Greater Paris Metropolitan Region
As Director of Resources and Services (RES) and Executive Board Member at the European Space Agency (ESA), I oversee the Agency's corporate backbone, including the full range of services and resources that enable all ESA activity to succeed. Since April 2024, I have been leading ESA's internal services across all establishments to enhance the resilience and evolution of the resources including financial, human and infrastructure, that underpin Europe's space ambitions. Following legal studies and professional practice in Italy and a profound commitment to public service, I began my journey with ESA in 1988 as a Legal Advisor. For over 35 years, I have had the privilege of contributing to ESA's growth from multiple vantage points. Notably as Legal Counsel and Head of the Legal Services Department for more than a decade, I led a multinational legal team and provided professional services to the Agency through landmark space agreements, cross-governmental partnerships and high-stakes negotiations. In 2020, I was appointed Senior Legal Counsel to the Director General, advising on strategic matters of governance, international collaboration and regulatory development. ESA has been not only my professional home, but also the lens through which I've witnessed the journey of European integration via our common space ambition. I remain passionate about advancing space programmes, governance, and advocacy and I regularly represent ESA at high-level international fora including the IAC, UNIDROIT and UN-COPUOS. In 2021, I was awarded the title of Cavaliere (Knight) of the Italian Republic by the President of Italy, an honour awarded in recognition of my enduring commitment to international public service, diplomacy and the European space endeavour.
As Director of Resources and Services at ESA and a member of the Agency's Executive Board, I lead the strategic oversight and operational management of ESA's functions that provide critical services and solutions. This includes financial governance, workforce planning and human resources policy, corporate real estate and facilities across all ESA establishments and IT infrastructure and services. Reporting directly to the Director General, I am responsible for aligning ESA's corporate operations with its evolving space mission goals, ensuring efficiency, resilience, institutional agility and the reduction of complexity across a multi-site, international organisation.
As ESA's Legal Counsel and Head of the Legal Services Department, I led the Agency's legal function through a decade of transformational growth in the European space sector. I managed an international team of legal professionals, specialised in different areas of legal practice, providing expert guidance to making ESA decisions on the legal architecture underpinning ESA's programmes and evolving regulatory environments.