Byron Nicolaides is the founder and CEO of PeopleCert, the global leader in the certification of professional and language skills. He is also the President of the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS) representing 500,000 IT professionals across 28 EU countries. Under Byron’s management, PeopleCert became the first Greek Unicorn company in 2021, after the acquisition of AXELOS Ltd. In 2019, Byron won the title of the Entrepreneur of the Year at the European Business Awards while representing the United Kingdom, placing PeopleCert in the elite group of Europe's top 1% most successful companies (from a list of 120.000 enterprises). That same year, he won the title of Self-Made Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, another prestigious recognition of his overall business accomplishments and social contribution. Byron is a self-made entrepreneur. Following his tenure as International Vice President for Merrill Lynch (1987-1992), he has been consistently recognised as a leader in the transformation of the global examination delivery and certification industry, using groundbreaking technology to bridge the digital gap and bring education to people around the world. He is a Board Member of the ICDL Foundation, and member on many Boards and Advisory Committees. He holds a BA in Business Administration from the Bosphorus University and an MBA from the University of La Verne. He speaks English, Greek, Turkish and French. *Unicorn" is a term used in the venture capital industry to describe a privately held startup company with a value of over $1 billion.