Focus on Italy - Finanza ed innovazione nel cuore dell’Europa

Following the legislative elections of 14 October 2018, Pierre Gramegna was re-appointed Minister of Finance in the coalition government formed by the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) and the Green Party (déi gréng). Pierre Gramegna first joined the government as Minister of Finance in 2013.

As Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna has initiated major reforms to balance the budget and to align Luxembourg’s tax rules with international transparency standards. Thanks to these efforts, Luxembourg’s AAA rating has been consistently confirmed by all major rating agencies and, in 2015, the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes upgraded Luxembourg to “largely compliant”. Pierre Gramegna is also a promoter of the diversification of Luxembourg’s financial centre, in particular with regard to FinTech and sustainable finance. He is the initiator and president of the LHoFT Foundation, which runs the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology. He has also further developed bilateral relations with China in the financial sector.

Pierre Gramegna puts particular emphasis on Luxembourg’s role in multilateral development banks. In 2014, Luxembourg became a member of the African Development Bank and, in 2015, Luxembourg was the first non-Asian country to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Currently, he is the chairman of the board of Governors of the AIIB. In May 2016, Pierre Gramegna was elected chair of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for a one-year mandate. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the European Investment Bank and on that of the European Stability Mechanism. He is also Luxembourg’s governor to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Pierre Gramegna studied law and economics at the Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), where he was awarded a master’s degree in civil law in 1981 and a degree in economic sciences in 1982. He completed his post-university education with a DEA (postgraduate diploma of advanced studies) in European Union law.

As a career diplomat, Pierre Gramegna joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1983. From 1996 to 2002, Pierre Gramegna was Luxembourg’s ambassador to Japan and South Korea. From 2003 to 2013, Pierre Gramegna held the position of Director General of the Chamber of Commerce.

Samantha Barbero is an international senior advisor, holding an MBA, with a management background in the financial services industry. She is in charge of institutional partnerships, strategic alliances and business development.

Currently working as an Ecosystem Manager at AssoFintech Italy – an Italian association focusing on FinTech, InsurTech and Proptech.

Samantha is also an entrepreneur leading a strategic advisory boutique focused on innovation and sustainable impact, supporting startups and SMEs bridging the gap between financial needs and sales revenues, partnering actively with investors and corporates.

Samantha collaborates with private and government entities, research centres and Tech Parks, industry’s confederations and associations representing the interests of SMEs, incubators and accelerators, Tech associations, M&A and IPO Advisors, Crowdfunding Platforms and Club Deals.

Samantha is a speaker at multiple industry’s events and has extensive international exposure.

Silvia Bracaloni is a Director in Wildgen’s insurance and litigation teams.

She is a member of the Luxembourg and Italian bar and offers advice and consultancy to local and European insurance companies, intermediaries and credit institutions, as well as assistance in judicial and extrajudicial litigation.

With a double master’s in European and insurance law and 13 years working in the Luxembourgish insurance industry, she has in-depth experience in European and national insurance regulation, insurance distribution, contract drafting and negotiation. Her focus is on cross-border issues.

Silvia is an active member of various working groups of the Association des Compagnies d’Assurance et de Réassurance (ACA) and chaired the Italian group from 2015 to 2019.

Before joining Wildgen, Silvia worked as an in-house lawyer within Luxembourgish insurance undertakings operating in different European countries under the Freedom to Provide Services.

In 2005, Silvia was admitted to the practice of law in Italy, where she developed sound expertise in contract, family and inheritance law.

Paolo Brignardello is the Chief Commercial Officer of FundsDLT, a fundtech company created in 2020 by Credit Suisse Asset Management, Natixis Investment Management, Cleastream Bank and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. FundsDLT is a cross-boundary, decentralized, blockchain-based platform offering next-generation services that make investment fund distribution easier, cheaper and transparent.

Prior to joining FundsDLT, Paolo spent seven years in the role of Head of Product Management and Marketing at Fundsquare, a leading investment fund information and regulatory services company, subsidiary of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. During his time there, from as early as 2016, he was part of a core team involved in the inception the ground-breaking FundsDLT project and its subsequent incubation by the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and Fundsquare.

Paolo has wide-ranging expertise in cross border fund distribution and the investment fund supply chain, having covered roles of operational responsibility and commercial support during more than twenty years of professional activity in companies such as RBC Investor & Treasury Services, KPMG, and FastNet (acquired by Caceis).

He holds an MBA from the Open University and a degree in economics from the Sapienza University of Rome.

Daniele Calderai graduated in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. Having lived in several European countries his vision about business is international.

Enthusiast about innovation and entrepreneurship, in 2019 he began to work in the LHoFT Foundation. His main role as Business Development Manager is to attract and support fintech entrepreneurs from all around the world to expand in Europe, using Luxembourg as a gateway.

Matteo Cernuschi is co-founder and COO of ANote Music, Europe’s first marketplace for investing in and trading music royalties, establishing music as a prominent alternative asset class.

Before becoming co-founder at ANote Music in 2018, Matteo worked in IT consultancy at Ernst & Young, Luxembourg, specializing in Business Process Modeling. Matteo has also held roles with the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce of Texas (IACC Texas, Houston), and with SES Satellites, the world’s leading satellite operator, based in Luxembourg.

Matteo holds a Master’s Degree in International Management from IE Business School in Madrid, Spain and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Financial Markets, from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. Matteo was also enrolled in a graduate course in Sustainable Finance and Investments at Harvard University in Boston.

Born in 1984, Alberto Dalmasso graduated in economics from the University of Turin. In 2008 he began his career working in the retail and import-export sector, working between Italy, the United States and Australia. After three years of experience in the marketing and business development division of Ersel (Private Banking and Asset Management), in 2013 he founded , Satispay, of which he is now CEO and co-founder, together with Dario Brignone and Samuele Pinta.

Vittoria advises on general investment fund and regulatory matters in relation to regulated and unregulated investment vehicles, both within a domestic and cross-border context. She holds an LLM in European and International Business Law from Leiden University and a Combined Bachelor and Master of Science in Law from Bocconi University (Milan). Vittoria joined Allen & Overy in 2017, prior to which she gained experience in the regulatory department at one of the Big 4.FARAONE Vittoria

Luca Lazzati joined the Luxembourg subsidiary of Intesa San Paolo group in 2001 where he worked in the wealth engineering and fiduciary services. In 2006 he joined the wealth engineering desk of the Private Banking of Société Générale Luxembourg.

In 2017 he was appointed as Deputy Head of the International Markets, a team of multilingual and highly skilled Private Bankers and Client Servicing Officers dealing with International Private Clients, with a specific focus on HNWI and UHNWI segments and is now also in charge of the Italian Market.

Luca has a Degree in Business Administration Università Luigi Bocconi, Milan, Italy.

Giorgio is Co-CEO, Global Head of Asset Management and Member of the Board of Directors of Azimut Holding, one of the largest independent asset management companies in Europe. He is also  General Manager and Member of the Board of Directors of Azimut Investments S.A., the Luxembourg management company of the Group. He is also a Member of Azimut Group’s International Operations Executive Committee and Member of the Board of Directors of AZ International Holdings S.A..

Since 2015, he is Azimut Group’s Regional Head of Turkey and MENA region. He has held the position CEO of Azimut (DIFC) Limited, Dubai (2015-2019) and CEO of Azimut Portföy Yönetimi A.S., Istanbul (2012-2015). From 2007 to 2012 Giorgio was a Portfolio Manager at Azimut Capital Management SGR, Milan. Prior to joining Azimut, he acted as an Equity Research Sales Analyst for Mediobanca, Milan (1999-2000) and Credit Suisse First Boston, London (2000-2007).

Giorgio holds a BA from the University Commerciale Luigi Bocconi Milan.

Alexandra has extensive international experience, and deep knowledge of European financial regulation from different perspectives: practitioner, advocate, policy maker. She has been in charge of EU Regulatory Affairs within Groupe Pictet since 2016.

Previous to Pictet, Alexandra was a Senior Regulatory Expert within Groupe BPCE’s Risk Department in Paris. She was seconded to the French Banking Federation for two years, leading bank advocacy initiatives.

Prior to that, Alexandra spent seven years in London, holding consulting and policy analyst roles at E&Y and the Financial Services Authority respectively. Before that, Alexandra was in Washington DC, working as an analyst at the IMF and World Bank.

Alexandra holds a Master in Law & Accounting from the London School of Economics and an MBA from the American University in Washington DC.

Alexandra is Chairperson of the ABBL’s Financial Markets & Intermediation Committee. She also Co-chairs ALFI’s Outsourcing Working Group. Alexandra is a regular panelist at ALRiM’s Conferences.

Francesca is a Partner within Deloitte Advisory & Consulting and specialized over the last fifteen years in strategy and regulatory advisory for FSI sector. Additionally Francesca sits in the Board of LHoFT, and leading the Chinese service group for FSI in Deloitte Luxembourg.

She is the project and team leader of multiple projects in parallel at the intersection of strategy, regulatory constraints and operations while combining an understanding of the methodologies with close attention to deadlines, cross-functional dependencies, budgets, priorities and cultural aspects.

With ESG focus, Francesca leads projects helping clients with the implementation of sustainable finance regulatory requirements and with the design of sustainable finance strategies; coordinates the CSR at Deloitte Luxembourg, including creation of impact reports; she is active member in local associations’ working groups on Sustainable finance and she is connected with the Sustainable Finance community and experts within the Deloitte network.

Francesca holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from University of Perugia in Italy and she is certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) from GARP.

Mattia Musetti is an Adviser for Luxembourg for Finance (LFF).

Mattia’s role is to advise LFF and its stakeholders on the strategic orientation of the financial centre, specializing on a number of topics including talent, insurance and private equity. He represents the Luxembourg financial industry abroad and helps others understand Luxembourg’s financial services and fund structuring toolbox and the industry in general.

He advises international financial services companies, FinTechs and MNEs to develop and scale up globally their cross-border financial operations through Luxembourg as the gateway to Europe. His geographic focus of attracting financial companies to Luxembourg is global, with specialties in North America, India, Italy, Russia & CIS and Eastern Europe.

Niccolo Polli was appointed Chief Executive Officer of HSBC in Luxembourg in December 2018 and is responsible for all of HSBC’s operations covering Private Banking and Wealth Management, Securities Services, Wholesale Banking and Asset Management.

Niccolo joined HSBC Group in 2011 and worked in a variety of roles, including Head of Strategy UK and Chief of Staff to the UK CEO, Deputy to the Head of Global Business Banking and most recently Head of Strategy Europe International, with Armenia, Belgium, Czech Republic and Poland CEOs directly reporting to him.

Prior to joining HSBC, Niccolo had a varied career in finance in the USA, UK, France and Italy before becoming CEO Italy for a large London-based alternative investment management firm.

Niccolo holds a BSc from Stanford and an MBA from INSEAD and 2020 was recognised as a Global OUTstanding Top 50 LGBT+ Ally, prepared by INvolve and sponsored by Yahoo Finance.

Enrico Turchi is Conducting Officer for Amundi Luxembourg S.A., where he also sits in the Board of Directors and acts as Deputy CEO.

Enrico Turchi has 29 years’ international experience in the financial industry of which the last 18 spent in asset management in Luxembourg. Prior to these assignments he covered COO/CFO positions in UniCredit branches in London, where he was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the company pension scheme, and in Hong Kong.

He holds an INSEAD Certificate in Corporate Governance and he is an ILA Certified Director since 2015. Enrico sits on the Board of a number of Luxembourg SICAV, mostly associated with Amundi. He is active in a number of ALFI working groups and other industry forums.

Amundi is the largest European asset manager by AuM and ranks in the top 10^th globally. It manages, as of 30.06.2021, 1.794 trillion Euros. Amundi employs 4,800 investment professionals in more than 35 countries.