Name: Madeleine Fares
Position: Executive Secretary
E-mail: madeleine.fares@aics.gov.it
Name: Ahmed Aly
Position: Administrative Accountant
E-mail: ahmed.aly@aics.gov.it
Name: Ramez Anwar
Position: Archivist
E-mail: ramez.anwar@aics.gov.it
Name: Ramy Ziino
Position: IT Officer
E-mail: ramy.ziino@aics.gov.it
Name: Aurora Leo
Position: Team Leader Gender and Migration
Bio: Aurora joined AICS in February 2021 and moved to Cairo in September 2023 as the technical focal point for the gender and migration portfolio. She has been working in the field since 2014, mostly in the Sub-Saharan and MENA regions.
E-mail: aurora.leo@aics.gov.it
Name: Ashraf Samuel
Position: Robbiki Team Leader
Bio: Ashraf joined AICS Cairo in January 2018 to manage a the Robbiki Programme for the development of the leather industrial sector in Egypt. He brings to the AICS Office more than 28 years of experience in international cooperation abroad, mostly with the International and Italian Organizations and agencies.
E-mail: ashraf.samuel@aics.gov.it
Name: Anna Paola Favero
Position: Team Leader Governance and Social Development
Bio: Anna Paola joined AICS Cairo in January 2022 to manage a portfolio of ongoing and future projects on children, persons with disabilities and social development. She brings to the Office more than 16 years of experience in international cooperation abroad, mostly with the UN.
E-mail: annapaola.favero@aics.gov.it
Name: Felistas Gicheru
Position: Procurement Officer for EU-ZIRA3A
Bio: Felistas joined AICS Cairo in May 2024 as a Procurement Officer for the EU-ZIRA3A programme. She has over 7 years’ experience with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Kenya, Tunisia and Sudan mainly as a Finance, Administrative, and Procurement expert in the EU delegated projects.
E-mail: felistas.gicheru@aics.gov.it
Name: Antonio Bottone
Position: Team Leader – Debt Swap
Bio: Antonio joined AICS Cairo Office in March 2022 to coordinate the portfolio related to the Italian-Egyptian Debt-for-Development Swap Agreement and act as Head of the Technical Support Unit. He brings to the Office more than 15 years of experience in Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, mostly in the Middle East and North Africa region.
E-mail: antonio.bottone@aics.gov.it
Name: Laura Calandrella
Position: Monitoring & Evaluation Expert
Bio: After working for more than 4 years as Programme Officer at the Technical Support Unit of the Italian-Egyptian Debt-for-Development Swap (IEDS) Programme, Laura joined AICS Cairo in September 2023. As M&E Expert, she is responsible for technical and financial monitoring of projects funded under the IEDS Programme.
E-mail: laura.calandrella@aics.gov.it
Name: Nicola De Mastro
Position: Team Leader of EU ZIRA3A
Bio: Nicola joined AICS Cairo in January 2023 after long experience as an engineer for infrastructures in the private sector and over 10 years with Italian Cooperation in Kenya, Sudan and surrounding countries, for the management of cooperation programmes in Health sector and WAter Sanitation Hygiene sector (WASH).
E-mail: nicola.demastro@aics.gov.it
Name: Francesca Gugelmo
Position: Financial and Administrative Coordinator for EU-ZIRA3A
Bio: Francesca joined AICS Cairo at the beginning of 2023. She manages the administrative and financial aspects of the EU-ZIRA3A Programme (24M) and supports the general administration of AICS Cairo's office. Prior to this role, she spent three years working for the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Viet Nam, focusing on administration and finance in various development cooperation initiatives.
E-mail: francesca.gugelmo@aics.gov.it
Name: Nicola Tucci
Position: EU-MEPEP Programme Coordinator
Bio: Nicola is Senior Governance, Legal and Environmental Policy Expert who joined AICS Cairo in September 2023 to lead the EU-MEPEP Programme, bringing over 17 years of experience in a senior project management capacity. Nicola is a specialist in EU projects and funding programmes for research and innovation. He also has more than 12 years of experience in local development-related fields and in knowledge & technology transfer for public and private sectors.
E-mail: nicola.tucci@aics.gov.it
Name: Alberto Tarantino
Position: WATDEV Project coordinator
Bio: Alberto joined AICS Cairo as Project Coordinator for the Climate-Smart Water Management and Sustainable Development for Food and Agriculture in North-East Africa (WATDEV) project, funded by the EU. Alberto specifically oversees the multi-actor coordination across the four countries of intervention. With a degree in Economics and a Master's in Cooperation and Development, Alberto brings to the office over 7 years of expertise in both the profit and non-profit sectors.
Email: alberto.tarantino@aics.gov.it
Name: Ruggero Orlandi
Position: Administrative/Finance Team Leader
Bio: After a long experience in the private sector as a Certified Accountant and Auditor, Ruggero shifted to the humanitarian and development cooperation field in early 2017. He gained experience in Sierra Leone with an NGO, then with AICS Khartoum and AICS Addis Ababa. Following a two-years, role as legal/finance/administrative manager for an Eu funded programme in Khartoum. In January 2022, Ruggero joined AICS Cairo as administrative and finance Team Leader.
E-mail: ruggero.orlandi@aics.gov.it
Name: Carmelo Armetta
Position: Team Leader for Rural Development and Environment
Bio: Carmelo is an agronomist who manages the portfolio of rural development and environment focusing on programs in food security, food safety, green economy and natural resources management. Prior to this, he worked in the Andean Region and in the Amazonian Rainforest with the Italian Cooperation and United Nation Agencies for the safeguard of natural resources and to improve the resilience of the rural communities to the negative effects of the climate change.
E-mail: carmelo.armetta@aics.gov.it
Name: Simona Campidano
Position: Team Leader, Private Sector Development
Bio: Simona joined AICS Cairo as Team Leader in Private Sector Development. She manages the portfolio of initiatives aiming at strengthening the Egyptian private sector. Prior to this, she worked for the Italian-Egyptian Debt-Swap Programme, The American University in Cairo, and other private and non-profit entities working in the field of development cooperation.
E-mail: simona.campidano@aics.gov.it
Name: Jacopo Tavassi
Position: EU-Portfolio Coordinator.
Bio: Extensive experience in the strategic management of complex and multi-stakeholder projects acquired during his work for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United Nations, and the private sector has been making Jacopo able to strongly support the AICS-Cairo Office in structuring and broadening the cooperation with the EU in Egypt since 2021 as EU-Portfolio Coordinator. Jacopo obtained a Ph.D. in International and EU law for socio-economic development at the University of Naples “Parthenope” and published several articles for international law newspapers.
E-mail: jacopo.tavassi@aics.gov.it
Name: Paolo Curradi
Position: EU-KAFI Programme Coordinator
Bio: Paolo joined AICS Cairo in May 2024, as EU-Kafi Programme Coordinator, bringing an extensive experience in development cooperation and international partnership having worked in different regions (Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Caribbean and Central America) since 1985, in different sectors, ranging from Rural Development to Infrastructure, Local Authorities Development, Basic Services and Social Sectors.
He has been working mainly with the European Union both at Headquarters in Brussels and in various EU Delegations. Due to his increasingly important managerial positions, he has been working in close collaboration with governmental institutions, UN agencies (UNDP, FAO, WFP i.a.), EU Member States Development Agencies, private sector and civil society organisations. Paolo also has been Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegations to Madagascar (f.f.), Central African Republic and Honduras.
E-mail: paolo.curradi@aics.gov.it