Carlo Calenda

Carlo Calenda (born 9 April 1973) is an Italian business executive and politician. Since 13 October 2022 he has served as a Senator of the Republic and, since 20 February 2022, as Secretary of Azione, a party he primarily founded in 2019 and led until his election as secretary.

He served as Minister of Economic Development in the Renzi and Gentiloni governments and was Italy's Permanent Representative to the European Union in 2016.

Early life and business career

Born in Rome on 9 April 1973, he is the son of Fabio Calenda, an economist, journalist, and writer, and Cristina Comencini, a film director, in turn the daughter of film director Luigi Comencini.

After earning a degree in law from the University of Rome "La Sapienza" and prior to his institutional and political career, he worked at Confindustria as Director of Strategic International Affairs and Assistant to the President. He also worked at Sky Italia as Head of Product Marketing and Programming and at Ferrari, where he managed relations with financial institutions and oversaw Customer Relationship Management.

Career in Government

Under the Renzi and Gentiloni governments, he served as Minister of Economic Development from May 2016, focusing on industrial policy, corporate crises, internationalization, energy, and communications. In the Letta government, he was appointed in 2013 as Deputy Minister of Economic Development, responsible for policies related to internationalization and foreign trade. From March to May 2016, he served as Italy's Permanent Representative to the European Union in Brussels. From 2019 to 2022, he was a Member of the European Parliament. Currently, he is a Senator of the Republic.