Strategic appointments for success
Headed by Valerio Battista, Prysmian is characterised by a dedication to open and transparent business practice, enshrined in the Code of Ethics and spearheaded by key experts who inspire market confidence.
Graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Florence University, Valerio Battista is a manager with extensive knowledge and understanding of the industrial sector thanks to more than 20 years of experience, initially with Pirelli Group and then with Prysmian Group, of which he took the lead in 2005.
He held positions of increasing responsibility in the Pirelli Group, particularly for the restructuring and reorganisation of Pirelli Cavi, which was one of the most profitable and competitive organisations in its industry between 2002 and 2004.
In 2005 he played a key role in the creation of the Prysmian Group, leading to its flotation in 2007.
Fabio Romeo has been Chief Strategy Officer since January 2014. After graduating in Electronic Engineering at Milan's Polytechnic University in 1979, he obtained an MS. and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California in Berkeley.
Romeo began his career at Tema (ENI Group) as Product Manager for its chemical plants and in 1982 he moved to Honeywell as a technical advisor to the Group's CEO. In 1989 he joined Magneti Marelli as Innovation Manager of the Electronics division, later becoming Director of the Electronics Systems division.
In 2001 he moved to Pirelli Group, where he held the position of Director for the Pirelli Tyre division's Truck business unit, and Director of the Pirelli Cable division's Utilities business. Director of Prysmian’s Energy Cables division since 2005, in 2011 he became Prysmian’s Executive Vice President, Energy Business.
Pier Francesco Facchini obtained a degree in Business Economics from Bocconi University (Milan) in 1991. His first work experience was with Nestlé Italia where, from 1991 up to 1995, he held different positions in the Management and Finance departments.
From 1995 up to 2001, he worked with the Panalpina Group where he held the position of Regional Financial Controller for the Asia-Pacific region. During his career here, he was also appointed CFO of Panalpina Korea and Panalpina Italia Trasporti Internazionali S.p.A.
In April 2001, Facchini was appointed CFO of the Consumer Services Business Unit of Fiat Auto, and from 2003 until November 2006, he held the position of CFO of the Benetton Group.
He became CFO of Prysmian Group in January 2007.
Andrea Pirondini has a degree in Business Administration from Università Commerciale L. Bocconi, Milan. He started his career in Pirelli Group in 1989, holding various positions in the UK, Italy, Turkey, Russia and Egypt over a 24-year period, both in the Tyre and Cables & Systems Sectors, where he took part in the restructuring of the industrial system for Energy Cables. In 2012 he was appointed Chief Commercial Officer of Pirelli Tyre S.p.A, a role he held until December 2013.
Pirondini has been Chief Operating Officer of Prysmian Group since January 2014.
Massimo Battaini has been Senior Vice President Energy Projects of Prysmian Group since January 2014.
He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan and an MBA from SDA Bocconi (Milan). He started his career in Pirelli Group in 1987 and held various positions in R&D and Operations over an 18-year period. After running the Business Development department for two years, covering the three Business Divisions of Tyres, Energy Cables and Telecom Cables, in 2002 he become Operations Director of Energy Cables and Telecom Cables for Pirelli Group. In 2005 he was appointed CEO of Prysmian UK and in 2011 Chief Operating Officer of Prysmian Group.
Hans Nieman became Senior Vice President for Energy Business Products in January 2014. After graduating cum laude in Literature at the University of Amsterdam he was educated as a diplomat at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs during several national and international assignments.
He switched to the private sector in 1992 and joined the cable industry almost 20 years ago where he held several positions for NKF, Pirelli and Prysmian. In 2002 he took responsibility for the Groups Submarine and High Voltage activities, and in 2010 became CEO of the German activities of Prysmian, a position he held until 2014.
Philippe Vanhille has been Senior Vice President Telecom Business since May 2013. After graduating as a Mechanical Engineer in Lyon (France) in 1989, he began his career as a Research Engineer for Renault Formula 1 development, and then moved to the cable industry in 1991 with Alcatel Cable.
Over the past 20 years he has held a number of senior operations and general management positions within the cable industry for Alcatel and Draka in the Energy, Copper Telecom and Optical Fibre sectors. He was head of Draka's global Optical Fibre Business Unit at the time of the Prysmian merger, holding the same position within Prysmian Group until his appointment as Senior VP Telecom Business.
Cristiano Tortelli holds a degree in Electronics and a master’s degree in Business Administration. Tortelli has a long experience in the Oil & Gas industry, with several international assignments in the Middle East, Africa and Russia.
During his 15-plus years in GE Oil & Gas, he held various positions including Subsea Chief Commercial Officer, Russia & East Europe CEO, Turbomachinery Global Sales General Manager and West Africa and Middle East Operations General Manager. He then joined the Air Liquide Group in Germany, leading the Engineering & Solution organization as VP & Chairman.
Tortelli became Senior Vice President for Oil & Gas Prysmian in January 2016.
A graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil, Marcelo Andrade has developed his entire career at Prysmian Group, which he joined in 1988.
Over the years he has served in various roles, initially relating to R&D and then to Quality, Plant Management and Sales, dealing with all of the Group’s main business units in various countries. Since 2012 he has been SVP Research & Development, where his day-to-day responsibilities include innovating to create new products and systems for the Group
A graduate in Business Administration from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, with a specialisation from SDA Bocconi University of Milan, Fabrizio Rutschmann began his career at the Electrolux Group, where he served in various Human Resources positions before becoming HR Director of one of UniCredit’s seven banks.
Joining the Pirelli Group in 1999 as Human Resources Manager of the Tire Business Unit’s Italian Division, Rutschmann became Pirelli’s Chief HR Officer in 2006.
Since June 2010, Rutschmann has been SVP Human Resources & Organisation at Prysmian Group.
