Francesco Profumo is Chair of FCSP. The Chair is appointed by the General Council, which also appoints the Vice-Chair. He or she holds office for four years, like the General Council, and can be re-appointed once only. He or she is FCSP’s legal representative; chairs meetings, establishes their agenda, directs the work of the General Council and Management Board; is entitled to take urgent measures in the interests of the FCSP and reports on them to the Management Board.
Francesco Profumo
Francesco Profumo, who was born in 1953, has been Chair of FCSP since May 2016.
He was Minister of Education, Universities and Research from November 2011 to April 2013 and Chair of the National Research Council (CNR) from August 2011 to January 2012.
In 2003, Francesco Profumo became Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin, and then served as Chancellor of the same university between 2005 and 2011. He is currently a Full Professor of Electrical Drives and Machinery at the Polytechnic University of Turin, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Bologna.
Internationally, Francesco Profumo has held posts at universities in a wide range of countries, including Argentina, China, Hungary, Albania, Romania, Latvia, USA, Japan and the Czech Republic. His prolific academic record has earned him Honorary Research Doctorates from 10 universities in different countries.
He is also a member of the Turin Academy of Science and the European Academy.
From 1978 to 1984, Francesco Profumo worked as a Design Engineer the Ansaldo Research & Development Centre in Genoa. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Telecom, Pirelli, UniCredit Private Banca and Il Sole 24 Ore, and Chair of IREN Group until May 2016.
Francesco Profumo is currently Chair of Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Chair of Fondazione ESMI ESCP Europe/Turin Campus, Chair of CDI Italia, Collège des Ingénieurs Italia, a member of the Board of Directors of Fondazione Agnelli, and a member of the Scientific Council of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT).
He has won a number of awards, including the Golden Lion in Turin in 2008, the Valdo Fusi Prize in 2011 and the Guido Carli Prize, also in 2011. He was also Chairman of the G8 University Summit 2009 in Italy and Chairman of Columbus (an association of 55 European and Latin American universities).
Francesco Profumo was appointed Chair of FCSP on 9 May 2016 and reappointed on 4 May 2020. He has also served as Chair of ACRI (Associazione di Fondazioni e di Casse di Risparmio SPA – the Italian association of bank and savings bank foundations) since May 2019.
