About the firm
A boutique advisory built around a single point of accountability.
Santikou Ventures is a boutique advisory and venture vehicle helping hospitality groups, tourism brands, and growth-stage businesses build better teams, smarter operations, and stronger commercial performance, founded by Katerina Santikou, a hospitality and HR entrepreneur known across the Greek and international tourism industry.
The firm is built on a rare triangle: founding and selling a hospitality-HR tech company, operating multi-property luxury hotels, and building software. Few advisors in the Mediterranean combine all three — and every engagement sits on top of that.
Two practices under one roof. An HR Hospitality practice grounded in years of operating. A Hospitality-Tech practice grounded in years of building. Engagements range from short, focused diagnostics to retained advisory mandates and speaking partnerships with industry institutions.
The Founder
Katerina Santikou
Founder & Managing Director
Katerina is a hospitality and HR innovator with a track record that spans founding a Series A technology company, leading business development at one of Greece's most respected family hospitality groups, and advising international hotel brands on workforce strategy.
She is the founder of Workathlon, the hospitality-focused recruitment platform she launched in 2017 and which was acquired by Kariera Group in 2023. Following the acquisition, she has continued to advise Kariera on hospitality talent strategy through a multi-year consultancy mandate carried out by Santikou Ventures.
She currently serves as Head of People and Brand at Santikos Collection, a Greek luxury hospitality group with properties across Skiathos, Alonnisos, Paros, and Piraeus — leading people strategy and brand development across the portfolio.
Recognition
- 2024Forbes 30 Under 30 — hospitality entrepreneur
- 2024Fortune 40 Under 40 — hospitality and HR
- 2026Boussias '20 Under 40 HR' — Nominee
- 2026Wise Greece × TUI Care Foundation — featured speaker (Corfu, Paros, Rhodes)
- —SETE (Greek Tourism Confederation) — Member, 34th General Assembly
- —Press: Hotel Executive, Hotels Above Par, Greek & international press