Claudio Descalzi

Born in Milan, he has been Eni’s Chief Executive Officer since May 2014. He is a member of the General Council and the Advisory Board of Confindustria and a member of the Board of Directors of the Teatro alla Scala Foundation. He is a member of the European Round Table for Industry and, since 2025, also of its Steering Committee. He is one of the founding CEOs of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative and was awarded the 2022 Distinguished Business Leadership Award by the Atlantic Council. Since 2025 he has been Co-Chair of the Oil and Gas Governors Community of the World Economic Forum. In June 2025 he was appointed Cavaliere del Lavoro by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella; in April 2026 he received the Leonardo Prize, recognition of Italian excellence at an international level.

He began his career at Eni in 1981 as a reservoir engineer. He then took on the role of Project Manager for the development of activities in the North Sea, Libya, Nigeria and Congo. In 1990 he was appointed Head of Operational and Field Activities in Italy.

In 1994 he became Managing Director of the Eni subsidiary in Congo and, in 1998, he was appointed Vice Chairman & Managing Director of NAOC, Eni's subsidiary in Nigeria. From 2000 to 2001 he held the position of Director of the Africa, Middle East and China geographical area. From 2002 to 2005 he was Executive Vice President for Italy, Africa and Middle East geographical area, while holding the role of member of the board of several Eni subsidiaries in the area.

In 2005 he became Deputy General Manager of Eni – Exploration & Production Division. From 2006 to 2014 he was President of Assomineraria. From 2008 to 2014 he held the position of Chief Operating Officer of Eni – Exploration & Production Division and, from 2010 to 2014, he was Chairman of Eni UK.

In 2012 Claudio Descalzi was the first European, in the Oil & Gas sector, to receive the prestigious "Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold Medal 2012" from the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Institute of Mining Engineers. He is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford.

In 2014, he co-founded, together with other CEOs, the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, with the aim of leading the sector's response to climate change. In the same year he joined the European Round Table for Industry, contributing to the strategies for the competitiveness and growth of the European economy.

In December 2015 he joined the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations. In December 2016 he received an Honorary Degree in Environmental and Land Engineering at the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

In May 2022, he was awarded the Distinguished Business Leadership Award 2022 by the Atlantic Council for his outstanding role in the energy sector at international level, for the company's technological transformation aimed at complete decarbonisation by 2050 and for his contribution to Italian and European energy security.

In 2025 he took on the position of Co-Chair of the Oil and Gas Governors Community of the World Economic Forum, became a member of the Steering Committee of the European Round Table for Industry and, on the occasion of Republic Day, received the honor of Cavaliere del Lavoro from the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.

In April 2026 he received the Leonardo Award during the National Made in Italy Day, recognition of Italian excellence at an international level.

He graduated in Physics (1979) from the University of Milan.