Structure and governance

Governance

AVSI is governed by:

Meeting of Founding Members
Committee of Partners
Board of Directors
President, Vice-President and Secretary General
Board of Statutory Auditors

Meeting of Founding Members

Founding Members are institutions and natural persons who have qualified as such on transformation of the AVSI Association into the AVSI Foundation by the Shareholders' Meeting through a resolution adopted unanimously and democratically by those present (December 2, 2004).

33 Founding Member organizations (from 24 countries)
11 individuals: Alberti Arturo, Bassi Massimo, Bisulli Raffaele, Castelli Ezio, Ciantia Filippo, Michelini Livio, Mingucci Roberto, Molteni Mario, Novara Enrico, Tagliabue Fulvia, Zoli Valeria

Committee of Partners

Partners, whether institutions or natural persons, are those who have been as such qualified by the AVSI Meeting upon transformation of the Association into a Foundation (on December 2, 2004), through a resolution democratically adopted unanimously by those present. Natural persons and institutions contributing in a continuous and significant manner to the life of the Foundation and to realization of the Foundation’s objectives outside relationships of employment or regular collaboration, may apply to became Partners. The Meeting of Founding Members grants the status of Partner. The Committee of Partners meets at least once a year.

The Committee of Partners currently has 89 participants:

88 individuals (32 women and 56 men)
1 organization

Board of Directors

The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors currently comprising six members. Directors serve a four-year term which expires on the date of the Meeting called for the approval of the final balance related to the last financial year of their term. Directors may be re-elected. Members of the Board of Directors are nominated by the Meeting of Founding Members through a vote by Founding Member Institutions only.

President, Vice-President, Secretary General

They are appointed by the Board of Directors and serve a four-year term.
On June 30, 2025 Patrizia Savi was appointed President, Daniele Sacco Vice-President and Giampaolo Silvestri Secretary General.

Members of the board of Directors

Emanuele Bracco

Associate Professor of Political Economy at the University of Verona

Associate Professor of Political Economy at the University of Verona, he holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. He is the author of numerous publications and a member of the Scientific Committee of the De Gasperi Foundation and of the Research Department of the Ezio Tarantelli Foundation. Since January 2025, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of FNM Pay S.p.A., a company of the Ferrovie Nord Group.

Marilena Chessa

Former Magistrate

She served in the judiciary from 1983 to 2020. After experience in adult criminal law as a Deputy Public Prosecutor and Trial Judge at the Ordinary Court of Milan, from 2001 she served as a Judge at the Juvenile Court of Milan, dealing in particular with juvenile offenders and the protection of adolescents at risk of deviant behavior. Alongside this role, she consistently carried out teaching, training, and research activities, which continued even after leaving office, in collaboration with academic institutions.

Donato Di Gilio

President of FITT POLSKA sp. z o.o., former President at AVSI Polska

He founded CORE sp. z o.o. in 1994, a Warsaw-based consulting firm supporting foreign investors, particularly Italian ones, in the Polish market on legal, tax, corporate finance, M&A, and subsidized finance matters. He served as its Chairman and CEO until February 2026, when the company was renamed Strategic Management Partners sp. z o.o., where he currently serves as Partner and Vice President. He chaired AVSI Polska from 1993 to 2025 and co-founded the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Poland in 1996, serving as its President from 2009 to 2013. He also holds senior positions in various international companies and business associations.

Lorenzo Ornaghi

Former Dean of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan

Honorary President of the High School of Economics and International Relations (ASERI). He has taught Political Science and History of Political Thought at the University of Teramo, the University of Italian Switzerland, and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, where he served as Rector from 2002 to 2012. From November 2011 to April 2013, he served as Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities. He chairs the Scientific Committee of the De Gasperi Foundation and of Costruiamo il Futuro ETS.

Daniele Sacco

HR Partner at Consulting s.a.s., Adjunct Professor at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan

HR Partner at Consulting s.a.s. and professor at the Catholic University of Milan, he has 40 years of global experience in human resources management and organization within large multinational groups. He has held the positions of Group HR, Legal, Real Estate and Organization Director at Mondadori Group, Chief Operating Officer HR at Rio Tinto, and senior HR management roles at Kraft and Ferrero. A member of international boards of directors and advisory boards, he was appointed Vice President of AVSI – ETS in June 2025.

Patrizia Savi

Chief Financial and Risk Officer at SEA – Aeroporti di Milano

President of AVSI – ETS since 2017, after serving as Board Member and Vice President. She is Chief Financial and Risk Officer of SEA Group, which manages Milan Linate and Malpensa airports, Chairwoman of SEA Prime and Areas Food Services, and a member of the Board of Directors of SACBO S.p.A. Previously, she was Chief Financial Officer of A2A Group and held governance and supervisory positions in listed companies, including Alerion Cleanpower.

Giampaolo Silvestri

Secretary General at Fondazione AVSI – ETS

Secretary General of AVSI – ETS since 2013, he joined the Foundation in 1996 and has held leadership roles in the project area and executive management, operating in complex international contexts. He is a member of the National Council for Development Cooperation (CNCS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and of the Board of Directors of Fondazione Triulza. Since 2024, he has also been a member of the Steering Committee of the Mattei Plan, and since 2015 has written for Corriere della Sera on development cooperation issues.

Board of Statutory Auditors

President: Delia Gatti
Members: Piergiorgio Gusso, Alfredo Tradati

Advisory Board

Appointed by AVSI Board of Directors, the Advisory Board is made up of authoritative and qualified personalities external to the Foundation, who can provide consultancy support in the direction of the activities, in particular in the definition of strategic guidelines also considering the complexity and changeability of the context where the Foundation operates, or on specific issues that the Board resolves to submit to it.

The current members of AVSI Advisory Board are:

Angelino Alfano, former Deputy Prime Minister and three-time Minister of the Italian Republic. Currently Chairman of the San Donato Hospital Group, President of the De Gasperi Foundation and partner of the law firm Bonelli Erede;
Paolo Lembo, Member of the Superior Advisory Council of the University of Peace (UN), he worked at the United Nations from 1987 to 2019, holding top positions mainly in the management of complex emergencies, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Burundi, Kosovo, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen;
Stefano Manservisi, Professor at the Paris School of International Affairs and at the Florence School of Transnational Governance (European University Institute), Chairman of the Board of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, former Director General of the Directorate for International Cooperation and Development of the European Commission.
Alfredo Mantica, Industrial Executive, he was elected Senator of the Italian Republic in 1987 and served for six legislative terms until 2013. He held the position of Undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with responsibility for Cooperation and Development in Africa and the Middle East from 2001 to 2006 and again from 2008 to 2011.

Supervisory Board

President: Benedetta Colombo, Lawyer at “Studio Legale Associato Lecis Cannella Grassi”
Giorgio Brandazza, Chief Executive Officer at Corneliani S.r.l.
Claudio Consigliere, AVSI Internal Auditor

Internal Audit

Claudio Consigliere is currently serving as Internal Auditor as appointed by AVSI Board of Directors on June 16, 2021.

Organizational structure

In 2025, AVSI has updated its organizational model to strengthen operational efficiency, clarify responsibilities, and respond more effectively to global challenges.

The new structure is organized into four main levels, reflecting the different functions of strategic direction, support, operations, and local-level coordination. The changes introduced aim to promote an organizational culture oriented toward shared responsibility, coordination across levels, and innovation.

Executive Area: it leads the definition of strategic guidelines and the overall coordination of the organization, promoting behaviors aligned with AVSI’s founding values and high-quality standards.
Back Function – HQ Departments: this area comprise the main support departments for the headquarters, Regions, and Countries, ensuring the efficiency of internal processes and contributing to the institutional positioning of the organization.
Front Function – HQ Departments: responsible for fundraising, the development of new opportunities, and support for project implementation, in synergy with regional and country teams.
Regional Areas: responsible for the direct management of projects in the countries, in constant dialogue with the headquarters.

AVSI works for a world where each person, aware of their own value and dignity, is the protagonist of their own integral development and that of their community, even in emergency contexts.

More about our mission, vision and method