Stone-Ideas.com 
At the first meeting of the new Board of Directors of Veronafiere Group, Barbara Ferro was elected as new CEO. She was also given strategic powers that include the development and management of extraordinary transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and divestments finalized for the consolidation and growth of the Group.
Responsibilities also include supervising the governance of controlled companies to ensure consistency with the guidelines in the business plan and the principles of transparency, economy and effectiveness. Special attention will also be given to the ESG area, with the task of defining and monitoring the Group’s sustainability policies, integrating them into ,ion-making processes and ensuring that the sustainability report is drafted in line with current legislation and market best practices.
“The ability of a trade fair operator to generate value is judged not only by profitability but above all by the positive impact she ensures for the “stakeholders,” starting from exhibitors through to visitors, suppliers, collaborators, local citizens and all the economic, social and cultural operators in our local area,” she said in a statement.
In respect of the ongoing changes in modern economy and society, she continued: “I believe that in this context, trade fairs are places where people meet, get to know each other, share opinions and shake hands, thereby playing a central role in fearlessly tackling complex scenarios. At the same time, we must identify unconventional responses and new opportunities.”
Barbara Ferro was born in Verona in 1967. After graduating in Statistical and Economic Sciences at Padua University, she began her professional career in the world of digital technologies and communication at Olivetti and Telecom Italia.
She then gained managerial experience in the finance sector, initially as a consultant at Ernst & Young and subsequently at Cattolica Assicurazioni as manager in charge of Planning & Control and Group Organization. Since 2004, she has focused on strategic financial consultancy for SMEs in the Veneto region, covering various production sectors.
In 2015, she became CFO of So.Ge.Si. S.p.A., a healthcare services company with seven hundred employees, where she was later appointed CEO in 2018. From the following year until 2024, as general manager of VdV s.r.l.-Vento di Venezia Marina Resort, she dealt with a sustainable urban regeneration project and the environmental and cultural redevelopment of La Certosa island in Venice. In 2024, she was also a contract professor for the master’s course in “Strategic management of tourism and cultural enterprises” at the University of Verona. Since 2025, she has supported companies as an ESG advisor for the design and development of sustainability strategies and reporting.
Source: Veronafiere S.p.A.