May
Dr. Thomas Poufinas
Lecturer of Finance at the Department of
Economics at the Democritus University of Thrace
For our May 2018 member of the month the International Atlantic Economic Society welcomes Dr. Thomas Poufinas. Dr. Poufina’s is a Lecturer of Finance at the Department of Economics at the Democritus University of Thrace. Previously, Dr. Poufinas, was the Offer Director at the financial protection and wealth management company AXA. Additionally, he has also held positions at ING as the Products and Intelligence Manager, and Investment Manager at Nationale-Nederlanden. He has served as Visiting Faculty at the University of the Aegean, at the Hellenic Open University and is an associate of the Graduate Program in Business Mathematics. Dr. Poufinas holds his Ph.D. in Financial Mathematics from The Ohio State University.
Why did you become a member of the International Atlantic Economic Society?
I have been attending the International Atlantic Economic Conferences for years and have thus realized the added value they had in my professional upbringing. Last year, I organized a session, at the IAES conference in Berlin, and published a paper in International Advances in Economic Research. Consequently, becoming a member was a natural evolution, as I felt I was becoming a member of a broader scientific community. As a member, of the International Atlantic Economic Society, I have access to an established network of scientists and academics.
What types of projects/research are you currently working on and what inspired/motivated you to pursue these interests?
Currently, I am working on a wide range of research projects. Most primarily they have to do with applications of finance and mathematics to real life problems. This is actually what inspires me, and motivates me, in the research I pursue; namely providing answers to questions that can benefit broader audiences. Indicatively, my research interests include:
– Economics of cyber security
– Transportation economics
– Option market liquidity
– Alternative option pricing models
– Small and medium size company financing
– Small and medium size company competitiveness
– Country competitiveness
– Insurance regulation
What advice would you give to someone who is considering entering your line of work/field of study?
I feel that it is an area that has continued to attract the interest of researchers due to its nature and applications. My advice would be for them to try to capture the full picture and not to restrict themselves to narrow questions. With such an approach, they will be able to address a broad spectrum of topics, thus contributing to several scientific directions in the field.
Going forward, what other projects/research are you looking to or hoping to pursue?
In addition to the areas I mentioned earlier, I will focus a bit more on insurance and social security, with emphasis on pension schemes.
What’s your favorite hobby?
That would be swimming.