George Nounesis is a Partner in EY Greece’s Consulting practice, bringing extensive experience and a strong interest in emerging technologies and defence innovation.

Before joining EY, he held a number of senior leadership positions, primarily in the public sector. He served for more than eight years as Director and Chairman of the Board of the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”. During his tenure, he led the comprehensive transformation of Greece’s largest research centre into a modern innovation ecosystem, which today hosts “Pharos”, the country’s first AI Factory.

George currently chairs Greece’s National Council for Research, Technology and Innovation. He previously served as Chair of the NATO Secretary General’s Advisory Group on Emerging and Disruptive Technologies and as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Space Centre.

He studied Physics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and holds a PhD from the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota. He also completed three years of postdoctoral research at MIT’s Department of Chemistry and the “Innovation for Economic Development” programme at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

His academic career has also included research positions at leading institutions in Greece and abroad, including NCSR “Demokritos”, MIT’s Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory, the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the University of Bordeaux I, where he served as a visiting professor.