ASD welcomes Andrea Barbagelata as SMEs Counsellor

ASD has appointed Andrea Barbagelata, former senior-level Leonardo manager as SMEs Counsellor, effective from 1 April 2024.

Andrea’s appointment will boost ASD’s capacity to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-cap companies within the European aerospace, security, and defence ecosystem.

Through targeted programmes, collaborative platforms, and strategic advocacy, ASD is dedicated to supporting and giving a voice to SMEs and mid-cap companies, which are so essential to the sector's growth and resilience.

Andrea has a long-standing track record in the fields of aerospace, defence and security, both in Europe and in the Middle East. He has an engineering degree from the University of Genoa, and a master of science from Carnegie Mellon. Andrea was vice president of Leonardo for fifteen years. During his time with Leonardo, he also held a number of key positions within ASD, in particular as vice-chairman of the Defence Business Unit and chairman of the Naval Working Group.