Governance

PRESIDENT
Giovanni Manetta

VICE PRESIDENT
Bernardo Cortese

BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Giovanni Manetta
Armando Simbari
Bernardo Cortese

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Giovanni Manetta
Bernardo Cortese
Andrea Bottone
Armando Simbari
Marco Predari

STATUTORY AUDITOR
Federico Bursi

Giovanni Manetta was born in Palermo and, immediately after graduating and earning a master’s degree in business, moved to Milan, where he began his managerial career at leading large-scale retail companies.

He has been working as a business strategy consultant for 25 years. As a way of redressing his poverty, he is committed to social work for the most disadvantaged families in his Palermo neighborhood.

Bernardo Cortese, MD, FESC, FSCAI
Vice-president

Prof. Bernardo Cortese, president of the scientific committee of Fondazione RIC is an expert Interventional Cardiologist with an invaluable experience of over 20 years and a special dedication to the complex patients/lesions setting. He is an international opinion leader on drug-coated balloons, bioresorbable scaffolds, antithrombotic drugs, complex angioplasty and CTO, and intravascular imaging.

Prof Cortese has published several hundred papers in high-impact Journals and authored a number of books in the interventional cardiology field. He is active in research and education, providing mentorship to fellows from all over the globe. He has conducted numerous important clinical trials that have revolutionized the field of Interventional Cardiology.

Beatrice Barbano, Music Therapist
Manager of Operations and Institutional Relations

Beatrice Barbano is a Music Therapist based in Italy. She graduated in Organ and composition at Conservatory G. Verdi of Milan, Italy After the graduation she did the Specialization in Music Therapy (Neurology) at University of Ferrara, Italy, and obtained the Postgraduate Degree in Music Therapy at the University of Pavia, Italy.

She worked as Music Therapist in the project “Music Therapy in the Bunker” at the ASST Niguarda Great Metropolitan Hospital, Italy, in the Department of Radiotherapy.

She followed the first clinical study of Fondazione RIC, MUS.E I. The study was presented as Late Braking Trial at TCT 2025 in San Francisco and reviewed as one of the 10 Best Researches presented at that edition of the Congress.

Dario Gattuso, Engineer
Clinical Trials Coordinator

Dario Santo Gattuso is a Clinical Research Advisor and a Computer Engineer by training (BSc and MSc, Politecnico di Milano). Dario brings over 15 years of experience in clinical trials management, digital health innovation, and regulatory affairs. He currently serves as Head of Clinical Trials and Clinical Program at Concept Medical Inc. (US), where he oversees international clinical programs in coronary and peripheral artery disease across Europe, Asia, the US, and Latin America. He is also Founder, CTO and CEO of Tech Dgit Easy, a healthcare technology company, and Strategic Digital Health and Regulatory Consultant for different tech and medical devices companies.
Dario holds executive education credentials from Harvard Medical School (AI in Health Care) and Imperial College London (Digital Transformation in Healthcare), and is pursuing an MPH and MBA in Healthcare Leadership from Rushford Business School. He serves as academic advisor at the Universities of Palermo and Perugia.

Sara Malakouti, MD, graduated from the State University of Milan (UniMi), Italy. Following clinical training and research at several Italian hospitals, she is now a cardiology residency candidate in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her work has resulted in multiple peer-reviewed publications in cardiology and interventional cardiology. She has experience coordinating clinical trials and research projects, centring on scientific dissemination. At the DCB Academy, she coordinates scientific programming, studies and peer reviewed papers. She is dedicated to advancing educational activities and fostering global collaboration within the cardiology community.


Sara Malakouti, MD

Cardiology Researcher and Clinical Trial Coordinator

She graduated from the State University of Milan (UniMi), Italy. Following clinical training and research at several Italian hospitals, she is now a cardiology residency candidate in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her work has resulted in multiple peer-reviewed publications in cardiology and interventional cardiology. She has experience coordinating clinical trials and research projects, centring on scientific dissemination. At the DCB Academy, she coordinates scientific programming, studies and peer reviewed papers. She is dedicated to advancing educational activities and fostering global collaboration within the cardiology community.

Parvathy Sunitha Poduval, Psychologist
Manager of Clinical Operations & Business Development

Parvathy is currently a Master’s student in the Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology track of the Psychology, Neuroscience and Human Science Master’s program at the University of Pavia. Her interest lies in working in inter-disciplinary research environments to advance research that meaningfully impact patients’ lives.

Armando Simbari, Criminal defense lawyer
President of the Legal Committee

Owner of Simbari-Avvocati Penalisti firm, Milan, Italy