Career Biography

Michele Panato is an Italian corporate lawyer with extensive experience in corporate affairs, governance, M&A, finance and capital markets. He currently serves as Head of Corporate Affairs at FS International S.p.A., part of Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, where his responsibilities include corporate assistance, Board secretarial matters, financing transactions and M&A involving FS International and its international subsidiaries in Spain, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Greece.

Before assuming his current position in July 2025, Michele served as Head of Corporate Affairs for the Passenger Business Unit at Trenitalia S.p.A., where he acted as Secretary to the Boards of Trenitalia and Busitalia Sita Nord and supported the corporate governance of approximately 25 companies, including international subsidiaries. His responsibilities encompassed governance, internal policies and procedures, corporate appointments, relations with minority shareholders and extraordinary corporate transactions, including acquisitions and disposals, mergers, demergers, capital increases and business transfers.

From 2017 to 2022, he was Head of Corporate Affairs for Transport and Logistics at Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A., providing corporate secretarial and legal assistance to Trenitalia, Busitalia Sita Nord, Mercitalia Logistics and their subsidiaries and investee companies.

Earlier in his career, Michele spent nearly a decade at Lottomatica S.p.A., formerly GTECH S.p.A., as Head of Corporate Governance & Transactions. His work covered listed-company governance, regulatory matters, financing transactions and extraordinary corporate operations. Among his most significant matters was his involvement in the corporate and financing aspects of GTECH’s acquisition of US gaming company IGT, completed in 2015, which involved a cross-border reverse merger, delisting of GTECH from Borsa Italiana, listing of IGT plc on the New York Stock Exchange and major financing arrangements.

Michele began his career in corporate law, M&A and antitrust before joining Chiomenti’s Capital Markets Department, where he advised issuers, shareholders and underwriting syndicates on IPOs, capital increases and bond issuances, as well as corporate governance matters involving listed companies. He also gained international regulatory experience with the Office of International Affairs of the US Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC, assisting with investigations concerning potential violations of US securities laws, particularly the FCPA.

He holds an LL.M. in Corporate and Securities Law from Georgetown University Law Center and a Law degree with a transnational focus from the University of Trento. His academic background also includes advanced studies in European and transnational law at the University of Trento and an Erasmus-Socrates programme at the University of the Basque Country in Spain. Michele is fluent in Italian, English and Spanish.