Governance
AVSI is governed by:
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).
- 34 Founding Member organizations (from 25 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 90 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.
In 2021 Patrizia Savi was appointed President, Alfredo Mantica Vice-President and Giampaolo Silvestri Secretary General.
Members of the board of Directors
Marilena Chessa
Former Judge at the Juvenile Court of Milan
Marilena Chessa served as a magistrate from 1983 to 2020. After significant experience in the adult criminal justice system, as Deputy Prosecutor and Trial Judge at the Ordinary Court of Milan, in 2001 she became a Judge at the Juvenile Court of Milan. As regards criminal law, she dealt with juvenile offenders, while in the civil/re-educational sector with interventions to protect adolescents at risk of deviant behavior. While performing her jurisdictional functions, she also always taught and participated in conferences, seminars and training courses aimed mainly at lawyers, psycho-social workers and professionals in areas related to juvenile justice. She is still involved in research, promoted by or with the involvement of the Juvenile Court of Milan, in collaboration with the academia.
Daniele Contini
Country Managing Director at Just Eat Italy
Daniele Contini is Country Managing Director of Just Eat Italy. Previously, he worked as CEO of Subito.it, which belongs to the international media group Schibsted, for which he also served as Director of Operations for Southeast Europe and Africa. He has also held other senior positions in companies focused on digital innovation, such as Fastweb and Microsoft.
Alessandro Maffioli
Chief Development Effectiveness Division at IDB Invest
Alessandro Maffioli is head of the Development Effectiveness division at IDB Invest. He oversees the organization’s Impact Management Framework. During his 18 years at IDB Group, he coordinated impact evaluations of projects in areas such as agricultural development, science and technology, small and medium enterprise productivity, and access to credit. Before joining the IDB Group in 2004, he spent five years at the Institute of Latin American and Transition Country Studies at Bocconi University, focusing his research on innovation and regional economics.
Alfredo Mantica
Former Senator and Deputy Minister
An industrial executive, Alfredo Mantica was elected Senator of the Italian Republic in 1987 and for six terms until 2013. He served as Undersecretary for Cooperation and Development for Africa and the Middle East at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2001 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011.
Lorenzo Ornaghi
Former Dean of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan
Lorenzo Ornaghi is Honorary President of the Alta Scuola di Economia e Relazioni Internazionali (ASERI) of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, of which he was the Dean from 2002 to 2012. He served as Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities from November 2011 to April 2013.
Patrizia Savi
Chief Financial and Risk Officer at SEA – Aeroporti di Milano
Patrizia Savi is Chief Financial and Risk Officer of the SEA Group. She is President of SEA Prime and Areas Food Services and also a Board Member of Dufrital. Previously, she was Chief Financial Officer of the A2A Group and Director in the Group’s subsidiaries and investee companies.
Giampaolo Silvestri
AVSI Foundation Secretary General
Giampaolo Silvestri joined AVSI in 1996. He was Project Coordinator for Eastern Europe, then became Director of the Project Department and later on Executive Director. In 2013, he was appointed Secretary General and then confirmed for a new four-year term in 2017 and 2021. In 2015, he was appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as a member of the National Council for Development Cooperation, as a representative of civil society organizations and other non-profit entities. In the same year, he began collaborating also with the Interministerial Committee for Human Rights. In October 2017, he was appointed a fellow of the International Affairs Institute.
Board of Statutory Auditors
- President: Michele Grampa
- Members: Delia Gatti, 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.
Appointed on September 14, 2020, 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.
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 his or her own value and dignity, is the protagonist of his or her own integral development and that of his or her community, even in emergency contexts.