EU FINANCE DAYS 2025: Financing Competitiveness Italy, Rome, 19th June 2025

Marion Aubert has been a seconded national expert at the European Commission since May 2023, where she works as a policy officer in the Sustainable Finance Unit of the DG FISMA. Her work focuses on Taxonomy reporting and Transition Finance. Previously, she worked at the Banque de France in the Climate Change Centre.

Head of the EIB Group Office in Italy - Head of the Infrastructure, Energy and Public Sector Division (Italy and Malta) Milena Messori is the EIB Group's representative in Rome since February 2024, she is responsible for infrastructure, utilities and public sector financing in Italy and Malta.

During her career at the EIB Group, Milena Messori has accumulated an extensive experience in operations outside the European Union, holding various roles as Interim Director for the Private Sector Department and Head of Equity and Venture Capital Division. Between 2009 and 2012, Milena Messori served as the Head of the EIB Group Office in Bucharest. Milena Messori started her career at the World Bank and was at that time responsible for infrastructure projects in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She holds an MBA from INSEAD, a Master's degree in International Affairs from George Washington University - Elliott School as a Fulbright scholar, and a degree in International and Diplomatic Sciences from the University of Trieste

As Head of Unit for Sustainability in the European Investment Fund's (EIF) Guarantees, Securitisations, and Inclusive Finance Department, Raluca Stanciu is at the forefront of fostering a greener economy. She actively promotes the green transition and sustainability within the SME market, particularly through her work on the InvestEU Sustainability Guarantee. In her role, Raluca oversees portfolio guarantee transactions with the EIF’s Financial Intermediaries and serves as the thematic lead for sustainability initiatives. Raluca joined the EIF in 2019, bringing valuable expertise from commercial banking in structured finance and the SME sector.

Giorgio Chiarion Casoni, Director of Directorate C ‘Investment & InvestEU’, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SME (DG GROW), European Commission.

Giorgio Chiarion Casoni developed his professional career at the European Commission where he managed financial programmes in support of SMEs before becoming responsible for coordination of the activities of the European Commission with the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Investment Fund, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other IFIs. He was Director of Directorate ‘InvestEU and financial institutions’ in DG Economic and Financial Affairs, responsible to establish and manage InvestEU, the Union’s flagship investment programme under the current Multiannual Financial Framework. He is the currently Director of Directorate ‘Investments & InvestEU’ in DG GROW.

The mission of the Directorate is to stimulate competitiveness, growth and job creation in Europe by enhancing investment opportunities within the Single Market. The Directorate is responsible for promoting public and private investment in EU priority areas by designing, implementing and promoting activities in support of access to finance, including through InvestEU, financial instruments, IPCEIs and other actions.

A leading expert in materials, he directed the Graphene Labs at the Italian Institute of Technology (2013-2020) and the energy division of the €1 billion European Graphene Flagship (2015-2020).

With over 200 publications and 10+ patents, he has taught and lectured at several prestigious institutions including the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa and Columbia University in New York.

In 2016, he founded Bedimensional, now serving as its CEO and Chair of the board. The start-up has raised over €36 million in combined private and public funding for 2D crystal technology development, recently securing an additional €20 million venture debt from the European Investment Bank for a major production facility. Committed to science popularization, he is a prolific author of articles for general audiences and published the book “Il lampo dell’Elettrone” Codice Edizioni, in 2021.

Executive Director Sales & Marketing Imprese – Intesa Sanpaolo SpA.

Nata a Torino, si laurea nel 1989 in Economia e Commercio e inizia a lavorare come revisore contabile per Coopers & Lybrand. Dopo questa esperienza e un master in Business Administration approda nel 1991 in quello che allora era l’Istituto Bancario Sanpaolo di Torino. Negli anni ricopre ruoli di responsabilità in vari ambiti con esperienze molto trasversali nel gruppo: Finanza, Crediti, Comunicazione e Layout Filiali, Pianificazione e Controllo di Gestione, Marketing Territoriale, Direzione Commerciale Personal, fino ad approdare nel 2018 alla Direzione Sales & Marketing Imprese, di cui è a capo da gennaio 2020. È inoltre membro del CdA di SRM, NEVA SGR S.p.A. e INTESA SANPAOLO INNOVATION CENTER S.p.A.

Giulio Ventura works as Senior Advisor in the Financial Intermediaries Advisory team at EIB. In his current role manages InvestEU sutainability financing related advisory mandates for financial institutions in EU. Previously worked in front office and risk management roles across EIB and investment banks and asset management industry. He has a Master degree in business and administration and he is a Certified Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

Martina Colombo is the Head of European Affairs at Gruppo Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A. (CDP). She oversees the EU affairs of CDP, Italy's National Promotional Institution (NPI), and the Financial Institution for International Cooperation and Development Finance (IFI and DFI).

Since joining CDP in 2004, Martina has played a pivotal role in the institution's growth following its spin-off from the Ministry of Finance in 2003. Her career at CDP includes various significant roles: initially as Head of Strategic Planning and Financial Control, then as Head of International Activities in Business Development, and later as Head of Blended Finance in International Development Cooperation. Throughout these positions, she has consistently contributed to innovating CDP's business model and expanding its activities both domestically and internationally.

Over the past decade, Martina has become an expert in managing EU-funded programs, both within and outside Europe. She has designed financial instruments that leverage donor and mandator funds alongside CDP's resources to finance sustainable development. Martina also served as Blended Finance Senior Advisor for the G20 Development Working Group during Italy's G20 presidency.

From early 2021 to mid-2023, Martina was a Seconded National Expert at the European Commission, advising on the implementation of EU-funded programs with a focus on sustainability and climate impact, particularly InvestEU and the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Since April 2024, Martina has been serving as an Alternate Board Member of the European Investment Fund (EIF) and as the coordinator of the Financial Institutions’ Shareholder Group (FISG) of the Fund. Prior to her tenure at CDP, Martina worked for Citigroup in Corporate and Investment Banking. She holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and a post-graduate Certificate in Management and Administration from Harvard University.