Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo was appointed Chairman of Leonardo on May 9, 2023. He is Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and Knight of Merit of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. Moreover, he has been awarded NATO’s Meritorious Medal for Outstanding Service and the 2022 Amato Lamberti Prize for Social Responsibility. Former Senior Civilian Representative of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Afghanistan from June 2020, he previously served as the Italian Ambassador to Pakistan until February 9, 2020, and as Diplomatic Advisor to the Italian Defense Minister from January 2013 to October 2015, serving under Minister Giampaolo di Paola, Minister Mario Mauro and Minister Roberta Pinotti. He held various positions in the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Head of the Financial Office of the Directorate General for Development Cooperation and Chief of Staff of three deputy Secretaries General and/or deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs; he was later the Deputy Director General for Africa.