To create a European leader. Paolo Zanetto confirmed as CEO, Auro Palomba as Chair of the Strategic Committee, Tullio Pirovano as Chairman of the Board. Alberto López Valenzuela named Advisor for Innovation and AI. Luca Barabino and Alberto Cattaneo step down.
Milan, December 11, 2025 – Excellera Advisory Group, Italy’s leading corporate affairs consultancy, announces the closing of the transaction whereby ICG becomes its new financial partner for the next phase of growth, succeeding Xenon Private Equity. The Group’s management team, including the founders of the individual firms, has reinvested the majority of their stakes in the operation.
The entry of ICG – a leading global alternative asset manager – will enable Excellera to accelerate its international expansion plan and invest even more heavily in innovation, data science, and advanced technologies. The objective is to drive the Group’s consultancy toward an increasingly data-driven model, empowering professionals with intelligent tools and predictive solutions.
Tullio Pirovano and Alberto López Valenzuela—already members of the Strategic Committee chaired by Auro Palomba, alongside ICG’s Francesco Canessa and Davide Contu, Roberto Patriarca, and Paolo Zanetto—today join the new Board of Directors. The Board confirms Paolo Zanetto as CEO and includes Francesco Canessa, Davide Contu, Claudia Pomposo, and Federico Steiner from the management team.
Alberto López Valenzuela, with over 25 years of experience in business information and data analysis, assumes the role of Advisor for Innovation and Artificial Intelligence.
Tullio Pirovano takes on the role of Chairman of the Board, bringing a fresh managerial perspective at a crucial stage of the Group’s strategic evolution. Tullio boasts over 40 years of experience in the technology and services sector, most recently as Chairman and CEO of Lutech Group, a leading Italian software and IT services company, and as a board member of Fibonacci Group, an Apax-controlled company providing specialized software to financial institutions.
In parallel, governance structures within some of the Group’s companies have been updated.
At Barabino & Partners, Federico Steiner becomes CEO, and Massimiliano Parboni assumes the role of Chairman. Luca Barabino, founder of Barabino & Partners, will step down from his current executive role effective upon closing. He will dedicate himself to new personal projects, including charitable activities. The transition has been planned to ensure full operational continuity; leadership, together with the team led by Federico Steiner, will proceed in line with established strategic priorities.
Claudia Pomposo becomes CEO of CZP&Co with full operational powers, while Alberto Cattaneo, having co-founded CZP&Co twenty years ago and played a pivotal role in the company’s growth and vision, concludes his tenure within the company and the Group to focus on new personal initiatives.
Excellera’s partners and staff express their sincere gratitude to Luca Barabino and Alberto Cattaneo for their extraordinary commitment and contribution to the market over the last 25 years, as well as for their fundamental role in building the Group.
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