For the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), the year 2021 marks a change of leadership. The new Executive Director, Alberto Mazzola, has officially entered office. He was unanimously elected by the CER General Assembly in September 2020. He will be steering the association through challenging times amid the ongoing COVID-19 and climate crises, at a moment when the huge potential of railways is generating great interest for achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal, the CER commented. 

Alberto Mazzola holds a Master’s in Business Administration and a Doctorate cum Laude in Nuclear Engineering from the Politecnico of Milan. In 2002 he joined Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS), where he held different positions. In his last role as Head of International Government Affairs, he was based in Brussels dealing with international affairs and European legislation, market regulation and technical standards.

Before joining FS, he contributed to the worldwide business section of Leonardo Finmeccanica (1988-2002). From 2015 to September 2020, he was Vice-President of the Transport, Energy and Service of General Interest Section and President of the International Trade Agreements Follow up Committee of the European Economic and Social Committee.

Rail representative

Over the years he has become an outstanding expert not only in EU policy making but also in the European rail business. As Executive Director of CER he will strongly represent Europe’s rail sector towards the European institutions and position rail as the backbone of the EU’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, amidst the opportunities provided by the 2021-2027 multi-annual financial framework together with Next Generation EU. He will also focus in the immediate future on the current COVID-19 challenges, working hard with members to regain customer trust.

CER Executive Director Alberto Mazzola said: “I am honoured to be joining the European rail effort at such a pivotal moment. I will work to support, with the relaunch of Europe after COVID-19, the full recovery of passenger and freight transport by rail, as well to promote new policies to boost rail. With the 2021 European Year of Rail, we have a real opportunity to show the many benefits railways can bring as employers and providers of sustainable mobility services. A shift to rail makes good sense for our economy and our planet and with the right policies in place, we can help EU citizens and businesses make sound mobility choices.”