Roberto Cingolani

Roberto Cingolani (born 23 December 1961) is an Italian physicist, academic, and manager who served as Minister for Ecological Transition in the Draghi government from 2021 to 2022. On 10 May 2023, the board of directors of Leonardo appointed Cingolani to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and General Manager.

Early life and education Cingolani was born on 23 December 1961 in Milan, in the Italian region of Lombardy. He spent his childhood in Bari, in the Southern Italy region of Apulia, where he graduated from the University of Bari in 1985 with a degree in physics. He obtained his doctorate there in November 1988, and his PhD at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa in 1990. From 2005 to 2019, Cingolani was scientific director of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa. In an interview in May 2025, Cingolani stated that Europe would create large defence companies through mergers and acquisitions.

Cingolani returned to the internal negotiations within the Meloni government on the appointments of the top management of Leonardo, Enel, Eni, and Poste Italiane. Some observed argued that Law No. 60 of 1953 (Art. 6) would make the position of managing director of a subsidiary incompatible with that of former member of Parliament for a period of one year after leaving office, as in the case of Cingolani. In 2024, the Ethical Finance Foundation submitted a report on this matter to Leonardo's audit committee.

Political career After the Ponte Morandi collapse in 2018, Cingolani was selected by the first Conte government as a special commissioner for the reconstruction of the bridge; Cingolani refused this charge and suggested the name of Marco Bucci, who was subsequently appointed. On 13 February 2021, Cingolani was appointed minister for ecological transition in the national unity government led by Mario Draghi. He criticized environmental activists for being too ideological in their approach and called for a slower sustainable transition. In turn, climate activists expressed concern over Cingolani's calls for a slower transition and his statements supporting increased use of natural gas. Together with the then Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, Cingolani appointed senior diplomat Alessandro Modiano as Italy's first-ever special envoy for climate change in January 2022. Since leaving government office, Cingolani began to informally advising Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on energy policy.

Other activities Since 2023, Cingolani is a member the board of directors of De Mora.