About Mr. Fabio Colasanti

President of the International Institute of Communications, London (UK), since April 2010, Fabio Colasanti, born in 1946, was previously a Director General in the European Commission for over ten years.

He headed first the department called "Enterprise" from January 2000 to June 2002 and, from July 2002 to March 2010, was in charge of the department for "Information Society and Media". This department is responsible for developing and overseeing European regulatory policies for electronic communications and for the audiovisual sector, as well as promoting a faster take up of Information and Communication Technologies throughout the European Union.

Prior to this appointment, from June 1999 to the end of 1999, he was Deputy Head of the Office of Commission President Romano Prodi and from the beginning of 1996 until June 1999 a Director in the European Commission's "Budget" department, with responsibility for the "Resources" Directorate.

Previously, from 1988 to the end of 1995, Mr Colasanti served successively as Head of the "Economic Forecasts" and "Macro-economic policy analysis" units of the Commission's department for Economic and Financial Affairs. In 1992, he studied local development issues in the USA during a three months trip across 18 states, thanks to an Eisenhower Fellowship.

From 1985 to the end of 1987, Mr. Colasanti was a member of the Commission's Spokesman's Group with responsibility for economic and monetary affairs, regional policy, credit and investment, small and medium-sized enterprises (the portfolios of Commissioners Alois Pfeiffer and Abel Matutes).

From October 1977 to 1984, Mr Colasanti worked as an economist in the Commission's department for Economic and Financial Affairs (budgetary policies, monitoring of the Italian economy, short-term forecasts, European Monetary System and the Ecu).

From 1971 to 1977, he held various positions with Italcable Spa of Rome (an international telecommunications company that is now part of Telecom Italia).

Mr Colasanti holds diplomas in economics from the University of Rome and the College of Europe in Bruges. An Italian national, he works regularly in English and French, is fluent in German and Spanish and speaks some Greek.