PROFILE: ALESSANDRO PROFUMO

Profumo is CEO of UniCredit Group, chairman of the supervisory board of HVB and of the supervisory board of Bank Austria Creditanstalt, and a member of the board of directors of Mediobanca.

Born in Genoa, Italy, on 17 February, 1957, Profumo was educated at the Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi in Milan, where he received a degree in Business Economics. He then began his career in 1977 at Banco Lariano, an Italian regional bank. In 1987 he joined management consultants McKinsey, where he was responsible for strategic and organisational projects for financial companies.

In 1991 Profumo joined Riunione Adriatica di Sicurtà, the insurance arm of Allianz Group, as general manager in charge of the banking and banking-related sectors. He then joined Credito Italiano in 1994 as deputy general manager in charge of planning and group control. A year later he became general manager, and in 1997 he was appointed CEO.

In 1998, Credito Italiano merged with six Italian regional banks and Profumo was appointed group CEO of UniCredito Italiano. Following the merger in late 2005 with HVB the company’s name changed again, to UniCredit Group.

Profumo is a member of the supervisory board of Deutsche Börse in Frankfurt, the board of the European Banking Federation in Brussels, and the European Financial Services Round Table in London.

Profumo’s directorships include the Teatro alla Scala Foundation, the Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, and the Italian Association for Cancer Research.

A Knighthood of the Republic of Italy was conferred on Profumo in 2004 for his contribution to the development of the banking industry in Italy.