Being a Lawyer before the Supreme Court, specialized in Public, Public Economic and Public Procurement law, Dr. George N. Katapodis has had an extended and diverse professional experience having lived a major part of his life abroad, with an active presence in the field of academic publications.
In August 2016, following a hearing before the Hellenic Parliament Institutions and Transparency Committee, he was appointed Chairman of the Hellenic Single Public Procurement Authority (HSPPA). In December 2019, he was elected Co-Chairperson and as of November 2021, Chairperson of the Bureau of the Working Party on PPPs (WP-PPP) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), where he served until December 2023. In June of 2021, he was elected at the Bureau of the Committee on Competitiveness, Innovation and PPPs (CICPPP), as Vice-Chairperson and in June 2023 he was elected Chairperson of CICPPP.
Previously, Mr. Katapodis has served at the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs for over twelve (12) years, where he served as Embassy Attaché at the Diplomatic Office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the Directorate for European affairs, incl. the CIS and East European Countries, at the Embassy of Greece in Islamabad, Pakistan with parallel accreditation to Afghanistan (1999-2002), as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) and in charge of the Consular Section, and in the capacity of Chargé d' affaires a.i., as Deputy Director at the Directorate for Latin America & the Caribbean of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while actively involved in the Greek Presidency of the EU, in 2003, as Greece’s National Representative at the CFSP Working Group for Latin America & Caribbean (COLAT) and, finally, as Consul General of Greece in Izmir, Turkey (2005-2007).
Furthermore, George N. Katapodis has been a Visiting Professor at the Economic University of Izmir (İzmir Ekonomi Üniversitesi) in the fields of European Union Law & European Institutions (2007-2008). His research and scientific interests also comprise four (4) main publications, Public Procurement – Critical Issues & Recent Developments: From a traditional to a new Public Procurement Model (2021), the European Treaties after the Lisbon Revision (2008), Greek Development Policy and the Legitimacy of State Aids (2006) and Reforms and Changes of the European Union (1997).
He is an Honorary member of the Denizli Chamber of Industry (Denizli Sanayi Odası) and the Izmir Chamber of Commerce (İzmir Ticaret Odası). By special decree of the Municipal Council of the Metropolitan City of Izmir, he was proclaimed an Honorary Citizen.
He holds degrees in Economics (University of Paris-II & University of Athens), Law (University of Paris-II), a Postgraduate diploma with specialization in Public Law and a PhD (University of Athens, Faculty of Law). In 2003, he attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Programs ("The Practice of Trade Policy: Economics, Negotiations and Rules").
He has served for two years as a commissioned officer in the Hellenic Air force.
George Katapodis speaks Greek, French, English, Spanish (native speaking) & Turkish.