sigma. In APELLA, Nick has the opportunity to grow a well established aviation repair station to the regional aviation and defense solution provider of choice.

He is happily married to Amalia and currently lives in Athens.

Apella’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Aris Mitsakis, was born in 1972 and joined the company in 2017.Aris holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics for Business from Middlesex University, and an MSc in Insurance and Risk Management from City University.

Aris started at BP Oil Hellenic at the Exports Department and then moved to H.J. Heinz Co UK Ltd’s Accounting Department.  In 2000, he then joined the National Bank of Greece where he stayed for 17 years covering a wide range of assignments within the Corporate Finance Division, initially as a Credit Underwriting Officer and then as a Relationship Manager where he was also responsible for Apella’s account.  

He handled loans in excess of a €100M and up to €1B in the Large Corporate Division and loans and bonds of up to €750M in the Structured and International Finance Division.  Aris is also working towards the completion of the Associateship of the Charter Insurance Institute (ACII), and has attended various courses on accounting, risk management, risk assessment, credit risk and financing.

Brig. General (ret) Petros Vagiakakos served in the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) from 1978 until 2010 when he retired as the Director of the Office of HAF’s Chief of Staff.

Petros is an Aeronautical Engineer with a BE from the HAF Academy and has completed multiple engineering training courses on the F-104 and F-16 aircrafts, domestically and abroad, including Aircraft Battle Damage Repair mechanic and assessor training. Petros has held multiple posts in his career ranging from Flight Line Maintenance to Maintenance Quality Control before serving as the F-16 Blk 30 Chief Engineer at 111 Wing in 1993. He was hand-picked to lead the HAF Office for the F-16 Follow-On-Support program at Hill AFB in Utah, USA in 1998 where he stayed until 2000 when he became the Peace Xenia III HAF Program Manager in charge of the acquisition of the F-16 Blk 52+. In 2006 he served as the Maintenance & Support Director at 115 Wing (F-16 Blk 52+).

He has substantial experience in program management, aircraft total lifecycle maintenance, and depot level maintenance activities. In 2010, following his retirement, he joined APELLA as its Technical Director identifying new technical capabilities, and ensuring that all projects are executed according to the highest standards of airworthiness and workmanship. He is currently 55 years of age and happily married with 2 sons

APELLA’s CPT Lead and Technical Director, Mr. Yiannis Triantafyllos, was born in 1970 in Athens, Greece. In 2002, Yiannis joined the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) as a Project Engineer in Engines Engineering Department and in 2005 was seconded to 1Source Aero Services (1S), a joint venture of HAI with Pratt & Whitney for Engine Accessories Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul as Senior Engineer. In 1S Yiannis assumed management roles in Engineering, Quality, and Operations and, in 2013, was appointed General Manager to lead the company’s day-to-day activities. When Yiannis joined APELLA in 2015 as its Sales Manager, he had experience in program management, capability and organizational development, marketing, sales, and lean manufacturing for which he has achieved the Six Sigma Black Belt. Yiannis holds a BE in Mechanical Engineering from Patras University, an MSc in Thermal Power and Fluids Engineering from University of Manchester IS&T and an Advanced Diploma in Executive Coaching and Organizational Development from IMPACT.  Yiannis took on the CPT Lead role in 2019 after having served as APELLA’s QA Manager for the year before.  He is currently happily married with 2 sons.

The QA Manager, Mr. Yiorgos Karagiorgakis, was born in 1977 and after graduating with his Aircraft Engineer Technical degree, started working in commercial aviation as an entry level technician in 1999.  He worked over his first years in the VIP/business aviation sector rising to various management positions and leaving as a Technical Director after 12 years. He continued working in various management positions in the aviation industry thereafter mainly as Continuing Airworthiness Manager and Quality Manager.  In 2023, Yiorgos joined APELLA as Quality Assurance Manager, responsible for the compliance monitoring and safety management systems under EASA Part-145 and AS9100D.  In addition to these, Yiorgos is also working as an independent aviation consultant to various airlines and MROs all over the world, performing gap analysis reviews, safety surveys, inspection audits and delivering training courses.  Yiorgos is a holder of EASA Part-66 B1/C license in various business jets and helicopters aircraft types.  He is happily married to Sonia with 3 children

The Manufacturing and Support Services IPT Lead, Mr. Yiorgos Prodromidis, was born in 1961 in Drama, Greece.  He joined Greece’s first national carrier, Olympic Airways, in 1990. He worked as a Sheet Metal Technician and he was gradually responsible for Base and Line Maintenance support, structural repairs and a wide range of modifications for multiple aircraft types earning his Olympic Airways Repairman Certificate for Airframe and Power Plant Structures in 1995.  In 2005, he became Shop Manager of the Olympic Sheet Metal Shop and successfully executed multiple structural repair projects.  He completed multiple technical trainings on the Boeing and Airbus SRMs as well as on Aircraft Drawings.   In 2012, Yiorgos joined APELLA bringing his considerable expertise on sheet metal and composite repairs to bear as a project consultant. Utilizing his manufacturing and technical background, Yiorgos has contributed significantly to several specialized repairs on both civil and military aircrafts assuming the role of Manufacturing and Support Services IPT Lead in March 2020.  He is happily married with 2 children

The Component Maintenance IPT Lead, Mr. Yiorgos Papavasileiou, was born in 1982 in Athens, Greece. He obtained a BE in Mechanical Engineering from Technological Institute of Chalkida in 2008. In 2009, Yiorgos joined APELLA as a Wheels & Brakes technician and he qualified as Certified Release to Service (CRS) staff. He became Planning and Engineering Coordinator in 2019 and remained in that post until 2023.  At the same time, he was involved in numerous engineering projects under ISO AS9100. Over the course of his tenure, he has undergone various training sessions in Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 (CFM56) License Category-C/T4, Part-CAMO of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, Aircraft Maintenance Program Development and Wheels and Brakes for ATR72 (SAFRAN), equipping him with a diverse set of skills and knowledge.  His experience within the company, coupled with his exceptional organizational skills, led to his selection for the role of Component Maintenance Lead in 2023. As a Component Maintenance Lead, Yiorgos is responsible for coordinating and supervising the production activities, ensuring efficiency, quality, and timely delivery of products or services. Their organizational skills are crucial in managing resources, schedules, and workflows to meet production goals. Yiorgos and his wife Hara are happily married with 2 children