Yannis Apostolopoulos

CEO at Specialty Coffee Association

Speaker

Yannis Apostolopoulos is the Chief Executive Officer of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), the largest trade association in the global coffee industry. With a clear purpose to make coffee better, the SCA brings together stakeholders from across the value chain to foster sustainability, equity, and excellence through education, research, standards, and collaboration.

An accomplished executive with over two decades of experience in global trade, nonprofit leadership, and fast-moving consumer goods, Yannis has helped position the SCA as a critical voice in shaping a more resilient and inclusive coffee sector. Under his leadership, the association has expanded its educational programs, increased its global footprint through events such as World of Coffee, advanced tools like the Coffee Value Assessment system, and initiated meaningful industry dialogue on value distribution and long-term viability.

Yannis has studied Chemical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School.