Grigoris Batagias
Chief Information Security Officer · Lavipharm S.A.

Building governed, resilient enterprises at the intersection of technology, cybersecurity and transformation.

Twenty-eight years of progression from systems engineering to an independent CISO mandate — inside a single regulated pharmaceutical manufacturer, an NIS2 Essential Entity operating under GxP.

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Executive Profile
Athens, Greece

Grigoris Batagias is an enterprise technology and cybersecurity executive whose career has progressed from field engineering and infrastructure architecture, through enterprise IT leadership, to an independent Chief Information Security Officer mandate.

At Lavipharm S.A., a pharmaceutical manufacturer with 300+ employees and a Greek NIS2 Essential Entity, he established the CISO function following 17 years of enterprise leadership inside the organisation’s regulated GxP environment. He now operates under a fully independent mandate, reporting to the Deputy CEO with a dotted line to the Audit Committee — accountable for cybersecurity strategy, governance, cyber and third-party risk, regulatory readiness, business continuity and AI governance.

His broader background — enterprise architecture, cloud transformation, a €1M+ technology budget, vendor and MSP governance — connects cyber risk and technology investment to business priorities, regulatory obligation and operational reality. The approach is pragmatic and evidence-led: clarity over complexity, sustainable capability over short-term fixes.

Career in Numbers
28
Years of technology and leadership progression
17+
Years inside a regulated GxP pharmaceutical environment
€1M+
Annual technology budget owned and governed
37%
IT cost reduction through cloud-first modernisation
55%+
Recurring telecommunications cost reduction
62
Governance policies, standards and procedures established
Leadership Domains

Six areas of accountability, one connected discipline.

Cybersecurity Strategy & Governance

NIS2, ISO 27001/27002, NIST CSF 2.0 and CIS Controls v8, unified into a single operating model.

Enterprise Architecture & Strategy

IT strategy, infrastructure and application architecture across manufacturing, R&D and commercial operations.

Digital & Cloud Transformation

Cloud-first modernisation and ERP/HR transformation delivered without compromising validated systems.

Risk, Resilience & Readiness

Cyber and third-party risk, incident response, business continuity and operational resilience.

Board & Audit Committee Reporting

Independent risk reporting on a direct line to the Deputy CEO and the Audit Committee.

Budget, Vendor & MSP Leadership

Ownership of technology investment, commercial negotiation and managed-service governance.

Signature Career Impact

Five programmes that define the current mandate.

2025–2026
Building the CISO function from zero
Registered Lavipharm with the Greek National Cybersecurity Authority as an NIS2 Essential Entity and established the reporting structure itself — direct line to the Deputy CEO, dotted line to the Audit Committee. Authored roughly 62 governance policies, standards and procedures, unifying NIS2, ISO 27001/27002, NIST CSF 2.0, CIS Controls v8 and GxP requirements into one operating model.
2017–2021
Cloud-first modernisation
Directed the migration of business-critical pharmaceutical services to the cloud while preserving validated-system and compliance requirements, reducing IT operating costs by 37% without compromising GxP obligations.
2017–2021
Telecommunications re-architecture
Consolidated suppliers and renegotiated commercial agreements across the telecommunications estate, cutting recurring costs by more than 55% while improving service reliability.
2020–2023
Enterprise ERP/HR transformation
Owned enterprise architecture and organisation-wide delivery of Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP/HR, consolidating core business and workforce systems, and coordinated the initial phase of Veeva CRM for pharmaceutical commercial workflows.
2026
Security programmes recognised industry-wide
Email & communication security and network & endpoint security programmes, built from the ground up, received Gold and Silver at the Boussias Cyber Security Awards 2026 — positioning cybersecurity as a strategic business priority rather than a compliance exercise.
Career Journey

Four chapters, one continuous line of accountability.

1998–2009
Foundation
Field Engineering & Systems Leadership
Delivered 650+ enterprise infrastructure, network and unified-communications projects across Greek industry — from telecoms to maritime operations — at Pouliadis Associates, APT Information Systems and Netfocus IT.
2009–2017
Expansion
Enterprise IT Leadership
As IT Operations Supervisor and later Senior IT Manager at Lavipharm, defined enterprise architecture standards and reduced user complaints and service requests by 32% through proactive problem management.
2017–2025
Transformation
Head of Information Technology
Held enterprise-wide accountability for a €1M+ technology budget, architecture and vendor ecosystem — delivering cloud modernisation, telecom re-architecture and the Dynamics 365 ERP/HR programme.
2025–Present
Executive Governance
Chief Information Security Officer
Independent second-line mandate: cybersecurity strategy, governance and regulatory readiness, reporting to the Deputy CEO with a dotted line to the Audit Committee.
Recognition

External validation, judged by peers.

GOLD · 2026
Email & Communication Security
Boussias Cyber Security Awards
SILVER · 2026
Network & Endpoint Security
Boussias Cyber Security Awards
POWERLIST · 2025
CISO 50 Powerlist
Netweek Magazine
JUDGING COMMITTEE · 2026
Boussias Cyber Security Awards
Peer evaluation of the year’s submissions
Credentials

Governance depth, technical grounding.

Governance & Security
CISM — Certified Information Security Manager
CEH — Certified Ethical Hacker
CCSE — Check Point Certified Security Expert
Cyber Risk Management
ISACA Professional Member
Program & Leadership
PRINCE2® Foundation & Practitioner
Leadership Agility (CAL — SHRM / Linkage)
Cloud & Infrastructure
Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions
Microsoft Azure Administrator & Fundamentals
Red Hat Certified System Technician
Linux Professional Institute Certification
ITIL® v2
Early Microsoft Infrastructure Credentials (1998–2011): MCSE, MCITP, MCA, MCTS, MCP
Academic Education
MSc, Information Technology (Neural Networks) — University of East London, 2016–2018, with Merit
Engineer’s Degree, Electromechanical Technology — Mediterranean College, 1996–1998
Perspectives

The principles behind the programme.

Cybersecurity is a strategic business priority, not a compliance checkbox.
Governance should enable accountability without slowing transformation.
Clarity over complexity; sustainable capability over short-term fixes.
Decisions should be ones leadership can understand and stand behind.
Connect

For board, executive search and advisory conversations on cybersecurity governance and technology leadership in regulated industries.

gbatagias@outlook.com LinkedIn Profile
© Grigoris Batagias · Athens, Greece
Chief Information Security Officer, Lavipharm S.A.