Special Advisor
NERA

Special Advisor for NERA, Economic Consulting, specializing in strategic advisory to regulators and utilities in energy, telecom and other infrastructure sectors. Franco leads business development in selected areas of renewable energy and telecom and brings corporate strategy and business perspective to the team of economists based in Rome.

Is founder and Sr. VP of Carrick Bend, which markets the full range of products offered by MIGA – the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency - i.e., the political risk insurance arm of the World Bank Group. Franco advises Carrick Bend clients on structuring investment proposals, integrate risk mitigation instruments made available by MIGA and attracting foreign direct investors – both industrial and financial – into the project.

Special Advisor for the Americas, Pirelli & C. Ambiente (2007-2008) in Bethesda: he was responsible for business development in the USA with a focus on deploying HQ-SRF – i.e., the proprietary Solid Recovered Fuel technology developed by Pirelli as a substitute for coal in power plants and cement kilns. He led the development of projects in Pennsylvania, in partnership with a leading US agro-industrial / financial group. He also monitored climate change and renewable energy policies/legislation and managed relations with Federal / State authorities (Penn., New Jersey, New York). Pirelli Ambiente is the Group’s division operating in PV, Site Remediation, Solid Recovered Fuels.

Sr. Banker and CAO of Violy, Byorum & Partners, Holdings (1999-2000) in New York: he coordinated the Staff functions and provided leadership and guidance to 35 staff in Research & Intelligence and Corporate Communication; he developed firm relations and expanded the strategic advisory activities in telecom, automotive, diversified manufacturing, and financial sector.
CEO and President of the Fiat USA (1990-98) in New York: he led the Fiat Group Corporate Office in NA ($15M budget under different legal entities) including 70 staff providing services to Group operating companies in US, Canada and Mexico, including Fiat USA Inc.); Fiat Services Inc. (Audit, Tax, Legal, Human Resources, Accounting, Payroll & Benefit Admin., Pension Management, Information Technology); Fiat Finance NA Inc. (Cash Management, Corporate Finance).

Director / Officer / Committee Member of FIAT Group Companies in N.A. (1994 – 1998), including pension/asset management (Fiat, New Holland), AlfaRomeo / Ferrari / Fiat Auto; mechanical and electronic components (Comau / Magneti Marelli); farm and construction equipment (Fiat Allis / New Holland); trucks manufacturing (Iveco); power generation / aircraft engine components (Fiat Avio); plastic engineering, biomedical and pharmaceutical (Sorin / Snia, IncStar, Nyltech); wholesale and retail finance; He participated in the listing of New Holland at the NYSE; was member of the steering committee for the sale in 1997 of IncSTAR Inc. (a cardio-tech company listed on NASDAQ and participated by Sorin Biomedical Inc.); was member of the management committee, and later of the steering group for the purchase of the 51% interest of Ford Motor Co. in Ford-New Holland Credit (the JV between Ford and Fiat/New Holland, which provided wholesale financing of all farm equipment sold in NA);

Secretary General of the International Advisory Board (IAB), Fiat (1994 – 1998) – i.e., the Board-level entity established in 1994 to provide global macro and geopolitical scenarios and analyses on their impact on the Group’s global operations. He reported to the IAB Chair - Giovanni Agnelli – and IAB Vice Chair – Henry Kissinger – and was responsible for the analytical support and preparation of periodic meetings of the IAB in which the Group international strategies were thoroughly reviewed.

The strategic advisory work conducted between 1999 and 2007 consisted in the systematic analysis of investment and financing flows to the Americas. As Coordinator of the Strategy Office of the President of the IADB (2000 – 2003) Franco was responsible for monitoring the work of the Board of Directors and providing Pres. Enrique V. Iglesias with analytical and strategic inputs on IADB lending and investment strategies; he also coordinated the 2001-02 review of the IADB role and corporate strategy conducted by the External Advisory Group (EAG) and chaired by J. Angel Gurría; this includes drafting reports and recommendations approved by the IADB Governors in Fortaleza, BR; conducting due diligence and survey of IADB clients, rating agencies, and Development Community leaders.

Later on, as Special Advisor, Developmental Effectiveness Dep., IADB (2004-2007) he provided vision, leadership and guidance on Bank financial and technical assistance for private sector development including competitiveness and innovation policies; development of agro-energy value chains and industry clusters; Micro-SME lending and strategies to promote financial innovation in credit and capital markets of countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia.