President
Board of Directors
Francesco Ubertini
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Board of Directors
Maria Chiara Carrozza
Università degli Studi Milano Bicocca
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Pierpaolo Cristaudo
CRIF S.p.A
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Rita Ghedini
Legacoop Bologna
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Stefano jr. Golinelli
Alfasigma S.p.A
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Laura Mantovani
E4 Computer Engineering
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Marina Silverii
ART-ER
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Paola Scarpa
Lavazza
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Stefano M. Stoppani
VISA
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Pier Lorenzo Rossi
Confcooperative Emilia-Romagna
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Francesco Ubertini
He has been rector of the University of Bologna (2015-2021) and is full professor of Mechanics of Solids and Structures. Since 2007, he has carried out research in the field of computational mechanics. Numerical modeling, structural analysis, intelligent structures, historic and archaeological structures, structural monitoring and diagnostics are just a few of the main topics he wrote about, with more than 80 publications in International magazines.
He is also President of CINECA and Vicepresident of the Italian Research Center on High-Performance Computing, Big Data and Quantum Computing – ICSC.
Maria Chiara Carrozza
Maria Chiara Carrozza is Professor of Biomedical Engineeringand Biorobotics at University ofMilan-Bicocca, Department of Psychology. Former President of the National ResearchCouncil (CNR), she served as Chair of the EuropeanScience Advisors Forum (ESAF) and ofthe G6 Research Network in 2024. As a member of the European Commission’s High-LevelExpert Group for FP10, she contributed to the report “Act, align, accelerate.” From 2007 to2013, she was Rector of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, and from 2013 to 2018,she was a member of the Italian Parliament and a member of the European and ForeignAYairs Committee. She was Minister of Education, University, and Research from 2013 to2014. From 2018 to 2021, she was Scientific Director of the IRCCS Don C. Gnocchi.
Pierpaolo Cristaudo
Pierpaolo Cristaudo, who holds a degree in business administration from Bocconi University in Milan, is Senior Director of CRIF, a global company whose advanced analytics area he leads internationally, with the objective of promoting innovation in the field of Big Data and data science.
He has more than 20 years of experience in initiating and implementing change programs on behalf of multinational management consulting companies. He later held management positions in industry-leading fintech companies in the provision of consulting, solutions and services. He has led business development initiatives, particularly in the areas of credit and business information, payment systems management, insurance, and sustainability.
Over the past decade, he has dedicated himself to building data science teams specializing in the collection and exploitation of alternative data in combination with proprietary data. In particular, he is engaged in developing information to support sustainability programs aimed at being climate neutral by 2050 (net zero emissions). He leads the 2021 G20 Techsprint award winning team on green and sustainable finance (analysis and assessment of transition and physical climate-related risks).
Rita Ghedini
Rita Ghedini was born in Ferrara, after volunteering work in local drug addiction rehabilitation services, she joined Cadiai Cooperativa Sociale as an educator in a therapeutic community, then moving on to coordination and management roles, up to the Presidency in 1999. President and administrator of companies for the development of social-health and educational services in the cooperative sector, she held important roles in the provincial and national bodies of Legacoop and Legacoop Sociali, including that of Vice-President of Legacoop Bologna. Elected to the Senate for the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2013, she left the cooperative positions. Resigned as a Member of Parliament, in November 2014 she became President of Legacoop Bologna. She is also Chairman of Assicoop Bologna Metropolitana S.p.a. and of Finanziaria Bolognese Fi.Bo. S.p.a., administrator in several cooperative companies, and president of Cooperare con Libera Terra, an Agency for cooperative development and legality.
Stefano Golinelli
Stefano Golinelli is member of the BoD and the Strategy Committee of Alfasigma, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bologna but with direct presence in 17 countries.
After graduating in International Relations at the Bologna University and pursuing postgraduate studies in The Netherlands and the UK, he joined Alfasigma where he covered various roles in commercial and staff functions, before leaving operative duties in 2023.
Since 2016, he also sits in the BoD of Fondazione Golinelli, a private philanthropic foundation promoting initiatives dealing with education, dialogue between arts & sciences, and entrepreneurship.
Laura Mantovani
Laura Mantovani holds a degree in Business Administration and serves as Chief Financial Officer of E4 Computer Engineering S.p.A., an Italian company based in the Data Valley, with more than 20 years of experience in designing and delivering end-to-end solutions for High-Performance Computing (HPC), Artificial Intelligence, and Quantum Computing. E4 has a strong presence in both the academic and enterprise sectors and has long collaborated with leading national and international research centers.
She is responsible for defining and implementing the company’s financial strategy, actively supporting revenue growth through scalable financial structures, advanced control models, and the establishment of new legal entities across Europe.
Laura brings over fifteen years of international experience as Head of Finance & HR in U.S. and French multinational companies, where she supported business expansion in the Italian market and strengthened the organizational structure and governance of European legal entities, adopting an approach focused on operational efficiency and process standardization.
Marina Silverii
Experienced leader in the coordination of technology transfer, research valorization, and talent attraction initiatives.
Currently Executive Director of ART-ER – Attractiveness Research Territory, the Consortium company of the Emilia-Romagna Region that promotes sustainable regional growth by fostering innovation, knowledge development, internationalisation, and territorial attractiveness. The Consortium operates with the strategic involvement of key stakeholders, including the Emilia-Romagna Regional Government, local Universities, and leading national Research Institutions.
She is also Vice-President of the Ecosister Foundation, established with funding from the PNRR, which supports the ecological transition of the regional system.
A former member of APRE’s Technical and Scientific Committee, she will join the Executive Board in June 2024. She is also a member of the Task Force on the new FP10 set up by the same organisation. Appointed by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), she serves as alternate to the Delegate on the National Delegation of the EIC and EIE Programme Committee under Horizon Europe 2021–2027.
She is a member of the Management Board of NEREUS, the European association that promotes the use of space technologies at regional level and represents the interests of European regions in the space sector. She is Vice-President of ABD – Associazione Big Data, a regional association established to network and enhance the expertise, research and innovation capabilities of stakeholders active in supercomputing and big data management, with the aim of amplifying the impact of investments made at local, national, European and international levels. Finally, he is a member of the Organising Committee of Open Innovation Materials & Manufacturing Europe 2027 (OIM2.eu)
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinasilverii/
Paola Scarpa
Paola Scarpa graduated in Management Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano and has built a strong background in digital strategy over more than 15 years at Google, where she held several leadership positions, ultimately becoming Managing Director of the Client Solutions, Data & Insights business unit. In this role, she led strategic digital consulting initiatives across multiple sectors, including Telecommunications, Lead Generation, Retail, Luxury, FMCG, and Healthcare.
In addition to her experience at Google, Paola has worked in strategic consulting and managerial roles at leading organizations such as Monitor Company, Vodafone, and Boston Consulting Group. Since September 2025, she has served as Chief Digital Transformation Officer at Lavazza Group, where she is responsible for leading the digital transformation of the entire Group by promoting the adoption of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence.
Long committed to promoting Women & STEM initiatives, Paola is an ambassador for projects both within her company and across the Italian and European landscape. In 2022, she received the Standout Woman Award; in 2020, Forbes included her among the 100 most successful women in Italy; and she is also among the 18 recipients of the 2018 “Merit and Talent” Award.
Stefano M. Stoppani
Stefano M. Stoppani a global executive with over 25 years of experience leading business transformation, international growth and innovation across financial and technology markets, with a career spanning Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. His expertise covers fintech, credit information systems and analytics, digital payments and inclusive finance.
Throughout his career he has held senior leadership roles in prominent international organisations: Group CEO at Creditinfo, Country Manager for Visa in Italy, and Region Director for India, the Gulf region, Latin America and the Caribbean at the CRIF Group. He previously worked at Experian, the world’s leading credit information company, and served as Credit Bureau & Risk Management Program Advisor at the International Finance Corporation (IFC – World Bank Group), leading credit system development and access-to-finance initiatives across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
He brings to IFAB an international perspective on digital transformation applied to financial markets and data systems at global scale, alongside a long-standing commitment to inclusive finance and development-oriented innovation.
He holds a degree with Honours in Political Science from the University of Bologna, a Master of Science in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and an Executive MBA from Bologna University Business School. Fluent in five languages.
Pierlorenzo Rossi
Pierlorenzo Rossi, born in Florence on 17 June 1963, has extensive executive experience within the cooperative system of Emilia-Romagna, having held senior leadership positions in management, organizational development, and innovation processes. A graduate in Agricultural Studies, he has progressively strengthened his managerial expertise through advanced executive education programs in business management, cooperative performance, and organizational development.
He began his professional career in the 1980s, gaining experience in training and association management. His first major role was as Territorial Manager of Irecoop Emilia-Romagna for the province of Forlì-Cesena. He later joined Confcooperative Forlì-Cesena, where he assumed positions of increasing responsibility, eventually serving as Secretary and then Director. In these roles, he coordinated the development of key economic sectors and contributed to the innovation of business support services.
Since 2013, he has served as Director General of Confcooperative Emilia-Romagna, overseeing the strategic coordination of the entire regional cooperative system. In this capacity, he has promoted initiatives aimed at modernizing the cooperative sector, with a particular focus on organizational transformation, service digitalization, and the development of new collaborative networks and platforms.
Alongside his executive responsibilities, he has held significant positions in various organizations and companies, contributing to the development of advanced skills and training programs, including in the digital field. He is actively involved in organizations focused on technological innovation and knowledge transfer, such as Romagna Tech, where he has served as a Board Member since 2024, and NODES, a network dedicated to the development of innovative projects. Since 2024, he has also been Vice President of ICN – Italia Consulting Network, an organization specializing in advanced services and strategic consulting. In addition, he has gained extensive experience in the association sector and currently serves as a Board Member of CIBA Brokers, as well as a Board Member of Cooperfidi Italia in the credit and financial services sector.
Throughout his career, he has held numerous positions on Boards of Directors and supervisory bodies of cooperatives, consortia, and institutions, contributing to territorial development, corporate governance, and the adoption of innovative organizational models. He has also held institutional roles and served within local banking foundations, building solid expertise in fostering relationships between the business community, public institutions, and regional development.
Marco Becca
Mr. Becca is the Director of IFAB. After graduating in Electronic Engineering at University of Bologna, he earned a Master in Business Administration (MBA) at SDA Bocconi in Milan. His working experience started in management consulting, with Accenture and then McKinsey&co, serving customers in Italy and Europe; then he worked as a manager for different multinational companies in different sectors (Telco, Insurance, Gaming), covering different C-level positions.
In the last decade he has been also involved in the Italian innovation ecosystem, being active as a business Angel (member of Italian Angels For Growth since 2012, and member of the screening commitee since 2020), entrepreneur (co-founder of FoolFarm, first Italian Venture Builder focused on AI and blockchain technologies, based in Milan) and Mentor and Board Member of various Startups
Contacts: marco.becca@ifabfoundation.org
Sanzio Bassini
Sanzio Bassini, Director of the Application and Innovation Department of Supercomputing of CINECA, the Italian Interuniversity Consortium.
After being a member of the Data Treatment and Computing expert group in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructure – ESFRI in the years 2004-2006, in the years 2011-2013 he was a member of the European e-Infrastructure Policy Forum and a member of the sub-group on data in G8 + O5 Global Research Infrastructure.
He has been independent reviewer of many international digital infrastructure projects, recently member of the expert committee of the Canadian Major Science Initiative Fund 2017 – 2022.
Over the years he has been Vice President of the Research Area of the European Technology Platform for HPC – ETP4HPC AISBL 2012 – 2014 and President of the Partnership for Advanced Computing – PRACE Council in the period 2014 – 2106.
After being the Italian Sherpa representative in the working group for the establishment of the JU EuroHPC, he is currently a Member of the EuroHPC Infrastructure Advisory Board and Leader of the EuroHPC Italian Pre- Exascale Leonardo Infrastructure Project.
He has been rector of the University of Bologna (2015-2021) and is full professor of Mechanics of Solids and Structures. Since 2007, he has carried out research in the field of computational mechanics. Numerical modeling, structural analysis, intelligent structures, historic and archaeological structures, structural monitoring and diagnostics are just a few of the main topics he wrote about, with more than 80 publications in International magazines.
He is also President of CINECA and Vicepresident of the Italian Research Center on High-Performance Computing, Big Data and Quantum Computing – ICSC.
Board of Directors
Maria Chiara Carrozza is Professor of Biomedical Engineeringand Biorobotics at University ofMilan-Bicocca, Department of Psychology. Former President of the National ResearchCouncil (CNR), she served as Chair of the EuropeanScience Advisors Forum (ESAF) and ofthe G6 Research Network in 2024. As a member of the European Commission’s High-LevelExpert Group for FP10, she contributed to the report “Act, align, accelerate.” From 2007 to2013, she was Rector of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, and from 2013 to 2018,she was a member of the Italian Parliament and a member of the European and ForeignAYairs Committee. She was Minister of Education, University, and Research from 2013 to2014. From 2018 to 2021, she was Scientific Director of the IRCCS Don C. Gnocchi.
Rita Ghedini was born in Ferrara, after volunteering work in local drug addiction rehabilitation services, she joined Cadiai Cooperativa Sociale as an educator in a therapeutic community, then moving on to coordination and management roles, up to the Presidency in 1999. President and administrator of companies for the development of social-health and educational services in the cooperative sector, she held important roles in the provincial and national bodies of Legacoop and Legacoop Sociali, including that of Vice-President of Legacoop Bologna. Elected to the Senate for the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2013, she left the cooperative positions. Resigned as a Member of Parliament, in November 2014 she became President of Legacoop Bologna. She is also Chairman of Assicoop Bologna Metropolitana S.p.a. and of Finanziaria Bolognese Fi.Bo. S.p.a., administrator in several cooperative companies, and president of Cooperare con Libera Terra, an Agency for cooperative development and legality.
Stefano Golinelli is member of the BoD and the Strategy Committee of Alfasigma, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bologna but with direct presence in 17 countries.
After graduating in International Relations at the Bologna University and pursuing postgraduate studies in The Netherlands and the UK, he joined Alfasigma where he covered various roles in commercial and staff functions, before leaving operative duties in 2023.
Since 2016, he also sits in the BoD of Fondazione Golinelli, a private philanthropic foundation promoting initiatives dealing with education, dialogue between arts & sciences, and entrepreneurship.
Laura Mantovani holds a degree in Business Administration and serves as Chief Financial Officer of E4 Computer Engineering S.p.A., an Italian company based in the Data Valley, with more than 20 years of experience in designing and delivering end-to-end solutions for High-Performance Computing (HPC), Artificial Intelligence, and Quantum Computing. E4 has a strong presence in both the academic and enterprise sectors and has long collaborated with leading national and international research centers.
She is responsible for defining and implementing the company’s financial strategy, actively supporting revenue growth through scalable financial structures, advanced control models, and the establishment of new legal entities across Europe.
Laura brings over fifteen years of international experience as Head of Finance & HR in U.S. and French multinational companies, where she supported business expansion in the Italian market and strengthened the organizational structure and governance of European legal entities, adopting an approach focused on operational efficiency and process standardization.
Pierpaolo Cristaudo, who holds a degree in business administration from Bocconi University in Milan, is Senior Director of CRIF, a global company whose advanced analytics area he leads internationally, with the objective of promoting innovation in the field of Big Data and data science.
He has more than 20 years of experience in initiating and implementing change programs on behalf of multinational management consulting companies. He later held management positions in industry-leading fintech companies in the provision of consulting, solutions and services. He has led business development initiatives, particularly in the areas of credit and business information, payment systems management, insurance, and sustainability.
Over the past decade, he has dedicated himself to building data science teams specializing in the collection and exploitation of alternative data in combination with proprietary data. In particular, he is engaged in developing information to support sustainability programs aimed at being climate neutral by 2050 (net zero emissions). He leads the 2021 G20 Techsprint award winning team on green and sustainable finance (analysis and assessment of transition and physical climate-related risks).
Experienced leader in the coordination of technology transfer, research valorization, and talent attraction initiatives.
Currently Executive Director of ART-ER – Attractiveness Research Territory, the Consortium company of the Emilia-Romagna Region that promotes sustainable regional growth by fostering innovation, knowledge development, internationalisation, and territorial attractiveness. The Consortium operates with the strategic involvement of key stakeholders, including the Emilia-Romagna Regional Government, local Universities, and leading national Research Institutions.
She is also Vice-President of the Ecosister Foundation, established with funding from the PNRR, which supports the ecological transition of the regional system.
A former member of APRE’s Technical and Scientific Committee, she will join the Executive Board in June 2024. She is also a member of the Task Force on the new FP10 set up by the same organisation.
Appointed by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), she serves as alternate to the Delegate on the National Delegation of the EIC and EIE Programme Committee under Horizon Europe 2021–2027.
She is a member of the Management Board of NEREUS, the European association that promotes the use of space technologies at regional level and represents the interests of European regions in the space sector.
She is Vice-President of ABD – Associazione Big Data, a regional association established to network and enhance the expertise, research and innovation capabilities of stakeholders active in supercomputing and big data management, with the aim of amplifying the impact of investments made at local, national, European and international levels.
Finally, he is a member of the Organising Committee of Open Innovation Materials & Manufacturing Europe 2027 (OIM2.eu)
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinasilverii/
Paola Scarpa graduated in Management Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano and has built a strong background in digital strategy over more than 15 years at Google, where she held several leadership positions, ultimately becoming Managing Director of the Client Solutions, Data & Insights business unit. In this role, she led strategic digital consulting initiatives across multiple sectors, including Telecommunications, Lead Generation, Retail, Luxury, FMCG, and Healthcare.
In addition to her experience at Google, Paola has worked in strategic consulting and managerial roles at leading organizations such as Monitor Company, Vodafone, and Boston Consulting Group. Since September 2025, she has served as Chief Digital Transformation Officer at Lavazza Group, where she is responsible for leading the digital transformation of the entire Group by promoting the adoption of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence.
Long committed to promoting Women & STEM initiatives, Paola is an ambassador for projects both within her company and across the Italian and European landscape. In 2022, she received the Standout Woman Award; in 2020, Forbes included her among the 100 most successful women in Italy; and she is also among the 18 recipients of the 2018 “Merit and Talent” Award.
Stefano M. Stoppani a global executive with over 25 years of experience leading business transformation, international growth and innovation across financial and technology markets, with a career spanning Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. His expertise covers fintech, credit information systems and analytics, digital payments and inclusive finance.
Throughout his career he has held senior leadership roles in prominent international organisations: Group CEO at Creditinfo, Country Manager for Visa in Italy, and Region Director for India, the Gulf region, Latin America and the Caribbean at the CRIF Group. He previously worked at Experian, the world’s leading credit information company, and served as Credit Bureau & Risk Management Program Advisor at the International Finance Corporation (IFC – World Bank Group), leading credit system development and access-to-finance initiatives across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
He brings to IFAB an international perspective on digital transformation applied to financial markets and data systems at global scale, alongside a long-standing commitment to inclusive finance and development-oriented innovation.
He holds a degree with Honours in Political Science from the University of Bologna, a Master of Science in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and an Executive MBA from Bologna University Business School. Fluent in five languages.
Pierlorenzo Rossi, born in Florence on 17 June 1963, has extensive executive experience within the cooperative system of Emilia-Romagna, having held senior leadership positions in management, organizational development, and innovation processes.
A graduate in Agricultural Studies, he has progressively strengthened his managerial expertise through advanced executive education programs in business management, cooperative performance, and organizational development.
He began his professional career in the 1980s, gaining experience in training and association management. His first major role was as Territorial Manager of Irecoop Emilia-Romagna for the province of Forlì-Cesena. He later joined Confcooperative Forlì-Cesena, where he assumed positions of increasing responsibility, eventually serving as Secretary and then Director. In these roles, he coordinated the development of key economic sectors and contributed to the innovation of business support services.
Since 2013, he has served as Director General of Confcooperative Emilia-Romagna, overseeing the strategic coordination of the entire regional cooperative system. In this capacity, he has promoted initiatives aimed at modernizing the cooperative sector, with a particular focus on organizational transformation, service digitalization, and the development of new collaborative networks and platforms.
Alongside his executive responsibilities, he has held significant positions in various organizations and companies, contributing to the development of advanced skills and training programs, including in the digital field. He is actively involved in organizations focused on technological innovation and knowledge transfer, such as Romagna Tech, where he has served as a Board Member since 2024, and NODES, a network dedicated to the development of innovative projects. Since 2024, he has also been Vice President of ICN – Italia Consulting Network, an organization specializing in advanced services and strategic consulting. In addition, he has gained extensive experience in the association sector and currently serves as a Board Member of CIBA Brokers, as well as a Board Member of Cooperfidi Italia in the credit and financial services sector.
Throughout his career, he has held numerous positions on Boards of Directors and supervisory bodies of cooperatives, consortia, and institutions, contributing to territorial development, corporate governance, and the adoption of innovative organizational models. He has also held institutional roles and served within local banking foundations, building solid expertise in fostering relationships between the business community, public institutions, and regional development.
Mr. Becca is the Director of IFAB.
After graduating in Electronic Engineering at University of Bologna, he earned a Master in Business Administration (MBA) at SDA Bocconi in Milan. His working experience started in management consulting, with Accenture and then McKinsey&co, serving customers in Italy and Europe; then he worked as a manager for different multinational companies in different sectors (Telco, Insurance, Gaming), covering different C-level positions.
In the last decade he has been also involved in the Italian innovation ecosystem, being active as a business Angel (member of Italian Angels For Growth since 2012, and member of the screening commitee since 2020), entrepreneur (co-founder of FoolFarm, first Italian Venture Builder focused on AI and blockchain technologies, based in Milan) and Mentor and Board Member of various Startups
Contacts:
marco.becca@ifabfoundation.org
Sanzio Bassini, Director of the Application and Innovation Department of Supercomputing of CINECA, the Italian Interuniversity Consortium.
After being a member of the Data Treatment and Computing expert group in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructure – ESFRI in the years 2004-2006, in the years 2011-2013 he was a member of the European e-Infrastructure Policy Forum and a member of the sub-group on data in G8 + O5 Global Research Infrastructure.
He has been independent reviewer of many international digital infrastructure projects, recently member of the expert committee of the Canadian Major Science Initiative Fund 2017 – 2022.
Over the years he has been Vice President of the Research Area of the European Technology Platform for HPC – ETP4HPC AISBL 2012 – 2014 and President of the Partnership for Advanced Computing – PRACE Council in the period 2014 – 2106.
After being the Italian Sherpa representative in the working group for the establishment of the JU EuroHPC, he is currently a Member of the EuroHPC Infrastructure Advisory Board and Leader of the EuroHPC Italian Pre- Exascale Leonardo Infrastructure Project.