MR Carlo Borghini, executive director of Europe’s Rail, will leave the European joint railway research undertaking from March 1 2023 to take up a role with Nato.
Borghini was appointed to lead the newly formed Shift2Rail joint research programme in 2016, continuing to head up the second iteration of the programme, Europe’s Rail, which was launched in February 2022. The executive board confirmed an extension of his contract to 2026 in April 2021.
Borghini has been a consistent presence at industry events all over the globe since his appointment. Speaking during a special farewell tribute at the European Railway Award ceremony on January 31, Mr Philippe Citroën, secretary general of the European Rail Industry Association (Unife), described Borghini as a passionate advocate and ambassador for the rail sector. Citroën thanked him for his work to bring together rail operators, infrastructure managers, the supply industry, universities and research institutes.
Prior to working within the rail sector, Borghini was corporate services director at the European Defence Agency from 2014 to 2016, and deputy executive director for the Single European Skies Advanced Research Joint Undertaking from 2008 to 2014. He will serve as one of eight assistant secretary generals of Nato, with responsibility for the portfolio of executive management including Nato 2030 reform.
Mr Giorgio Travaini, head of programme at Europe’s Rail, has been appointed interim executive director and will oversee the organisation’s work while the process of selecting Borghini’s full time successor plays out. This is expected to take up to a year.
Borghini will reflect on his tenure at Shift2Rail and Europe’s Rail in a special interview that will be published in the March edition of IRJ.
Work on Europe’s Rail initial six flagship projects is underway. Digital subscribers can read about them here.
