Francesco Profumo

Francesco Profumo (born 3 May 1953) is an Italian engineer and academic who was Italy's Minister of Education from 16 November 2011 to 28 April 2013. He has been president of the National Research Council (CNR) since August 2011 and had previously served as Chancellor of the Politecnico di Torino from 2005 to 2011. He is also the current rector of Open Institute of Technology.

Early life and education
Profumo was born in Savona on 3 May 1953. He studied electronic engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin and graduated in 1977.

Career
Profumo started his professional career in research and development at Ansaldo in Genova in 1978 and served there until 1984. In 1985, he moved to Torino as a researcher and associate professor at the local Politecnico. In 2003, he was named dean of the 1st engineering faculty of the Politecnico, and in 2005, he became rector of the university. On 13 August 2011, he succeeded Luciano Maiani as the president of the National Research Council (CNR). On 16 November 2011, Prime Minister Mario Monti appointed him Minister of Education.

As of September 2020, he is a member of the Italian Aspen Institute.

After the ministerial appointment
In June 2013, Francesco Profumo was appointed president of the energy company Iren. On Dec. 13, 2014, he was appointed chairman of the Bruno Kessler Foundation in Trento, Italy, and on Sept. 5, 2014, he was appointed chairman of the School of Advanced Management Training (SAFM) in Turin, Italy. On May 18, 2015, he was appointed chairman of the board of INWIT, Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane S.p.A., a company of the Telecom Italia group. He is also one of the four vice presidents of ACRI.

As of 2018, he is a member of the Giovanni Agnelli Foundation.

In 2019, he was unanimously elected president of ACRI.

Other activities

 * Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), Member of the Board