Dynamic and results-oriented professional with a robust educational background, excelling in both independent and collaborative settings. Proven ability to adapt quickly to new technologies through formal training and self-directed learning. Strong negotiation and persuasion skills developed through diverse roles in team and individual projects, complemented by a confident and approachable demeanor. Committed to delivering high-quality results while fostering positive workplace relationships.
Hi, I’m
Ilias Kostakis
Head of Vendor Management South Eastern Europe
Glyka Nera / Fouresi
Summary
Overview
25
years of professional experience
2
Languages
Work History
Telefonica Business Solutions/Greece
Head of Vendor Management South Eastern Europe
08.2019 - Current
Job overview
- Regional responsibility of the Vendor Management in South Eastern Europe
- Strategic and tactical service improvement plans for vendor performance.
- Management of regional office and the entities under the scope of region
- Managing Forecast of the region
- Ownership of budget associated with Telefonica off-net regional vendors.
- Managed a diverse portfolio of vendors, ensuring timely delivery of products and services to clients.
- Met sales goals by offering excellent customer service.
Telefonica Business Solutions/Greece
Senior Business Technical Consultant-Presales Manager for NE Europe, Central Europe, Nordics & SE Europe & Global Ordering
06.2009 - Current
Job overview
- Managing Validation + Ordering globally. (Validation & Ordering team for Americas + ES, DE, UK, IE, MEA perimeter and the DDS team of Global Offices (GO) perimeter (Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, Rest of Balkans, Hungary, France, Nordics, Benelux, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Baltic's, Russia & CIS)
- Managing/coordinating Deal Delivery Specialist team for certain part of Global Offices perimeter of Europe for the Quotation (and E2E) activity (Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, Rest of Balkans, Hungary, France, Nordics, Benelux, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Baltic's, Russia & CIS)
- Handling directly E2E activity in selected countries: Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, Romania, Baltic's, CIS
- Promote the highest quality and effectiveness of technical support products / services marketed, through a knowledge comprehensive and qualified, opportunities and the evolution of the market and competition.
- Ensure the customer support technical maximum qualification and updated with the latest advances in the telecommunications market.
- Provide the support required to strengthen trade action:
- Respond in time and quality evaluation of proposals requests
- Facilitate commercial advice for the identification of the trade develop action
- Keep the appropriate interrelation with other operations the Telefónica Group to ensure the maximum agility of response to customers and enforcement agreements and conventions established.
- Provide knowledge on the market related to services and solutions, both from the point of view of the catalogue itself and from the point of view of competition. Promote the adoption of all action measures to anticipate or respond to possible changes in the environment
- Ensure technical advice to the customers on products queries related to the service catalogue.
- Provide all relevant information for new solutions design.
- Working with local suppliers for RFP/RFI/RFQ's on IP VPN MPLS Networks, Mobile and FV. Support to central teams on implementation, ordering.
- Reduced downtime and improved productivity by providing timely technical support to clients, addressing their concerns and solving problems quickly.
Hellas on Line/Greece
Corporate Provisioning Supervisor
10.2008 - 06.2009
Job overview
- Providing Telecommunications services to corporate customers. Managing Field Service Engineers. Responsible for Provisioning Corporate services of hellas online, (Business Double Play and Business ADSL, Hosting, VPNoADSL, VPNoLL). Responsible for KPIs for Corporate department.
Hellas on Line/Greece
Presales Engineer
05.2007 - 09.2008
Job overview
- Providing Technical and economical offers to hellas online corporate customers by analyzing prospect business clients requirements, proposes technical solutions according to hellas online network and system functionalities within quality specifications and cost constrains and constructs technical proposals for business customers. Also prepare all KPIs of Presales department.
Ericsson Telecommunicatie BV/Netherlands
RF Consultant Radio Design Engineer
04.2005 - 04.2007
Job overview
- Worked in Ericsson/Netherlands doing RF-Planning for the West, South & East Region of Holland. Consulting services for various end customers of Ericsson Netherlands such as Telfort, KPN and Vodafone. Network design, optimization solutions, B-3G Surveys for Vodafone, technical site survey visits (TSS). Submitting Indoor Solutions, Performance and Traffic Reports, Special Events Coverage solutions based on client's request. Participating in first-phase UMTS roll-out project for Telfort.
Vodafone Hellas SA
Radio System Engineer
01.2004 - 03.2005
Job overview
- Worked in the Radio planning of the cellular network GSM-900/1800 and UMTS at suburban, urban and heavy urban areas (macro and micro base stations). Coverage & good performance of the network during the Olympic games in Athens was one of the main projects I was responsible for my area (North & North-West of Athens).
Wind hellas/Greece
Drive - Testing Engineer
06.2003 - 11.2003
Job overview
- Worked part time (during my military service) in another LCC's project in Greece where I was using Q-Voice software for drive testing benchmarking for Tim operator in Athens & Thessaloniki.
Dutchtone-Orange/Netherlands
RF Optimization Engineer
05.2002 - 07.2002
Job overview
- Worked for another LCC project where I was using CellAD software for the quality of service of Dutchtone/Orange operator in Netherlands. This tool was used for benchmarking of all operators in Netherlands in terms of voice quality, call drop rate, etc.
LCC UK Ltd.
RF Consultant Engineer
02.2001 - 07.2002
Job overview
- Worked as an RF Telecommunication Consultant for LCC UK Ltd. at the following Projects:
Vodafone/UK
Site Survey for 3G upgrade
04.2002 - 05.2002
Job overview
- I was working for 6 weeks in another LCC project where I did site surveys in 218 existing 2G sites by checking the feasibility for 3G upgrade in the cabinets. For each Site survey a report for every single site was produced for the client with all the technical details.
Dutchtone-Orange/Netherlands
RF Optimization Engineer
10.2001 - 04.2002
Job overview
- Assigned in a GSM 1800 Alcatel based mobile network in Netherlands, where I was performing network optimisation. I was responsible for the drivetest analysis and cell performance of different regions in Holland.
- Also issuing trouble tickets for tilting, azimuth issues were another of my responsibilities. Neighbour declaration and deletion in the area I was responsible was another task of the project.
- Successfully adjusted network parameters in order to bring about a reduction in the drop call rate to less than 1% and reduced interference levels.
BEN/T-Mobile/Netherlands
RF Consultant Network Design Engineer
02.2001 - 10.2001
Job overview
- Working in a telecommunication consulting company as an RF Network Design Engineer. I was assigned in one of LCC's projects in a GSM 1800 Nokia based network in Netherlands where I was responsible for the optimisation of 450 cells in one of the cities in Netherlands called Einhoven. I was also responsible for keeping a track - reducing of call drop rate and improving uplink & downlink quality of this area.
Education
Westminster UniversityLondon, UK
MSc from Personal Mobile & Satellite Communications
01-2000
University Overview
- Final Year Project - “Feasibility of Software Radio”
- Software Radio is a new system for the 4th generation of radio communications. The feasibility of such a system was investigated & recommendations & specifications of the future projects were suggested.
Middlesex UniversityLondon, UK
BSc from Electronics
01-1999
University Overview
- Award achieved: BSc Honors Class Degree (Grade 2.1)
- Final year project
- A wireless device, a baby monitor, which can alert the parents when the baby is upset, in addition to when the baby is crying, as well as when it is moving. (Consist of two devices- parents unit & Baby's unit). (Software & Hardware). “Tegeatikos Syndesmos” (a Greek organization) was my sponsor for my master degree and offered me an honorary plate for my first degree.
- GPA: Grade 2.1
Skills
Vendor performance review
Client relationship management
Effective negotiation skills
Project Management
Customer satisfaction
Relationship management
Interests
I have my own amateur web based radio station for Radio Broadcasting via Internet I love travelling with my dinghy to Greek Islands during the summer, cinema, play basketball, reading books and electronic magazines, swimming, camping during the summer, play chess, GR Driving License since 8th of August 1996, Category B, type B (Valid until the 5th of April 2042)
Timeline
Head of Vendor Management South Eastern Europe
Telefonica Business Solutions/Greece
08.2019 - Current
Senior Business Technical Consultant-Presales Manager for NE Europe, Central Europe, Nordics & SE Europe & Global Ordering
Telefonica Business Solutions/Greece
06.2009 - Current
Corporate Provisioning Supervisor
Hellas on Line/Greece
10.2008 - 06.2009
Presales Engineer
Hellas on Line/Greece
05.2007 - 09.2008
RF Consultant Radio Design Engineer
Ericsson Telecommunicatie BV/Netherlands
04.2005 - 04.2007
Radio System Engineer
Vodafone Hellas SA
01.2004 - 03.2005
Drive - Testing Engineer
Wind hellas/Greece
06.2003 - 11.2003
RF Optimization Engineer
Dutchtone-Orange/Netherlands
05.2002 - 07.2002
Site Survey for 3G upgrade
Vodafone/UK
04.2002 - 05.2002
RF Optimization Engineer
Dutchtone-Orange/Netherlands
10.2001 - 04.2002
RF Consultant Engineer
LCC UK Ltd.
02.2001 - 07.2002
RF Consultant Network Design Engineer
BEN/T-Mobile/Netherlands
02.2001 - 10.2001
Middlesex University
BSc from Electronics
Westminster University
MSc from Personal Mobile & Satellite Communications
Professional Training
Professional Training
Telefonica Business Solutions – Spain
- June 2019 Leading Self (Universitas Telefonica)
- November 2017 Finances Essential (Internal Telefonica)
- July 5-15, 2016 Telefonica Global Management programme Edition XV (IESE Business Scholl- University of Navarra)
- October 7-10, 2014 Innovation & Creativity (Universitas Telefonica)
- October 05-07, 2011 Leader of myself (El Bosque, Spain)
- October 04, 2011 Personal Branding (Madrid, HQ of Telefonica DC)
- February 14-19, 2011 Project Management Fundamentals (Global Knowledge)
Ericsson – Netherlands
- September 23, 2005 UMTS Indoor training (Internal Ericsson)
Vodafone – Greece
- March 7-10, 2005 GSM Radio Network Tuning LZU 108 3298 (Ericsson)
- January 24-25, 2005 Radio Network Statistics (Internal Vodafone Greece training)
- June 15-16, 2004 Cell Planning for UMTS Networks (Wray Castle Ltd)
- Wireless Institute LCC UK Ltd.
- May 2, 2002 Roof top access training
- April 21, 2002 TEMS Investigation 3.1 by Ericsson
- October 8-10, 2001 Traffic Engineering for PCS & Network Engineering
- September 4-5, 2001 Actix Training (Ben, in Netherlands)
- July 11-13, 2001 Optimisation for GSM Network
- March 29-30, 2001 Qvoice (QW/S) Basic training
- February 15, 2001 Safety Training for climbing a mast
- January 22-23, 2001 GPRS: General Packet Radio Service
- January 16-19, 2001 GSM Protocol, Operation & Design
- January 8-10, 2001 Spread Spectrum & CDMA