Antigoni Papanikolaou

Antigoni Papanikolaou is the Head of Legal Affairs for Microsoft Greece, Cyprus & Malta drawing on a wealth of experience at the intersection of law, business, and technology. She holds a law degree from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and an LL.M. in European Legal Studies from the College of Europe, Belgium. Her academic journey also included studies at the University of Leuven through the ERASMUS program.

Early in her career, Antigoni gained invaluable experience through her training with the EU Commission in Belgium, followed by an internship at the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg. She first worked in the Cabinet of the Belgian Judge, Prof. Koen Lenaerts, and then in the Cabinet of the Greek Judge, Mr. Michael Vilaras, where she contributed to legal research and decision drafting, particularly in the field of competition law.

Antigoni began her professional journey in Greece as an associate at Helen M. Papaconstantinou & Associates in Athens, building a strong foundation advising corporate clients on business, competition, data protection, and intellectual property law. She then advanced to high-impact in-house roles: first at Coca-Cola Hellas SA, where she provided legal counsel for the Greek and Cypriot business units and played a pivotal role in the Athens 2004 Olympic Project Team, safeguarding sponsorship rights and orchestrating complex, high-profile agreements for the sponsorship activation and the Torch Relay program of The Coca-Cola Company. At Papastratos CMC (Philip Morris International), she led legal support for sales, marketing, and business transformation, driving compliance and innovation, and spearheading the overhaul of the company’s distribution model.

In 2012, Antigoni joined Microsoft Hellas SA, breaking new ground as the company’s first in-house Legal Counsel. Since then, she has taken on a variety of roles and responsibilities. As Corporate, Legal & External Affairs Lead for Greece, she oversaw both Legal and Government Affairs, supporting landmark projects such as “Ancient Olympia: Common Grounds” and the Greek Azure DC Region investment. Until recently, she served as Regional Senior Counsel, leading a diverse legal team across Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Turkey, the Baltics, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and non-EU Balkan countries. She is a longstanding member of the Greek Leadership Team and currently serves on the Europe South Multi Country Leadership Team. Her leadership has been recognized, among others, with the Microsoft Platinum Award—the company’s highest global honor—and repeated inclusion in The Legal 500 GC Powerlist for Greece & Cyprus, including this year.