General Secretariat

Alexia Kardachaki is the Secretary-General and Head of Secretariat of Global IFA. She is an international and EU tax lawyer and, prior to joining Global IFA, held senior positions in international tax advisory and law firms (Lubbers, Boer & Douma, PwC, KPMG Meijburg & Co), industry (LyondellBasell), and business groups (European Business Tax Forum). 

She holds (tax) law degrees/diplomas from the National and Kapodestrian University of Athens (LL.B.), Athens University of Economics and Business (postgraduate diploma), Vienna University of Economics and Business (LL.M.), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (LL.M.), and the University of Lausanne (executive diploma.  

She was the IFA research associate in 2012-2013 and national reporter for the IFA Cahiers in 2014 (for Greece) and in 2022 (for the Netherlands). She is one of the founding members of the Women of IFA Network in the Netherlands and served as a board member of the IFA Netherlands (2021-2024). She was a member of the Organising Committee of the 3rd IFA European Region Conference, which took place in Amsterdam in 2023. 

Ezgi Arik is the Scientific Researcher at the Global IFA General Secretariat, where she contributes to the development and delivery of IFA’s scientific output. She supports the preparation and coordination of seminar contents for the Annual IFA Congresses and the Global IFA Travelling Lectureship Programme, and oversees the coordination of the Global IFA Awards Programme. In addition, she provides substantive and organisational support to the Permanent Scientific Committee in its ongoing activities.

She is currently pursuing her PhD at Leiden University, where her research focuses on power dynamics and their influence on international tax law and policy. She holds an LL.M. from Koç University in Istanbul, where she wrote her dissertation on transfer pricing documentation. Before joining Global IFA, she gained experience in both tax advisory and academia. She worked as a tax controversy and advisory lawyer at EY and spent eight years as a research and teaching assistant at Koç University. She has also been actively involved in Global IFA activities: she presented her PhD research in the Poster Programme at the IFA 2023 Cancun Congress and served as a secretary for the Tax Directors Seminar at the IFA 2022 Berlin Congress.

Anita Burggraaf is responsible for the membership administration and the financial administration of Global IFA. 
She has extensive experience in administrative roles, with a focus on in membership and financial administration. She spent many years at a secretarial agency that served various Dutch associations, where she managed similar responsibilities, including membership management, bookkeeping, correspondence and office support.

Mary is an Administrative Assistant at the Global IFA General Secretariat. She supports Anita with the organisation’s membership administration and serves as a central point of contact for member-related inquiries.

She also supports the General Secretariat team in a wide range of operational tasks, including maintaining the IFA Congress App, managing the IFA Studio Zoom account, assisting with website updates, and providing general administrative support wherever needed.

Mary has built her career through practical, hands-on experience in various administrative and customer-focused roles across different sectors.

Tamara Kerrebijn is the Assistant Head of Secretariat and supports the Secretary-General and Head of Secretariat on a holistic basis. 
At the Global IFA General Secretariat, Tamara:
- is involved in the operational coordination of the Annual IFA Congresses, including on sponsorship matters;
- assists the Secretary-General with matters related to IFA Branches and Regions;
- project manages the Global IFA Travelling Lectureship Programme;
 - is responsible for the office management; and
 - assists the Secretary-General with the overall functioning of the General Secretariat.
Tamara supported the Chair of IFA Netherlands in 2009-2013 and managed the membership administration of the Dutch IFA Branch in 2003-2013.  Prior to joining the Global IFA General Secretariat, Tamara held an executive support role at an international tax advisory firm.  

At Global IFA, Olena leads communication strategy across social media, press, and web, coordinates the development of the organisation’s visual identity, and supports IFA Branches & Regions in their requests regarding communications. She oversees the communication and promotion for major Global IFA projects and programmes, including the Annual IFA Congress, the IFA Mentoring Platform, the Global IFA Award Programme, and the Global IFA Travelling Lectureship Programme, which she also project managed in 2024 and 2025.

Olena led the development of visual identities for the IFA Young IFA Network and Women of IFA Network , contributes to the Global IFA and Annual IFA Congresses’ websites, manages newsletters and social networks, and produces in-house design materials that support IFA’s mission and visibility.

Before joining Global IFA, she worked at the Zagoriy Foundation as a communication officer and served as editor-in-chief of The Media of Great Stories, which had a function of a media, knowledge hub and community-building platform. She has experience in building relationships with stakeholders, sponsors, donors and institutions and has collaborated with several international non-profit organisations, such as NGO CRISP (Berlin), Legambiente (Italy), and St. Mary’s Educational Society (India) on peacebuilding, cultural diplomacy, and educational projects (the latter specifically within the EU and countries of the Eastern Partnership).

She also has wide journalist and columnist experience writing on art, society and culture for Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Focus Ukraine, Alliance magazine international and other media.