Biography

Diana Bracco, born in Milan, is the President and CEO of the Bracco Group. After graduating from the Parini High School in Milan and obtaining a degree in Chemistry from the University of Pavia, she joined the family business in 1966, gaining various experiences until becoming General Manager in 1977 and, since 1999, CEO and President, taking the helm of the group from her father Fulvio. Today, the Group has reached a turnover of over 1.8 billion euros, employs 3,700 people, and boasts a portfolio of more than 2,000 patents. Currently, Diana Bracco also holds the position of President and CEO of the Italian Diagnostic Center, an excellence in Lombardy in the field of health prevention.

Her career in industrial associations is marked by positions of responsibility: in 2003 she became President of Federchimica and in 2005 she took on the presidency of Assolombarda, holding the position until 2009. She was the first woman to hold these roles. Between 2000 and 2003, and again in 2008 and 2012, she served as Vice President of Confindustria, with a mandate for Research & Innovation. She played a key role in the 2015 Milan Expo, both as President of Expo 2015 S.p.A. and as General Commissioner for the Italy Pavilion, and promoted the Women for Expo initiative.

Diana Bracco is also a member of the Board of Directors of Confindustria and Assolombarda, a member of the Council of the Milan Chamber of Commerce, a member of the General Council and the Executive Committee of the Fiera Milano Foundation, as well as Vice President of the Italy China Council Foundation. Previously, she was part of the Board of Directors of Bocconi University, the Advisory Board of “B20 ITALY 2021”, and served as an Ambassador for Women Empowerment in the B20, responsible for the National Cluster of Life Sciences – ALISEI.

In addition to her commitment to the industry, she has chaired Responsible Care and the Sodalitas Foundation, and founded the Bracco Foundation, which is dedicated to cultural, scientific, and social promotion, with a focus on women and youth. She is the President of the Milan Foundation for Expo 2015 and the Giuseppina MAI Foundation of Confindustria. Passionate about art, she is Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala Foundation and has been a member of the Trustee’s Council of the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

A Knight of Labor, in 2001 the University of Pavia awarded her an honorary degree in Pharmacy, in 2004 the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome recognized her with one in Medicine, and in 2023 the University of Messina conferred upon her the title of Honorary Doctor of Research in Applied Biology and Experimental Medicine. She has also been awarded the Gold Medal of the Municipality of Milan and the honor of Knight Grand Cross “For the Merit of the Republic”. In 2024, she was awarded the Gold Medal of SIRM - Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology, as well as the Business and Sport Award given to her by USSI (Italian Sports Press Union). She is Honorary President of the Piergiorgio Colombara Archive in Genoa and is a member of the Congregation of Conservators of the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana.