Senior Advisory Council of Finadvice AG
The members of our Senior Advisory Council can be called upon as and when their know-how and experience is required to offer superior advice to our clients.
Gianni Operto
Gianni Operto, a veteran utility and cleantech expert, based out of Zurich and currently acting as the President of AEE Suisse, the Industry Association of Renewables and Efficiency Industries in Switzerland and as a Non-Executive board member at several companies in Germany and Switzerland. Formerly, Mr. Operto was a private equity investor at Good Energies, a venture capitalist at Emerald Technology Ventures, the President and CEO of EWZ, the Zurich municipal electric utility and a long-standing client of Finadvice and held various senior positions with worldwide responsibility at ABB Power Generation. Mr. Operto is a graduate (MS Mech. Eng.) of the ETH Zurich and has completed executive education at LBS. He speaks four languages fluently.
Nicola De Sanctis
Nicola De Sanctis, an accomplished senior executive in the energy and utilities sector in Italy, based out of Milan and Bari and currently acting as the Vice-Chairman, CEO and General Manager of Acquedotto Pugliese, the largest water business in Italy and as a Non-executive Chairman at Delos Power, the Management Company of the infrastructure fund TAGES HELIOS, the third largest photovoltaic player in Italy by assets. Formerly, Mr. De Sanctis was the Chairman and CEO of E.On Italia, the CEO of IREN (the municipally-owned and publicly-listed utility in the North-West of Italy), the CEO of Edison Energie Speciali (the renewable energy business of the Edf/Edison group in Italy), the CEO of the Edison gas business, a Managing Director of Waste Management Italia and held various senior positions at Agusta (helicopters) and Baxter (pharmaceuticals). Mr. De Sanctis is a graduate (MS in Nuclear Eng.) with honors of the University of Pisa and holds an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau (France).
Dr. Leopold Windtner
Dr. Leopold Windtner, an experienced expert in the energy and electricity sector based in Linz, Austria. Mr. Windtner serves as supervisory board chairman and member of several Austrian companies and was for many years chairman of the board and general director of Energie AG Oberösterreich (formerly Oberösterreichische Kraftwerke AG). Formerly, Mr Windtner held the position of President and then Vice President of the Austrian Electricity Companies Association (Österreichs Energie). Mr. Windtner graduated in commercial science from the University of World Trade in Vienna and received his doctorate from the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
Dr. Uwe Kolks
Dr Uwe Kolks is a Member of the Management Board of E.ON Energie Deutschland. Until 2018 he was responsible for the Germany-wide private customer business and subsequently for the Product, Marketing and Digital department. Since 2019, Uwe Kolks has been leading the integration of E.ON and innogy as Transformation Officer for the German sales business. He found his way into the electricity and gas business as a management consultant at Roland Berger & Partner International Management Consultants. Uwe Kolks studied business administration and completed his doctorate as a research assistant at the Justus Liebig University in Gießen.