The Members of WeWorld’s Advisory Board

We are strengthening our governance and positioning through the establishment of an Advisory Board, composed of professionals with diverse and international experience who will work alongside our President, Marco Chiesara.

The Advisory Board aims to provide strategic support to the foundation by fostering dialogue with private institutions, promoting the foundation’s work within new networks and organizations, and contributing to projects and potential international synergies. The members of the Advisory Board are Elena di Giovanni, Sabika Shah Povia, John Hooks, Carmelo Reale, Maria Cristina Origlia, Paolo Iacci, Lara Carrese, Cristiana Scelza and Antonio Fazzari.

WeWorld is one of the top ten international cooperation organizations in Italy, working in 27 countries worldwide on over 120 development cooperation and humanitarian aid projects.

Elena Di Giovanni, Vice President and Co-founder of Comin & Partners. She has international experience in institutional relations, corporate communications, media relations, and cultural promotion. She is also actively involved in sustainability initiatives and in promoting gender equality in the workplace. Throughout her career, she has served as Director of Communications and External Relations for the La Biennale di Venezia Foundation, AlmavivA, and Expo 2015, and was Head of the Press Office for Mondadori magazines. She currently serves on the board of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome (GNAM) and teaches at the LUISS Guido Carli Business School in Rome. She is on the steering committee for the bachelor’s degree program in communication at LUMSA in Palermo. She is a board member of Venetian Heritage and communications advisor for Diplomatia.

Sabika Shah Povia, a graduate in Journalism from the London College of Communication, has been working as a freelance journalist for over ten years. Her work focuses on immigration, political and religious extremism, social integration, racism, and its connection to Italy’s colonial past. Since August 2019, she has been part of the editorial staff of Propaganda live (LA7). She collaborates with the Carta di Roma Association to train journalists in Italy and abroad on the rules and regulations governing immigration. She has contributed to national and international publications, including Reuters, Dawn News, La Repubblica, and The Post Internazionale, and has served as a consultant for Amnesty International’s press office. In 2022, her first documentary, The Mayor - Me, Mussolini and the Museum, was released, produced by Road Television and Illégitime Défense, in collaboration with Rai Documentari and ARTE.

Carmelo Reale, General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of Directors at Banca Generali. In addition, he coordinates sustainability initiatives involving the banking group while maintaining relationships with international organizations and ESG rating agencies. He has participated in projects aimed at unaccompanied migrant minors arriving on the coast of Sicily, his birthplace. He serves on the advisory board of an international charity focused on the role of women in the Arab world and collaborates with LUISS Guido Carli University, his alma mater, on mentoring initiatives for refugee students and those from Mediterranean countries.

He earned his law degree in 1999. Before joining the Generali Group, Carmelo worked at leading international law firms in Milan, London, and the U.S., focusing primarily on banking and financial law. In 2013, he joined the Generali Group, first serving as Head of Group Strategic Legal Affairs at Assicurazioni Generali and subsequently becoming Group General Counsel and a member of the Global Management Committee of the Europ Assistance Group in Paris, where he also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Europ Assistance Italia. He is admitted to practice law in both New York State and Italy.

John Hooks has worked in the high-fashion industry for over 40 years. A graduate of the University of Oxford, he joined Gruppo Finanziario Tessile S.p.A. (GFT) in Turin and held positions at leading fashion houses such as Ungaro, Armani, Dior, and other brands. He headed Valentino’s ready-to-wear division from 1985 to 1988. From 1988 to 1994, while based in Hong Kong, he helped establish GFT’s regional subsidiaries in Japan, Korea, and China (one of the first foreign fashion joint ventures in that country). He subsequently headed all sales and marketing operations for Jil Sander GmbH in Hamburg, Germany, before joining Giorgio Armani SpA in Milan in 2000, where he became vice president of the Armani Group. From 2011 to 2014, he served as Group President of Ralph Lauren EMEA. He has been a senior consultant for McKinsey & Co. and is currently an independent consultant. He has served on numerous boards of directors, including those of Miroglio SpA and Trussardi SpA, and has been a non-executive member of the board of directors of Manchester United plc since 2012.

Maria Cristina Origlia is a socio-economic journalist with experience in editorial management of magazines, web content, videos, and book series, as well as an essayist and columnist, who has always stood out for her systemic and innovative take on current events. She has developed deep expertise in the evolution of governance and managerial culture from a sustainability perspective, which she has applied during her 20 years at the Sole 24 Ore Group—including eight years as editor-in-chief of the magazine “L’Impresa”—and through her extensive involvement in conferences, debates, and talks, both as a speaker and as a chairperson. He also led one of Italy’s first blogs dedicated to sustainability (“Avoicomunicare” by Telecom) and hosted the television segments “Circular Economy” and “Leadership” for Reteconomy/Sky. Today, he contributes to Harvard Business Review Italia, writes for the Alley Oop-Sole 24 Ore blog, and contributes to Il Dirigente, Progetto Manager, and Divercity. He also enjoys designing original formats such as “SHAKE. Another Vision of the Future”—a performance that blends various artistic languages in a theatrical setting, now in its second edition—and “Capitani Coraggiosi,” a series of provocative video interviews on leadership.

She is a member of the Scientific Committee of Gi Group’s Observatory on Sustainable Work and of the Advisory Board for the COM.FIL.DEC (Philosophical Competencies for Economic Decisions) master’s program at the Catholic University. Furthermore, as President of the Meritocracy Forum, she is committed to promoting the culture and practice of merit in Italy through innovative projects with a strong social impact, which systematically target young people, organizations, and institutions. Her first book is A Matter of Merit: Ten Proposals for Italy (Guerini, 2020). Finally, she serves on the steering committee of the City of Biella’s literary festival, #fuoriluogo, which she has helped grow since its inception seven years ago.

Paolo Iacci. President of Eca Italia and National President of AIDP Promotion (Italian Association for Personnel Management), he holds the chair in “Human Resources Management” at the University of Milan, having previously served as President of BCC Credito Consumo and General Manager of the Pride Group, now Ericsson Servizi. Prior to that, he held positions as Director of HR and Organization at Italtel, Reader’s Digest, Banca Intesa, and Iccrea Holding. A former member of the Board of Directors at Bocconi University, he currently serves on the boards of several public and private companies. He is the founder of two foundations, Lavoro & Sostenibilità and HR Women. He is the author of numerous management books, editor-in-chief of the web magazine HR On Line, scientific director of the quarterly journal Direzione del Personale, and a contributor to Harvard Business Review.

Lara Carrese. Human Resources expert, business and life coach with a master’s degree in counseling and Voice Dialogue. She has successfully tackled various corporate challenges—startups, phase-outs, turnarounds, M&A, cultural transformations, and crisis management—always guided by strong discipline and a bold work ethic. She has lived and worked on four continents. Key experience in Canada, Argentina, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, Russia and the CIS, and Japan. A multicultural, multisectoral, innovative, and business-oriented partner: making things happen. Lara Carrese’s insights can be found in several books: “Women: Finding, Rediscovering, and Changing Jobs” (L. Adani, 2008); “But How Do You Do It?” (L. Adani, 2012); “Smart Challenge: The Inevitable Revolution” (Various Authors, 2020); “Corporate Culture: The Operating System That Makes Companies Grow” (A. Rimassa, 2020).

Cristiana Scelza. VP of Prysmian Europe MID and Sustainability, President of Valore D, with a degree in Chemistry and an EMBA from the Kellogg School of Management and WHU Otto Beisheim University, she has gained solid technical and managerial experience in managing complex organizations at the international level. After joining Pirelli’s R&D team as a materials expert, she worked in laboratories on new materials and subsequently as a process engineer in the development of extrusion technologies. She then moved to the Industrial Cable Business Unit as a Technical Expert, supporting the implementation of new products and technologies at plants in China, India, Russia, Australia, and North America. Returning to R&D as Product Development Manager, she later served as Worldwide Energy Director. In 2014, she became Business Unit SURF Director in Brazil, with responsibility for production, sales, the income statement, and the supply chain for umbilical cables and flexible hoses for the local and international markets. In 2019, she was appointed Country Manager for Prysmian Russia, based in Moscow. Effective March 1, 2023, she served as Country Manager for Prysmian Netherlands, leading a team of approximately 700 people and three manufacturing facilities. From January 1, 2024, to August 1, 2025, she served as EVP of the Electrification Business Unit at Prysmian. Since August 1, 2025, she has been VP of Prysmian Europe MID and Sustainability, with responsibility for a European portfolio generating over 6 billion euros in revenue across various business units and application areas. Since June 2022, he has been President of Valore D, an Italian association committed to developing inclusive workplaces and a more equitable society. Since October 28, 2025, he has been a member of the Advisory Board of WeWorld, appointed by the Board of Directors.

Antonio Fazzari, 52, from Rome, has 28 years of experience in marketing and sales of consumer goods and pharmaceutical products. After a long career in Italy and abroad at Procter & Gamble, he has served as General Manager of Fater since 2020—a joint venture between P&G and Angelini Holding—which operates in Italy with brands such as Pampers, Lines, and Ace, and is present in 25 countries worldwide. Antonio holds a “Senior Coach” certification from the Institute of Leadership and Management and has taught “Marketing” at Lumsa University in Rome and “Coaching” at Luiss University in Rome. He is the author of the book In Viaggio con il tuo Talento (Journey with Your Talent), published by Franco Angeli, and is the founder and partner of Case for Change, a training and strategic consulting firm.