The Bracco Group

 

Diana Bracco, after having received her diploma from Parini high school in Milan and, later, her degree in Chemistry at the University of Pavia, began her career in the family company in 1966, gaining experience in different roles before becoming General Director in 1977 and subsequently, in 1999, CEO and President, taking the helm of the group from her father, Fulvio. In 2001, the University of Pavia conferred upon her an honorary degree in Pharmacy, and in 2004 the Sacred Heart Catholic University in Rome awarded her one in Medicine.

 

 

The Italian Diagnostics Center

 

Diana Bracco is currently also President and CEO of the Italian Diagnostics Center, an outpatient clinic offering a full range of services with a focus on prevention, founded in 1975. Distinguished by excellence in healthcare in the Lombardy region and in Italy, it has its main facility via Saint Bon in Milan and has 24 locations around the city and in Lombardy.

 

 

The Bracco Foundation

 

Research and innovation, but also a sense of duty and scrupulousness are the values that have defined Diana Bracco’s career, in which she is active not only as an entrepreneur but also as a philanthropist in the realms of culture and society through the Bracco Foundation, created in 2010. From 2007 to 2016, she also served as President of the Sodalitas Foundation, for the development of entrepreneurship in society. The organization was founded in 1995 by Assolombarda and an initial group of businesses and managers with the aim of promoting company sustainability in Italy.

 

 

Associated commitments

 

Following the family tradition, Diana Bracco has assumed many responsibilities in the Confindustria system, where she was Vice President for Research and Innovation from 2008 to 2016. Today she is member of the Executive Council of Confindustria and member of the Advisory Board of "B20 ITALY 2021" created by Confindustria within the G20, as well as Ambassador for Women Empowerment in the B20 Engagement Group. Moreover, she is also President of the National Life Science Cluster – ALISEI. She also sits on the General Council and the Executive Committee of the Fiera Milano Foundation). She was Vice President of the Milan Chamber of Commerce, where she remains a board member and is at present also on the board of directors at Bocconi University in Milan. From 2005 to 2009, she was the first female President in the history of Assolombarda, the association of Milan entrepreneurs. She has previously held the positions of President of Federchimica (from 2003 to 2005), Vice President of Confindustria for innovation and technological development (from 2000 to 2003) and prior to that President of Responsible Care, the volunteer program for the promotion of sustainable development in the global chemical industry.

 

 

A commitment to culture


Her passion for art has seen her, in previous engagements, as a member of advisory boards for the La Scala Philharmonic of Milan, the Poldi Pezzoli museum, and, in 2011, as the first Italian in history to sit on the Trustee’s Council of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Since 2012, she has been on the La Scala Academy board of directors. Among her recognitions are: in 2002, the title of Cavaliere del Lavoro (Knight of Labour, a prestigious recognition granted by the President of the Italian Republic) and the Milan City Council’s Gold Medal; in 2004 she was bestowed the Knight of the Great Cross, decorated with Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

 

 

EXPO 2015


Diana Bracco believed in the Expo Milan 2015 endeavor right from the start, and she accepted the charge of President for Expo 2015 SpA and Commissioner General of Section for the Italy pavilion at Expo 2015. As President of Assolombarda and President of the Milan Foundation for Expo, in fact, she strongly supported the Italian candidacy before the International Bureau of Expositions. As President of Expo, her energy and enthusiasm contributed to the success of the event which welcomed 21 million visitors, a third of whom were foreigners, placing Italy once again in the global spotlight and proving an extraordinary platform for business as well as cultural and social relations.

 

 

The Italian Pavilion


In her role as Commissioner General of the Italian Pavilion, Diana Bracco was responsible, beginning August 2012, for the entire Italian exposition area, which covered a fifth of the site. The Palazzo Italia exhibit along with the Cardo attractions and the Tree of Life, the true “icon” of the Expo, captivated and moved millions of visitors as well as 62 heads of state and government that came to see the Universal Exposition over the six-month period.

 

 

Women for Expo


Diana Bracco, as the Italian Commissioner, decided to provide for the Women for Expo project a dedicated space at the heart of the Italian Pavilion, highlighting the crucial role women play all over the world, as engines of growth and change.