Athanasios Serafeim was born in Frankfurt am Main and started his studies in the accounting department of the Frankfurt Chamber of Tax Consultants. He pursued a degree in economics and tax studies, graduating as a state-supervised accountant for legal entities from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Hessen-Germany.

He worked primarily as an accountant and financial associate in renowned companies and tax offices in Frankfurt, while expanding his knowledge in this field.

On his return to Greece he continued his work in the field of financial and accounting services and before joining the Heinrich-Böll Foundation team he worked for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development as a local partner of the Greek-German Assembly in Thessaloniki