Nikolaos Bardakis
About Nikolaos Bardakis
Nikolaos Bardakis is Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Cosmos Health (COSM), appointed on February 1, 2023. He is age 56 (as of the 2025 proxy), with a BS in Finance from the American College of Greece and prior senior commercial leadership in pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals . During his tenure, Cosmos reported record performance in 2025, including Q3 revenue up 38% year-over-year to $17.11M and gross margin expanding to 15.21% from 9.72% .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudpharm (R&D) | Business Development Manager | Jan 2019 – Feb 2023 | Advanced drug-repurposing and computational services for drug design; supported next-gen supplement discovery |
| Life NLB (Med devices/food supplements) | Managing Director | Jun 2016 – Feb 2023 | Led import/distribution operations in medical devices and supplements |
| Servier Hellas (multinational pharma) | National Sales Director | 2009 – 2016 | Led cross-functional team of 130; international exposure to EU design and launch projects |
| Servier Hellas | Sales leadership (rep → area mgr → full sales mgr) | 1993 – 2008 | Managed 70 reps and 9 area managers; scaled sales organization |
External Roles
No current public company directorships or committee roles disclosed. Background includes participation in boards/meetings at a European level (design and launch projects) within prior roles, but no named external public boards are listed .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | 19,470 | 22,722 |
| Bonus ($) | 0 | 15,000 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | 10,817 | 15,071 |
| Total ($) | 47,808 | 88,143 |
Notes: Company discloses no pension/retirement arrangements for executive officers .
Performance Compensation
| Type | Grant date | Amount | Vesting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Awards ($) | FY 2023 | 17,521 | Not disclosed | Compensatory stock awards granted on April 3, 2023 were noted for late Section 16 filing; share count and vesting not specified |
| Incentive Shares | Sep 19, 2024 | 35,000 shares | Not disclosed | Received under the 2024 equity plan; vesting terms not specified in the proxy |
| Stock Awards ($) | FY 2024 | 35,350 | Not disclosed | Recognized value; specific metrics/vesting not disclosed |
Plan mechanics and safeguards:
- COSM equity plans (2023 and 2024) authorize restricted shares, RSUs, PSUs, SARs, and options; repricing prohibited without shareholder approval .
- “Cause” and forfeiture/recoupment provisions allow cancellation or recovery of awards upon misconduct or competitive activity .
No performance weighting, targets, or payout formulas tied to revenue, EBITDA, TSR, etc., are disclosed for Bardakis’ awards .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| As-of date | Shares beneficially owned | Ownership % of common | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 2023 | 10,000 | <1%* | Included in principal stockholder table; less than 5% holder |
| Sep 20, 2024 | 45,000 | <1%* | Beneficial ownership table; <1% noted explicitly |
*Less than one percent of shares outstanding, per proxy tables .
Additional alignment and policy considerations:
- No anti-hedging or anti-pledging policy at the company level; no pledging by Bardakis disclosed .
- No outstanding unexercised options or unvested RSUs reported for executive officers at year-end 2023; 2024 table lists executives/directors with no outstanding options/RSUs, indicating limited scheduled vesting overhang .
Employment Terms
- Appointment: COO effective February 1, 2023; succession from Pavlos Ignatiades .
- Employment agreement, severance multiples, non-compete/non-solicit, garden leave, and change-of-control cash severance are not disclosed for Bardakis in available filings .
- Equity plan treatment in corporate transactions: unassumed/unreplaced awards may be cancelled, accelerated, or cashed out; underwater options/SARs can be cancelled without payment .
Performance & Track Record
Company operating performance under his tenure (illustrative quarterly figures):
| Metric | Q3 2024 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($) | 12,411,048 | 17,110,425 |
| Gross Profit ($) | 1,206,862 | 2,602,618 |
| Gross Margin (%) | 9.72% | 15.21% |
Additional 2025 progress:
- Q2 2025 revenue $14.75M (+11.66% y/y); gross profit up 51.6% y/y; gross margin 7.89% (+208 bps) .
- Nine-month 2025 revenue $45.57M (+13% y/y); adjusted EBITDA (loss) improved 55% .
Governance, Ownership Reporting, and Committee Oversight
- Compensation Committee (independent): John J. Hoidas and Anastasios Aslidis; administers incentive plans and executive compensation .
- Section 16 reporting: Bardakis had late reporting for compensatory stock awards in 2023; a Form 5 was filed in Feb 2025 for 2024 grants .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Absence of anti-hedging/anti-pledging policy increases potential misalignment risk; no pledging by Bardakis disclosed .
- Limited disclosure of performance-linked metrics or vesting conditions for executive equity awards reduces pay-for-performance transparency .
- Broad forfeiture/recoupment language exists in plans, but enforcement history not disclosed .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Bardakis’ ownership rose to 45,000 shares (<1%), and he received 35,000 incentive shares in 2024; absence of unvested schedules at year-end suggests modest near-term selling pressure from vesting, though vesting terms for 2024 grants aren’t disclosed .
- Retention: Cash compensation remains modest; equity plans and 2024 grants can support retention, but lack of disclosed performance metrics limits direct pay-for-performance linkage .
- Trading signals: No Form 4 trading activity detected for Bardakis in available searches; late ownership filings were remediated via Form 5, reducing near-term regulatory noise [SearchDocuments – Form 4 none] .
- Execution backdrop: Company-level revenue/gross margin expansion in 2025 under his COO tenure is positive operationally; continued monitoring of executive equity grants, any future vesting calendars, and introduction of explicit performance metrics is advisable for assessing alignment durability .