Home / Meet ESO / People Are At The Heart Of ESO / Governance

Governance

Executive Leadership

Milan

Fedele Gubitosi

President

Milan

Fedele Gubitosi

President

Fedele Gubitosi was born in Milan and holds a degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University. He is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and advisory on extraordinary financial operations. His expertise also spans international taxation and distressed asset management.
A member of the Italian Institute of Chartered Accountants since 2003 and registered in the Register of Auditors since 2004, Gubitosi plays a key role in shaping and overseeing governance and compliance strategies within major corporations.

Since 2016, he has been Managing Partner of Studio Rock S.T.P. S.r.l., a Milan-based consultancy firm specialising in extraordinary transactions and assistance to Italian and foreign companies. Here he has handled major transactions and is involved in tax and strategic consulting for non-profit organisations and social initiatives. At the same time, he is a Statutory Auditor and member of Boards of Directors in several companies, contributing to the management of compliance models and risk and conflict of interest supervision.

Since 2023, Gubitosi has been President of the European School of Oncology (ESO), after having held the position of Vice-President for a long time. In this position, he leads the strategic development of the organisation’s institutional activities, working alongside the CEO and promoting oncology education initiatives at European level. He is also active in projects where he brings his managerial experience in the third sector.

Recognised for his ability to balance governance, finance and sustainability issues, Gubitosi combines a strategic perspective gained in control and corporate governance roles with a strong commitment to education and social responsibility. His expertise extends to operational risk management and regulatory compliance, with a particular focus on ESG issues and digital resilience requirements, as required by the European DORA regulatory framework. His work testifies to an integrated and multidisciplinary vision, capable of responding to the challenges of complex and evolving contexts.

Milan

Ugo Rock

Onorary President

Milan

Alberto Costa

CEO

Milan

Alberto Costa

CEO

Dr Alberto Costa, a breast cancer surgeon from Milan with previous research activity in the field of cancer chemoprevention, was appointed ESO’s Director in 1982. He took on the task of establishing the School, its offices and its first activities and has managed ESO ever since.

For over 30 years, Dr Costa single handedly designed ESO’s annual programme of activities whilst reporting to the Board of Directors and the Scientific Committee. In 2017 the Board confirmed his position as CEO. He is responsible for the scientific content of ESO’s activities.

He was editor in chief of the journal The Breast from 2003 to 2015 and a member of the editorial board of Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. He has also been the Editor, from 2015 to 2019, of the ESO magazine, CancerWorld.

Co-founder of ABC, Advanced Breast Cancer conference, Europa Donna, the European Breast Cancer Coalition, he also founded Europa Uomo, the patient advocacy movement on prostate cancer. He has served as Secretary General of the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the Federation of European Cancer Societies (FECS), both in Brussels. He actively contributed to the establishment and development of the American Italian Cancer Foundation (AICF) in New York, of which is member of the Advisory Board.

Since 2021 he serves as special advisor of the EU Commissioner for Health, Mrs Stella Kyriakides, for cancer policy.

Milan

Rossella Blasi

Executive Director

Milan

Rossella Blasi

Executive Director

Since January 2023, Rossella Blasi has served as Executive Director of ESO, leading the overall management and strategic development of the School and coordinating its offices in Milan (Italy) and Bellinzona (Switzerland).

With over 20 years of experience in the non profit and charitable sector, Rossella brings a strong background in organizational leadership, governance, and the management of human and financial resources. Throughout her career, she has supported the growth of complex international organizations by combining strategic vision with operational excellence and a strong focus on accountability and impact.

As Executive Director, she has played a central role in strengthening ESO’s institutional structure and advancing the School’s mission to promote excellence in oncology education worldwide. She has led a comprehensive internal reorganization, improving governance processes, enhancing operational efficiency, and aligning strategy, resources, and outcomes.

Under her leadership, ESO successfully completed the accreditation of its Quality Management System according to ISO 9001, reinforcing the organization’s commitment to excellence, transparency, and continuous improvement. She has also overseen the review and renegotiation of key partnership agreements, strengthening ESO’s positioning within the international oncology community.

A key pillar of her work has been the development and restructuring of internal competencies, aimed at expanding and professionalizing ESO’s services.

In parallel with her executive responsibilities, Rossella Blasi contributes to international governance and collaboration through her Board appointments:

Board Member, ABC Global Alliance — since 2023
Board Member, SPCC – Sharing Progress in Cancer Care — since October 2025
Board Member, ECO – European Cancer Organisation — since January 2026

Board & Governance Bodies

Board of Directors - Auditors

Members

Fedele Gubitosi, Milan (President)
Marco Alloisio, Milan
Alberto Azario, Milan
Piergiuseppe Biandrino, Milan
Donella Bossi Pucci, Rome
Roberto Camilli, Milan
Alberto Costa, Milan
Vincenzo Finizzola, Milan
Thomas Galdy, Florence
Laura Pellegrini, Rome
Lorenza Wyder, Zollikon

Auditors

Marco B. Lovati, Milan (Chairman)
Barbara Negri, Milan
Francesco Porpora, Monza

Advisory Board

Chair
Stella Kyriakydes, Nicosia

Honorary Chair
Nicholas Pavlidis, Ioannina

Members

Luca Bertolaccini, Milan
Marta Bertolaso, Rome
Lesley Fallowfield, Brighton
Luca Gambardella, Lugano
Silke Gillessen Sommer, Bellinzona
Mark Lawler, Belfast
Simon Oberst, Cambridge
Cristiana Sessa, Bellinzona
Richard Sullivan, London
Luzia Travado, Lisbon
Eric Van Cutsem, Leuven

Committees & Councils

Scientific Programme Committee

Milan

Barbara Jereczek Fossa

Radiation Oncology

Milan

Barbara Jereczek Fossa

Radiation Oncology

Prof. Barbara Jereczek Fossa is a Full Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Milan and Chair of the Radiation Oncology Department at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO), Milan, Italy. She is President Elect of the European Society of Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) and actively contributes to various scientific societies, committees, and editorial boards.

Göteborg

Riccardo Audisio

Surgical Oncology

Göteborg

Riccardo Audisio

Surgical Oncology

Prof. Riccardo Audisio is Professor at the Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Göteborg, Sweden and is Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Surgical Oncology (EJCO). He is Past-President of the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO) and member of several international scientific societies including BASO, SSO, AAA, SIOG and EUSOMA.

Fribourg

Alessandra Curioni Fontecedro

Medical Oncology

Fribourg

Alessandra Curioni Fontecedro

Medical oncology

Prof. Alessandra Curioni Fontecedro was appointed Full Professor of Oncology at the University of Fribourg in 2022 and works as Head of Oncology at the Cantonal Hospital HFR Fribourg, Switzerland. She is Vice-President of the Immuno-Oncology Group of the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK), as well as a faculty member of the Immuno-Oncology and Immunotherapy Group at ESMO.

Milan

Nicola Fusco

Pathology

Milan

Nicola Fusco

Pathology

Prof. Nicola Fusco is the Director of the Division of Pathology at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) and Associate Professor of Pathological Anatomy at the Department of Oncology and Haemato-Oncology of the University of Milan. In addition, he directs the institutional Biobank at the IEO and actively participates in an international network of experts in predictive oncological pathology.