ELITE NETWORKING AND INTEGRATION OF COMPETENCES
ELITE NETWORKING AND INTEGRATION OF COMPETENCES
Academic Senate
The strategic management and governing structure of GIOYA HEI is led by GIOYA board and is supported by a strategic team “Academic senate”. The academic senate provides scientific and strategic support and it will oversee the internal quality of the Higher Education Institution. The United Nations University for Peace, has granted a permanent sit in the Academic Senate of GIOYA
Maurits Van Rooijen
Chair of the Academic Senate and Board member
Chair of the GIOYA HEI Academic Senate Plenary session, he is full Professor and Chairman of GISMA’s Board of Governors, Chief Academic Officer (CAO) of Global University Systems, and Rector of the University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Germany. In addition to these roles, he is the Board Chair for IBAT College Dublin, Ireland. He was awarded the Constance Meldrum prize for Vision and Leadership from the European Association for International Education (EAIE) and the Insignia d’Ouro of the Universidade Santiago de Compostela.
Maria Chiara Malaguti
President of the Executive Doctorate in Commercial Diplomacy joint degree GIOYA HEI – UN University for Peace, President Emeritus of UNIDROIT (International organization for the unification of private law), full Professor of International Law at Università Cattolica (Milano), Senior advisor for the World Bank and for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. International arbitrator.
Vincenzo Poerio
Chair of Yachting World School
Vincenzo is graduated with honors in naval engineering from the University of Naples after attending the Nautical Institute. With extensive experience in the nautical sector, he transitioned from research to high-level positions at FINCANTIERI and later joined Azimut BENETTI, eventually becoming its CEO. He served as president of Navigo and currently presides over the Regional Technology District “Nautica e Portualità.” He heads Y.A.R.E. and I.S.Y.L. (yachting higher technical School). He is CEO of Tankoa Yachts since February 2020. Additionally, he owns and oversees the Agritourism Company Poggio Mori in Tuscany, renowned for its wine, oil, and other products.
Francisco Rojas Aravena
Elected as the 8th Rector of the UN University for Peace in 2013 and re-elected in 2018, holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Utrecht. A specialist in international relations and human security, he has served as Secretary-General of FLACSO and taught at institutions like Stanford and Florida International University. A prolific author, he has received accolades such as the Malinalli Prize (2016) and honors from Costa Rica, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic for his contributions to Latin American integration. GIOYA HEI recognised to UPEACE a permanent sit in its Academic Senate
Julio Andrade Ruiz
Former Deputy Director of the CIFAL Global Network at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Additionally, he holds the position of Area Security Coordinator in Málaga for UNDSS and serves as the Vice President of the Forum for Peace in the Mediterranean. He dedicated 26 years to the City of Málaga, including 11 years as a Councillor and Deputy Mayor, until 2024. He has also served as the VP of the Gender and Security Commission of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities. Currently he is a visiting professor at the University of Shanghai for Political Science and Law and is a member of the Institutional Academic Council at UTEL. Julio holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from Camilo José Cela University in Madrid, an MBA from EOI-ESESA (Spain), and a Master’s degree in Counseling in Emergencies and Catastrophes from the University of Málaga
Evarist Bartolo
He served until March 2022 as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta and previously was Minister for Education and Employment. He has been a member in Parliament since 1992, working mostly in education, European affairs and tourism. Between 1996 and 1998 he served as Minister of Education and National Culture under a Labour Government. He has lectured in communication studies at University of Malta and he has recently being appointed honorary professor at University of Shanghai of Political Science and Law.
Stefano Bresciani
He is full professor in Business Management at the Department of Management, University of Turin, where he teaches Business Management and Innovation Management. His main areas of research include business, innovation and strategic management, areas that he has published in many refereed journal articles, contributed chapters and books and presented papers to conferences on a global basis. He is leading different research centeres (i.e. EROIC, Q-Institute Reasearch center, EuroMed Research Business Institute, KMIRC….) and in member of different boards (i.e. ESPC, Italy).
Jean Paul Laborde
Currently Ambassador for the Parliamentary Assembly of Mediterranean and Professor at the French Military Academy and chairs the activities on cybersecurity/ cyberdefense and is the director of the Centre of expertise on CT Activities. Jean-Paul Laborde was the Head of the Secretariat for the negotiations of the Transnational Organized Crime Convention at the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) Vienna before assuming the functions of Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations in New-York as Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate at the UN Security Council until 31 July 2017.
Patrizia Polliotto
Patrizia Polliotto is a highly specialized lawyer in corporate and banking law, particularly in relation to extraordinary transactions. Since 2007, she has been admitted to practice before the Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione). Polliotto is well known for her extensive experience in holding top-level positions within major Italian multinational companies. Since February 2025, Patrizia Polliotto has held the position of Secretary General of the CRT Foundation. In addition, she serves as liquidator, statutory auditor, chairwoman, independent director, and member of boards of directors and supervisory bodies of various companies, including Juventus S.p.A., Vincenzo Zucchi S.p.A., Reply S.p.A., Ufficio Pio, IIGM, and Atlantica Digital S.p.A.In August 2021, Forbes named Polliotto among the four women who brought prestige to the world of corporate social responsibility in Italy.
Lucio Tonello
Dean and Member of the Academic Senate
He is Full Professor at GIOYA HEI where is also supporting the Strategic Team in internal quality matters. He is a researcher at the Center for Nonlinear Science at the University of North Texas (Denton, Texas, US). His main topics are related to Neuroscience in a trans-disciplinary perspective and he is author of more than 150 scientific publications. He is a fellow of the Research and Development Department of the Italian Motorsport Authority Federal School.
Cristina De Dona
CEO & Board Executive Adviser and corporate international lawyer across multiple jurisdictions. Cristina recently worked as Executive Vice President – Chief legal officer and General Counsel for Prada Group, Chief Counsel International for Hershey Company, Execute Director, legal & compliance for Morgan Stanley, Ferrero International, Deputy Counsel General and Chief of staff. Cristina hold also the position of Chief of staff at the Cabinet of Minister in Italy as well as she had experience at the United Nations and INTERPOL. She serves as a member of the Advisory Board at Sanford Royce. Cristina holds a bachelor’s degree in International law from University of Turin, a post graduate degree in Competition Law from King’s College in London and an MBA from London Business School. Cristina speaks fluently Italian, English, German, French and Spanish.
José Calderón
José Calderón is a distinguished retired basketball player, renowned for his successful career as a point guard in the NBA. Over his 14-year tenure in the league, he played for multiple teams, including the Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, and Cleveland Cavaliers. Internationally, Calderón represented Spain, winning multiple medals, including a gold at the 2006 FIBA World Championship. He has served in executive and advisory roles within NBA organizations, as well as being founder of different social and entrepreneurial projects, such as “The Embassy” (called the Basketball Sanctuary for USA players).
Annamaria Poggi
Annamaria Poggi is a Full Professor of Constitutional Law and Regional Law at the University of Turin and Director of the Interuniversity Center for Regional Studies “Giorgio Lombardi,” in collaboration with the University of Turin and the University of Eastern Piedmont. Since June 7, 2024, she has served as President of the CRT Foundation. She is a member of numerous ministerial commissions for constitutional and legislative reforms, including the Technical-Scientific Committee for LEPs, the Presidential Table of the First Commission on Constitutional Affairs, the Commission on Differentiated Autonomy, and the Working Group on Gender Equality in Institutions (2021), contributing to the drafting of the bill on interest representation. An author of works on public law and territorial autonomies, she has edited, among her latest volumes, European Union and Territory: Problems and Perspectives (Federalismi, 2020) and The Rights of Individuals. The Welfare State as a Republic of Rights and Duties (Mondadori, 2022, 2nd ed.).
Samer Salameh
Samer brings 27 years of corporate management experience as a senior executive for industrial groups in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. He was group CEO for Carlos Slim and later for Ricardo Salinas, two of Latin America’s leading businessmen. He led one of NASDAQ’s largest IPOs and completed Latin America’s largest greenfield fibre deployment. He is currently the Executive Chairman & CEO of Gasia Energy.
