Riccardo Perissich

Of Italian and French nationality, Riccardo Perissich had a first experience in Italconsult S.p.A, from 1962 to 1964, in 1966 he joins the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) in Rome, with the responsibility to coordinate studies on the European Communities. In 1968 he becomes deputy director.

In 1970 he moves to the European Commission in Bruxelles. From 1972 to1977 he is Chief of Staff of Commissioners Spinelli and Guazzaroni. From 1977 to 1981 he is director in charge of energy savings and economic analysis in the Directorate General for Energy. From 1981 to 1986 he is Chief of Staff of Commissioners Giolitti and Ripa di Meana. In  1986 he becomes Deputy Director General of the DG for Internal Market and Industrial Affairs and in that position he coordinates for the European Commission the Single Market  program. From 1990 to 1994, he is Director General of the DG for Industry.

From 1994 to 2006 he is Director Public and Economic Affairs of Pirelli S.p.A in Milan and member of the Board of Directors.

From 1^st of October 2001 to 31^st of December 2006 he is Director Public and Economic Affairs of Telecom Italia Group.

From 14^th of December 2001 to 5^th of May 2003 he is member of the Board of Directors of Telecom Italia Mobile S.p.A.

From 4^th of September 2002 to 16^th of January 2007 he is Chairman of Seat Pagine Gialle S.p.A (later Telecom Italia Media).

From 2007 to 2009 he is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Oni Communications , a telecom operator in Lisbon (Portugal)

From 2010 to 2017 he is executive vice chairman of the Council for United States and Italy.

From January 2018 he is Senior Fellow of the School of European Political Economy of LUISS University in Rome.

Until his resignation from Telecom Italia he was also Member of Confindustria and of Assolombarda Executive Committees, Member of Assonime Executive Committee, Vice Chairman of Unione Industriali e delle Imprese di Roma, of Assoimmobiliare and of the Radio and TV Federation, Member of the Board of the Enciclopedia Treccani.

He is  Member of the Board of the Institut Jaqques Delors –Fondation Notre Europe in Paris, founded by Jaques Delors. He is member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (London), of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (Rome) and of the Aspen Institute Italia (Rome).

Languages: Italian (mother tongue); French and English (fluent).

He is “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” of the French Republic.

He writes regularly for Italian and foreign newspapers and magazines on Europeans and international affairs. In april 2008 he published a book : “L’Unione Europea – una storia non ufficiale” (Longanesi ed., Milan), with a preface by Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Italian Republic. The book has been awarded the “premio Capalbio Europa”. He has published three novels: “Le regole del gioco” (ed. Longanesi, 2012).,  “Il Seminatore” (ed. Longanesi 2014) and “Insospettabili” (ed. Longanesi 2016). In 2019 he has published a new book on European affairs, “Stare in Europa: sogno, incubo e realtà” (ed. Bollati Boringhieri).