Mr. Francesco Ricciardi has more than 12 years of experience in Europe, Asia and South America. He has worked for private and public entities as an environmental advisor for Major Infrastructures and Power Plants developments, including Ports and Renewable Energies, and Environmental Policies implementation. Francesco has a vast knowledge of Safeguard Standards, policies and regulatory frameworks for impact assessment, industry best practices, biodiversity assessment, regional and international regulations and policies, and scientific communication to non-specialist audiences. During his career, Francesco has focused his interest on environmental monitoring and management. Before joining ADB, he has worked as an advisor for the European Union for the development of the Water Framework Directive, and as a consultant for various infrastructure development projects across Asia. An Italian national, Francesco got his MSc in Ecology and a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the University of Milan, focusing on the impact of chemical pollution on aquatic ecosystems. Italian native speaker, he’s also fluent in Spanish and English and has a conversational level of French and Bahasa Indonesia.