who we are
TEAM
Andrea Ortenzi
Andrea Ortenzi, founder, CEO. Degree in Economics and Commerce, important international managerial experiences in South America where I got to know the Opuntia ficus indica and learned its potential, having seen firsthand the beneficial effects on the environment and in the production of fodder in areas otherwise abandoned due to desertification. Upon returning to Italy, I decided to make use of the experience gained abroad and become an agricultural entrepreneur, to exploit OFI as a tool for adapting to climate change.
Alessandro Vox
Degree in Business Economics, chartered accountant and auditor. During his professional experience he held roles in boards of auditors and as an auditor, as well as financial director. His passion for research and more generally for innovation pushed him to undertake this adventure as a personal investment in the knowledge that the Wakonda project is an example of how it is possible to make the most of agricultural resources, significantly improving the environmental impact of agro-industries.
Claudia Cusan
Dr. Claudia Cusan, founder and director of R&D, degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies and PhD in drug sciences and toxicologist registered in the European album of toxicologists. After an important experience of almost 15 years in one of the largest chemical multinationals in the Netherlands, upon returning to Italy, the passion for solving the planet’s problems with a holistic approach that starts from agriculture and reaches the final consumer pushed me to found Wakonda together with the other partners.
Francesco Antelmi
Francesco Antelmi, a graduate in Economics and Business, during his professional experience as an Entrepreneur has held multiple roles such as: financial director, Sole Director and CEO of various companies such as F. A. Holding, F. A. Consulting, E-Like Luce e Gas, etc. His passion for research and more generally innovation pushed him to undertake, as a personal investment, the Wakonda project in the knowledge that it is an example of how it is possible to make the most of agricultural resources, significantly improving the environmental impact of agro-industries.
Marco Callori
Marco Callori is a lawyer, owner of an important associated firm in Rome and member of the boards of directors of companies in the healthcare sector. Expert in issues relating to quality, environmental and ESG certification, he also has significant experience in the field of authorization processes for systems from Renewable Energy Sources, particularly in the agrivoltaic sector.
Rosario Centonze
Graduated in Agronomy, Rosario Centonze has been supporting agricultural companies in the provinces of Lecce and Brindisi for some time.
President of the Provincial Order of Agronomists and Foresters of Lecce since 2013 at the height of the so-called Xylella wave which devastated the olive oil heritage of the lower Salento, he joined Wakonda with the intention of growing a circular economy project which can decisive in reconverting a depressed and partly abandoned agricultural fabric, bringing marginal land into high-yield production, also with a proactive function of landscape balance and environmental protection.
Fabrizio Sibilla
Dr. Fabrizio Sibilla, degree in Food Science and Technology and PhD in Industrial Biotechnology. After almost 15 years of professional experience in Germany he returns to Italy where he is a member of the technical-scientific committee of the Italian Biogas Consortium. He has participated since the creation of Wakonda with his expertise and is responsible for following the technological development of Wakonda, attracted by the environmental, social and economic benefits that a holistic approach to the use of OFI as a tool to fight climate change at a local level can bring.
Francesco Minardi
Francesco Minardi carries out his work as a consultant for Italian and foreign companies. Graduated in Electrical Engineering at the University of Catania, he then attended the Master’s degree in ESG at Bocconi University. He has over 10 years of experience in the field of bioenergy, biofuels and e-fuels, having designed the entire supply chain, development, construction, management and due diligence of multiple plants. He is an expert at EESC (European Economic and Social Committee) in Brussels. He was a director of various credit guarantee companies and consortia. Author of many articles on bioenergy and decarbonisation, he also deals with circular economy, decarbonisation and sustainability.
Cesario Piccinno
Cesario is an expert in subtropical and tropical crops with direct experience in the establishment and management of prickly pear forage plantations in Brazil. Founding member of Wakonda and responsible for scouting new plant species to be included in the future Wakonda platform, especially in relation to succulents with high potential industrial use.