With this article, we would like to wish a warm welcome to Geol. Di Francesco and use the occasion to allow our clients to get to know him better.

Rachel, a member of our communications team, dedicated an hour of her time to learning more about Fausto.

Q. Could you introduce yourself and tell me a little about your career?

A. My name is Fausto Di Francesco. I am 47 years old, and I live in Pescara with my family (wife and two children). I began my professional journey a little more than 20 years ago when, just after receiving my degree in Geological Sciences in 2002 and obtaining my license, I began to take my first steps as a geologist at the associated technical office Esa Progetti in Pescara. There, I gained experience in the field of geotechnics and was able to acquire professional autonomy doing technical consultancy for various construction companies. I immediately began to vary and broaden the themes of my field by devoting myself to environmental geology as well (specifically characterization of contaminated sites even of national relevance in collaboration with a multinational company in the field called ENSR Italia srl, today known as AECOM spa). From December 2007, I assumed the public position of technical manager of geology at the Municipality of Pescara, where I served until June 2023. I covered various roles in the operational management of personnel in charge of different departments, such as the Expropriation Department and Property Appraisals, the Part-appointed expert by the department, to the Strategic Planning Department (Urban Planning), and the Environmental Protection and Urban Hygiene Department (and in 2015 and 2016 also serving as a university lecturer relating to the module of Legal Valuation at the Faculty of Architecture of the G. D’Annunzio University of Chieti/Pescara). I acquired a second degree during these years (a three-year degree in L-23 construction engineering, also at the G. D’Annunzio University) and a Level II Master’s degree in Energy and Environmental Law at the University of Teramo. I have held many cross-disciplinary positions, and I consider my role as Head Project Manager and Tender Commissioner for public works contracts and Acting Commissioner for the Regional Administrative Court of Abruzzo, Pescara section, among the most important. Throughout my career, I have gained a lot of experience in economic resource management and personnel management. The world of engineering has always been appealing to me and an integral part of my way of being and dealing with everyday life, and ASDEA simply feels like my ideal destination.

Fausto’s multidisciplinary background has shaped him into the ideal figure for leading a company like ASDEA. His studies and experience in diverse roles within the public administration will be crucial to the growth of the three companies.

After learning more about who Fausto is, Rachel focused on exploring his ideas for his role within ASDEA and how he intends to use his skills for the benefit of the company:

Q. What excites you about joining our team?

A. Generally speaking, I am excited about the opportunity to get back into the game after so many years in the Public Sector and the chance to be an integral part of a highly specialized group in the field of engineering working on projects located all over the world with the real possibility of coming into contact with niche topics that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to deal with otherwise.

Q. What leadership principles or values guide your approach to managing and leading teams?

A. Leading by example, having confidence in one’s own means and in others, motivating to be motivated, and total transparency in relationships.

Q. How do you plan to use your skills and experience to promote growth and innovation within ASDEA?

A. Simply by making them available to the entire staff to whom mundanely, but necessarily, the principle of professional consistency must be imparted at all costs in the knowledge that to err is human and is a substantial part of the growth of the individual as well as the team.

Q. What strategies do you plan to implement to promote collaboration and communication within the team?

A. I would not use the term strategy in an instrumental sense with regard to human resources; I believe that at the basis of any healthy relationship, there must be mutual trust. In a field that spans such technically different work areas, esteem and trust must be built and earned over time. It is only in this way that a spirit of cooperation and fair communication be fostered.

Finally, to conclude the interview, there was only one more question left for Rachel to ask the new COO:

Q. What message would you like to convey to the team and our clients about your role?

A. I would like to remind the staff that opportunities in life and work must be created with commitment, that one must never take anything for granted, and that one should seek to give the proper value to what one already has. One must build on their failures and always be ready to start again with dignity and determination; everything else is left to time. Speaking to our clients, they will be able to rely on the very high technical professionalism of our group, but certainly, also on the guarantee that with ASDEA, they will always be able to find the most appropriate and effective solutions to their needs, with the utmost intellectual honesty.