Nectaria Passarivakis was born in Zimbabwe and educated in Africa before continuing her studies in Greece, earning a BSc in Business Administration from the American College of Greece, followed by MBAs in Management and Leadership from the London Business School and Harvard University.

She built her early career at IBM, Chase Manhattan Bank, and Phoenix of London, and later led events, conferences, trade exhibitions, and business delegations between Greece and the United States as Head of Events at the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce. In 1994, she became a founding board member and Executive Director of the Franchise Association of Greece, the same year she established her own communications and media company, Hazlis & Rivas, with branch offices and affiliates across Cyprus, Malta, Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia.

Since founding Hazlis & Rivas, Ms. Passarivakis has served as the official and exclusive representative of The Economist Group for all Economist events across the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Europe, and holds the exclusive license for The World Ahead, The Economist's annual publication, in Greece and Cyprus. Her track record leading Economist Government Roundtables across the region led The Economist to appoint her to head its EU–Western Balkans series, promoting business and investment opportunities in Southeast Europe to European and US markets through roadshows and conferences in London, Berlin, Frankfurt, Vienna, Brussels, New York, and other major capitals.

Over more than 30 years, she has built and maintained relationships with heads of state, government officials, business leaders, and thought leaders across numerous nationalities and cultures, having organized more than 800 conferences worldwide. She is bilingual in English and Greek, with additional knowledge of French and Shona.