Gardone Val Trompia, Lombardy, Italy
Defence Executive with over 25 years of international experience shaping industrial strategy and driving growth across the aerospace and defence sectors. I operate at the intersection of industry, government, and supranational institutions, with a strong focus on European defence transformation and capability development. My experience spans EU/NATO institutional engagement, multinational programme participation, and large-scale business leadership within complex, multi-country organisations. Currently leading EU/NATO Affairs and Defence Projects at Beretta, I engage with key stakeholders across the European Commission (DG DEFIS), EDA, NATO and national ecosystems to support strategic positioning within the European Defence Industrial Base (EDIB) and participation in major initiatives such as EDF and EDIP. Previously, I led business development across Beretta Defense Technologies, coordinating a 15-country industrial ecosystem and scaling revenue, while defining long-term capability and product strategies. I also bring international leadership experience through roles at FN Herstal, Safran, and CHC Helicopter Group, as well as executive responsibility as Interim CEO of a defence industrial joint venture in Qatar. I am particularly focused on executive leadership roles (VP, Managing Director, CEO-track) within leading aerospace and defence organisations, where I can contribute to shaping industrial strategy, driving growth, and strengthening Europe’s defence capabilities.
• Lead institutional engagement across EU and NATO stakeholders (incl. DG DEFIS, EDA, NATO bodies), strengthening Beretta’s positioning within the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). • Drive participation in European defence initiatives (incl. EDF/EDIP-related programmes) and capability-aligned partnerships. • Coordinate multinational projects from consortium setup to delivery (incl. EDF ACHILE 1 & 2; EDA SAAT). • Authored and launched Beretta’s dismounted soldier position paper at the European Parliament with senior institutional participation.
• Established Beretta’s Brussels institutional presence from inception and created a scalable engagement model for EU/NATO stakeholders. • Led institutional communication and corporate positioning across digital platforms, catalogues and international exhibitions. • Managed and developed one direct report; coordinated cross-functional contributors and external agencies.
• Led a 15-country alliance of 20+ companies serving military and law enforcement markets; coordinated up to 40 sales professionals in a matrix structure. • Drove a 4× increase in revenue over six years; deployed Salesforce CRM across the organisation. • Owned global marketing investment up to €4.5M; strengthening brand positioning through digital strategy, content, and international exhibitions. • Coordinated 25+ technical and commercial leaders to define long-term capability and product strategy and develop business cases for senior leadership. Interim CEO — BINDIG QSTP LLC (Beretta Holdings SA / Barzan Holdings) Doha, Qatar | 2019 • Established a sovereign defence industrial JV focused on technology transfer and local manufacturing for the Qatar Armed Forces. • Defined governance and operating model; regularly updated the business plan and initiated commercial and stakeholder engagement.
• Grew airborne weapon systems business by 25% through a multi-channel strategy targeting end-users and OEMs. • Negotiated long-term framework agreements with major OEMs (incl. Sikorsky, Leonardo Helicopters, Airbus Helicopters, Embraer). • Managed two contract managers to ensure on-contract delivery and stakeholder alignment.
• Contributed to revenue growth of 30% across government and commercial customers. • Improved bid/proposal processes, increasing efficiency and reliability. • Managed three commercial officers, ensuring timely and accurate proposal delivery and contract management.
• Built a support services offering from inception to €XM in revenue. • Led a team of two dedicated customer support project managers.
• Revamped all communication media (website, brochures, etc). • Coordinated Trade Compliance and Industrial Offsets with the SAFRAN group. • Coordinated a network of 50+ agents and global stakeholders.
• Led Asia Pacific sales operation across defence and commercial segments (2008-2010). • Led defence MRO sales operations worldwide (2005-2008).