Governance
Fondazione Riccardo Catella carries out its activities through the following organizational structure:
Board of Directors
Manfredi Catella
President
Alida Forte Catella
Vice President
Kelly Russell Catella
Lifetime Board Member and General Director
Marta Spaini
Board Member
Roberto Spada
Board Member
Manfredi Catella
President
Born in Livorno on August 18, 1968, Manfredi Catella holds a degree in Economics from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and a Master’s in Regional Planning and Real Estate from the Politecnico di Torino. He is a financial analyst and a member of the Order of Journalists, author of numerous articles on real estate and urban redevelopment.
Catella is the founder of the COIMA Group, specialized in investment, development, and management of real estate assets with an ESG impact-oriented approach. He is the President of COIMA REM, a Development and Property Management company founded in 1974, and CEO of COIMA SGR, an Investment and Asset Management firm managing 30 real estate investment funds with over €10 billion in assets. He previously managed the Italian operations of the American group Hines for 15 years and has worked for JP Morgan in Milan, Caisse Centrale des Banques Populaires in Paris, Heitman in Chicago, and HSBC in Paris.
He currently serves as President of Fondazione Riccardo Catella. He has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Politecnico di Milano, SDA Bocconi, and President of the Urban Land Institute Italy.
Alida Forte Catella
Vice President
Originally from Sicily and now based in Milan, Alida Catella founded COIMA Image in the 1980s, an architecture, interior design, and space planning studio dedicated to creating places of the highest quality and contextual sensitivity through design excellence.
With over 30 years of history and a team of 25 professionals, COIMA Image has a long track record in office and residential design, as well as integrated architectural projects.
In addition to serving as CEO of COIMA Image, Alida Catella is Vice President of Fondazione Riccardo Catella, a foundation dedicated to her late husband, Riccardo Catella, founder of COIMA Srl, whose vision inspired the Porta Nuova Project.
Fondazione Riccardo Catella develops projects connected to the territory and promotes sustainable practices aimed at protecting the environment.
Kelly Russell Catella
Lifetime Board Member and General Director
Born in 1976 in Columbus, Georgia, married with five children, Kelly Russell Catella is the General Director of Fondazione Riccardo Catella, founded in 2005 to promote best practices in sustainable urban development, with a particular focus on social inclusion in cities and the fight against climate change.
Kelly Russell Catella also serves as Head of Sustainability & Communication and Chairman of the Sustainable Innovation Committee at COIMA SGR. Prior to her current role, she was Director of Communications, CSR, and Marketing at Hines Italy SGR, gaining extensive experience managing all aspects of strategic communication, public relations, and community engagement for the Porta Nuova urban regeneration project in central Milan.
Before these roles, she served as Regional Coordinator for the Urban Land Institute in Italy.
Marta Spaini
Board Member
Marta Spaini is a Supreme Court lawyer with extensive experience in administrative law, particularly in the fields of urban planning and construction, energy, and the environment, serving prominent national and international clients.
In urban planning, she assists both domestic and international operators in the evaluation and implementation of development and enhancement projects, managing all phases from urban planning assessments to the definition of the most suitable administrative procedures (including program agreements, implementation plans and their amendments, agreements, and other negotiated planning instruments). She has also dealt with the divestment of real estate assets, including through the establishment and contribution to real estate funds.
In the energy sector, she has handled numerous cases involving the development of energy production plants, including greenfield projects, from both conventional and renewable sources. She manages all aspects of the authorization process, including coordination with the various authorities involved (Ministries, Heritage Supervisory Authorities, local authorities, GSE, and the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks, and Environment – ARERA).
Roberto Spada
Board Member
Born in Cuneo on September 25, 1963, Roberto Spada holds a degree in Economics and Business (1986, University of Turin) and a degree in Law (1993, University of Milan).
He is Managing Partner of Spada Partners, an association of chartered accountants in Milan, where he provides administrative, tax, and corporate advisory services, corporate restructuring, support for private equity fund operations, and collaborates with financial advisors on mergers, acquisitions, divestments, and extraordinary finance operations.
He is registered with the Order of Chartered Accountants and Accounting Experts of Milan and the Register of Auditors.
Roberto Spada also holds numerous positions on Boards of Directors and Audit Committees of industrial and service companies.
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President
Born in Livorno on August 18, 1968, Manfredi Catella holds a degree in Economics from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and a Master’s in Regional Planning and Real Estate from the Politecnico di Torino. He is a financial analyst and a member of the Order of Journalists, author of numerous articles on real estate and urban redevelopment.
Catella is the founder of the COIMA Group, specialized in investment, development, and management of real estate assets with an ESG impact-oriented approach. He is the President of COIMA REM, a Development and Property Management company founded in 1974, and CEO of COIMA SGR, an Investment and Asset Management firm managing 30 real estate investment funds with over €10 billion in assets. He previously managed the Italian operations of the American group Hines for 15 years and has worked for JP Morgan in Milan, Caisse Centrale des Banques Populaires in Paris, Heitman in Chicago, and HSBC in Paris.
He currently serves as President of Fondazione Riccardo Catella. He has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Politecnico di Milano, SDA Bocconi, and President of the Urban Land Institute Italy.
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Vice President
Originally from Sicily and now based in Milan, Alida Catella founded COIMA Image in the 1980s, an architecture, interior design, and space planning studio dedicated to creating places of the highest quality and contextual sensitivity through design excellence.
With over 30 years of history and a team of 25 professionals, COIMA Image has a long track record in office and residential design, as well as integrated architectural projects.
In addition to serving as CEO of COIMA Image, Alida Catella is Vice President of Fondazione Riccardo Catella, a foundation dedicated to her late husband, Riccardo Catella, founder of COIMA Srl, whose vision inspired the Porta Nuova Project.
Fondazione Riccardo Catella develops projects connected to the territory and promotes sustainable practices aimed at protecting the environment.
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Lifetime Board Member and General Director
Born in 1976 in Columbus, Georgia, married with five children, Kelly Russell Catella is the General Director of Fondazione Riccardo Catella, founded in 2005 to promote best practices in sustainable urban development, with a particular focus on social inclusion in cities and the fight against climate change.
Kelly Russell Catella also serves as Head of Sustainability & Communication and Chairman of the Sustainable Innovation Committee at COIMA SGR. Prior to her current role, she was Director of Communications, CSR, and Marketing at Hines Italy SGR, gaining extensive experience managing all aspects of strategic communication, public relations, and community engagement for the Porta Nuova urban regeneration project in central Milan.
Before these roles, she served as Regional Coordinator for the Urban Land Institute in Italy.
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Board Member
Marta Spaini is a Supreme Court lawyer with extensive experience in administrative law, particularly in the fields of urban planning and construction, energy, and the environment, serving prominent national and international clients.
In urban planning, she assists both domestic and international operators in the evaluation and implementation of development and enhancement projects, managing all phases from urban planning assessments to the definition of the most suitable administrative procedures (including program agreements, implementation plans and their amendments, agreements, and other negotiated planning instruments). She has also dealt with the divestment of real estate assets, including through the establishment and contribution to real estate funds.
In the energy sector, she has handled numerous cases involving the development of energy production plants, including greenfield projects, from both conventional and renewable sources. She manages all aspects of the authorization process, including coordination with the various authorities involved (Ministries, Heritage Supervisory Authorities, local authorities, GSE, and the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks, and Environment – ARERA).
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Board Member
Born in Cuneo on September 25, 1963, Roberto Spada holds a degree in Economics and Business (1986, University of Turin) and a degree in Law (1993, University of Milan).
He is Managing Partner of Spada Partners, an association of chartered accountants in Milan, where he provides administrative, tax, and corporate advisory services, corporate restructuring, support for private equity fund operations, and collaborates with financial advisors on mergers, acquisitions, divestments, and extraordinary finance operations.
He is registered with the Order of Chartered Accountants and Accounting Experts of Milan and the Register of Auditors.
Roberto Spada also holds numerous positions on Boards of Directors and Audit Committees of industrial and service companies.
Management e staff
Kelly Russell Catella
General Director Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Kelly Russell Catella
General Director Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Francesca Colombo
General and Cultural Director BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Francesca Colombo
General and Cultural Director BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Piero Ciravolo
Finance&Operation Manager
Carlotta Colombo
Cultural Production Manager BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Stefano Floridia
Fundraising Manager BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Martina Pislor
Project Manager/ Institutional Program Manager Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Giulia Doninelli
Content Associate BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Sofia Morandotti
Cultural Production Associate BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Eleonora Porro
Cultural Production Associate BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Marco Tognon
Cultural Production Associate BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Sofia Agostini
General Cultural Direction Assistant BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Carola Cantaluppi
Institutional Program Assistant
Elena Guariso
General Cultural Direction Assistant BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Alice Leoni
Fundraising Assistant BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Antonino Aragona
Welcome and Reception
Chiara Grecuzzo
Communication and Marketing Intern BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
Seyma Mert
General Cultural Direction Assistant BAM-Biblioteca degli Alberi, Fondazione Riccardo Catella
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