Nikos Mertzanidis

Nikos Mertzanidis is Vice President, Ports & Destinations and Taxation at Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in Europe where he is responsible for developing, presenting, negotiating, and implementing industry positions on legislative, regulatory, and policy matters involving sustainability in ports & destinations and taxation issues. In addition, he supports the work of CLIA’s Port & Destination Advisory Committee,  Global Tax Committee and the Europe Taxation Working Group.

Nikos joined CLIA in 2016 as Manager, European Government Affairs. He was promoted to Director in 2020, and to his present position as Vice President in 2023. Prior to joining CLIA, Nikos was a political advisor, working on the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, and later joined Imperial Brands Ltd. as the chief lobbyist focused on EU legislation for FMCG, taxation, new generation products, and consumer affairs.

A seasoned government and public affairs professional, with expertise in EU policy making and European business regulation, Nikos is a long-standing member of the International Political Science Association and the Society of European Affairs Professionals.

Born and raised in Greece, he studied political science and international relations at the University of Macedonia in Greece, working in parallel for the UNESCO Chair for Intercultural Policy. He earned his Master’s degree in International Politics at the University of Aberystwyth in Wales in 2009 and, in 2022, his PhD with an emphasis on International Relations and Affairs from the University of Macedonia.