Born in Marseille, Yannis Pouspourikas studied at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Genève and then at the Zurich Opera, where he was unanimously awarded first prize for conducting. After his debut in Geneva conducting Die Fledermaus in 1999, he was appointed assistant conductor by Sir Simon Rattle at the Glyndebourne Festival. 

From 2002 to 2004, he held the same position at the Opéra National de Paris. In 2004, he was appointed resident conductor of the Orchestre National de Lyon, and in 2005 he was appointed associate conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse, a position he held for four seasons. In September 2008, Yannis Pousspourikas was appointed Music Director of the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, where he conducts a very diverse repertoire, ranging from Nozze di Figaro to more contemporary works such as Peter Grimes, Candide, Love for Three Oranges and Elektra. Until 2017, he was also associated as a conductor with the Aalto-Theater in Essen. The highlights of the 2020/2021 season are his regular performances at the Theater Erfurt and his appointment as Conductor of the Biel Symphony Orchestra Solothurn and Concert Director of the Theater Orchestra Biel Solothurn (TOBS) for the 2022/2023 season.