Stelios Diakoulakis joined C40 in April 2018 and he is based in Athens. He is the Deputy Regional Director for Europe and closely works with the Regional Director in providing support to European member cities regarding their overall participation in C40 activities ensuring they benefit from their membership – both at political and technical level – and also comply with C40 Participation Standards. He is responsible for the delivery of projects of strategic importance for C40 such as the cities’ commitment to ambitious climate targets as well as the development and implementation of Deadline 2020 compliant climate action plans. Prior to joining C40, Stelios worked as Senior EU Policy and International Affairs Advisor to the Mayor of Athens. He has significant experience in European policies and institutions having offered his services for many years in the European Parliament and the Greek Foreign Ministry while he has also worked as a consultant at a private company specialised in the development of strategic regional programs and impact assessments in the EU Cohesion Policy framework. He has studied Economics at the Athens University of Economics and Business and holds a master’s degree in European Studies from the University of Reading, UK. He speaks English, French and Greek.