Governance: Experiences and Curricula

Massimo Abbate

Head of Administration and Finance Department

Massimo Abbate has been Head of Administration and Finance since 2015, after consolidating  his previous positions, both managerial and non-managerial, over the course of his decades-long career in GES.A.P. in the administrative / accounting and financial area of the Company. He is responsible for all financial and administrative activities, including financial returns, financial plans, treasury and banks, credit management, accounting and sustainability reports.

He was President of the Handling Company GH Palermo S.p.A.; member of the “Corporate and taxation “working group of Assaeroporti and member of the Board of Directors of Prevaer (Supplementary pension fund for employees of airport companies and related companies).

Before joining the GES.A.P. team S.p.A. Massimo Abbate has carried out his freelance profession as a chartered accountant, with experience in the teaching field and has been a member of the Council of the Regional Province of Palermo and President of the District.

Currently, he also holds the office of President of the Board of Statutory Auditors of ISMETT s.r.l in Palermo and is a member of the Assaeroporti “Charges and Tariffs” Working Group.

He graduated in Economics and Commerce at the University of Palermo and obtained his qualification as a chartered accountant with registration in the register of auditors.

Natale Chieppa

General Manager and Accountable Manager – Head of Commercial and Marketing Department – Head of Human Resources Department – Head of Operations Department

Following a selection, since May 2018 Natale Chieppa has taken on the role of General Manager and Accountable Manager of GES.A.P. S.p.A. for which, since 2015 he has been Head of Commercial  and Marketing Department with responsibility for managing the development of commercial traffic (flights / pax) and related business opportunities, as well as non-aviation commercial activities (retail, parking, advertising) .

He joined GESAP in 2010, as Manager in charge of the Terminal Area Department, he contributed to the realization of the commitments and the organizational and infrastructural development deriving already from the engagements assumed with the first Program Agreement 2011/2014.

He also currently holds the positions of Head of Commercial and Marketing Department (maintained since his previous appointment), Head of Human Resources Department and Head of Operations Department.

In his professional career, he was CEO of the subsidiary GH Palermo SpA.

Before joining the GES.A.P. team SpA, Natale was CEO of GH Italia S.r.l. in  Naples; Chief Executive Officer of GESAC Handling S.p.a. (Alisud Group) in  Naples, where he also held the position of General Manager. Previously he had the responsibility for the Airport Services Management and then for the Commercial Management of Naples airport (GESAC S.p.a.); he was also Marketing and International Services Director of TNT Traco SpA in Turin and National Sales Manager at UPS Italia – Milan.

He was a member of the International Association of Independent Handlers (IAHA), Vice President of the Assohandling Association and member of the board of the Association of Italian Handlers (Assohandlers).

Natale Chieppa graduated with honors in Sociology at the University of Naples and attended specific managerial training courses (Cranfield Institute, Mercer Management, Huthwaite / Varriale, BAA in-house Training Airport Operations, BAA Retail Management Training).

Vincenzo Petrigni

Legal and Procurement Department Manager – Technical and Infrastructure Department Manager

Vincenzo Petrigni – lawyer – is currently the Manager responsible for the Legal and Procurement Department and the Technical and Infrastructure Department.

He joined GES.A.P. in 2008 as manager in charge of the General and Legal Affairs Department, throughout his  experience in the Company he over time assumed the positions of Head of the Organization and Human Resources Department, Security Manager, Head of the Logistics Department and, from 2016 to May 2018, he held the position of Accountable Manager of the Company.

Before entering GES.A.P., he held  numerous positions: Administrative Director at the University of Palermo; Deputy Secretary General of the Regional Province of Palermo; Director of the University Consortium of Palermo; Executive Coordinating Officer at the A.M.I.A. Personnel  Office, Director of Penitentiary Institutes in various Italian offices and equivalent to Deputy Quaestor of the State Police.

He is a member of the Board of Auditors of Assaeroporti.

Graduated with honors in Law, he is a lawyer authorized to practice legal and forensic profession inside the Company, registered in the Special List of the Court of Palermo; he graduated in regional law at the University of Palermo. He followed specific training courses at the IFSC in Rome, at the National Association of Lawyers and at the Council of the Bar Association of Palermo

Gabriella Romito

Quality and Environment Manager

Since August 2016, Gabriella Romito has been Head of the Quality and Environment Department.

She began her professional activity at Palermo airport in 2005 as a consultant to the Company Management for support in the activities aimed at obtaining Aerodrome Certification and the implementation of the Safety Management System, as well as in business analysis and implementation of the internal control system, thus continuing the activity carried out in 2004 within the team of consultants of PriceWaterHouseCoopers.

During her career in GESAP, she held the role of Safety Manager, Head of the Technical Secretariat of the Accountable Manager, Head of the Internal Audit Department, Head of the Secretariat of the Board of Directors and Head of the Business Analysis Department.

She was Coordinator of the Assaeroporti Safety & Ops Working Group, as well as member of the Executive Board of the IFSC – Italian Flight Safety Committee.

Before working in GESAP, Gabriella Romito collaborated with the PW&C company, participating in numerous projects in the industrial, services and manufacturing sector.

Graduated with honors in Economics and Commerce at the University of Palermo, she obtained the qualification to exercise the profession of Chartered Accountant and Auditor.

During her professional activity in the company, she attended specific technical and managerial training courses at accredited public and private institutions (ENAC, ENAV, ANSV, IFSC, ACI, IATA, Airsight GmbH, Faculty of Engineering of the University of Bologna, PricewaterhouseCoopers SPA).

She was professor for 2nd level University Masters in Auditing, Aviation Safety Management System and Airport Management and was speaker at conferences, workshops and training courses on Safety Management System.