Nicholas Sougiannis

I was born in Toronto, Canada and raised in Champaign, Illinois and Kythira, Greece. After graduating from the University of Illinois in 2008, I was commissioned into the United States Navy and attended flight school in Pensacola, Florida, where I was selected to fly F/A-18 Super Hornets.

Joining Strike-Fighter-Squadron 154, I deployed aboard USS Ronald Reagan in 2011 and USS Nimitz in 2012 & 2013. Flying in support of Operations Tomodachi, New Dawn, and Enduring Freedom, I was awarded an Air Medal in 2013 for combat action over Afghanistan. In 2014, I was selected to instruct new and returning aircrew in the F/A-18 at Strike-Fighter-Squadron 122, and in 2017 chosen to remain in the squadron as a perpetual, part-time instructor through the Naval Reserves. Over the course of a decade in VFA-122, I completed over 700 instructional sorties and over 100 aircraft carrier arrested landings with new qualifying pilots.

In pursuit of a career in academia, I completed an MBA at the University of Southern California in 2019 and doctorate in finance at the University of Florida in 2023. I was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Economics Department of the United States Naval Academy in 2023, teaching Financial Markets & Institutions and Financial Statement Analysis.

My involvement at the US Naval Academy has included collateral instruction with the Naval Postgraduate School, serving as a thesis advisor to three junior officers completing their master in leadership education and development (LEAD). Furthermore, I lead the Finance & Investment Club, teach a seminar to all first-year students in financial logistics entitled 'Finance for Naval Leaders’; developed and led a new international program to Greece & Cyprus, and serve as the operations officer for the summer training powered-flight-program.