With a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florence, Valerio Battista is a manager with extensive skills and experience built up in the industrial sector over 30 years, first with the Pirelli Group and then with the Prysmian Group, where he took the helm in 2005. His earlier roles within the Pirelli Group included the restructuring and reorganisation of Pirelli Cables in the period 2002-2004, becoming one of the sector's most profitable and competitive businesses.
Playing a key role in the 2005 creation of the Prysmian Group, which obtained a stock exchange listing in 2007, the Group has since become a world leader in the supply of power and telecom cables. Valerio Battista became an Executive Director of the Company in December 2005. With reference to his current mandate, he was elected on 12 April 2018 from the list presented by the Board of Directors, which obtained the majority of the votes cast at the Shareholders’ Meeting.
Member of the Board of Directors of Prysmian Group since 2014, in May 2023 he was designated as next Group CEO candidate (effective as from the 2024 annual general meeting) by Prysmian board of directors. Prior to his appointment as Chief Operating Officer Prysmian Group in February 2021, he was the CEO of Prysmian Group North America. Starting his career in the Pirelli Group in 1987 he held various positions in R&D and Operations and in 2002, he was appointed as the Pirelli Group Operations Director for Power Cables and Telecom Cables and from 2005, the CEO of Prysmian UK.
More recently, he was the CEO of Prysmian Group North America from June 2018 to February 2021. Battaini graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano has an MBA from SDA Bocconi.
Maria Cristina Bifulco, graduated with honours at Università Commerciale “L. Bocconi” in Milan and completed her MBA in Strategic Management at the Kingston Business School in London. After the MBA she joined Bloomberg Financial Services in London and in 2008 she moved to Italy where she joined Snam SpA where she firstly served as Head of Financial Markets Analysis and Investor Relations and then as Head of Foreign Subsidiaries, coordinating acquisitions of foreign participations. In 2013 Maria Cristina became Head of Investor Relations at Indesit Company SpA and joined Prysmian Group in 2014 as Group Investor Relations Director.
In 2021 she was also appointed as Group Chief Sustainability Officer.
Graduated from Milan's Bocconi University in 1991 with a degree in Business Economics. His initial work experience was gained at Nestlè Italia, where he held various roles in the Administration and Finance area from 1991 to 1995. Between 1995 and 2001 he worked for several companies within the Panalpina group, including as Regional Financial Controller for the Asia and South Pacific area and as Administration, Finance and Control Manager at Panalpina Korea (Seoul) and at Panalpina Italia Trasporti Internazionali S.p.A. In April 2001 he become the Finance and Control Director of the Consumer Services BU at Fiat Auto, which he left in 2003 on appointment as the CFO of Benetton Group, where he stayed until November 2006. Facchini joined the Board of Directors of the Company in February 2007. With reference to his current mandate, he was elected on 12 April 2018 from the list presented by the Board of Directors, which obtained the majority of the votes cast at the Shareholders’ Meeting.
