Giandomenico Picco, former Executive Director for International Affairs and member of the board of the Montedison Group; and former Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the United Nations Organization. Gianni is a very informed and articulate “expert” on the Middle East and the Arab world. He is regularly in a dialogue with both the leadership and the opposition of many countries in this region. He has negotiated with terrorist groups and has both official and unofficial channels of information that give him unmatched perspective on the economic and political developments in the Middle East and Central Asia. Given the historic unrest and instability in North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, Gianni was able to offer his perspective on the underlying forces shaping the outcomes in these regions of the world.