Gabriele Rizzo, PhD, APF, is a foresight professional, author and professor with nearly 20 years of experience helping global institutions harness foresight to shape long-term strategy. His work spans governments, defence organisations, academia and global industry, advising senior leaders in the governments of the United States, France, Italy, Switzerland and NATO on decisions impacting millions to trillions in investment.
Rizzo is the youngest person ever appointed as UNESCO Chair in Futures Studies, as UNESCO Chair-elect for Positive Futures, Futures Literacy and Anticipation, a prestigious global honour. In 2017, NATO appointed him Member at Large for Strategic Foresight and Futures Studies, a title reserved for world-class experts across Allied Nations. He has since served on NATO’s highest scientific body, the NATO Science and Technology Board.
Previously Rizzo served as Ministerial Advisor for Strategic Futures in the Cabinet of the Italian Defence Minister, Director of Research at the University of Lausanne’s Research Institute on Foresight, as Principal Advisor to the founding Chief Scientist of the United States Space Force, and Strategic Foresight Advisor to the Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force. In the private sector, he has worked with Meta, Renault, Leonardo, Firmenich and atelier oï on long-term forward-looking strategy and innovation.
Rizzo holds a PhD in String Theory and Astrophysics from Tor Vergata University in Rome and has completed postdoctoral education at the National Institute for Advanced Mathematics.
He is the author of HR Futures 2030: A Design for Future-Ready Human Resources, published by Routledge and a best-seller in its field and editor of the forthcoming Handbook of Foresight, Strategy, and Futures Studies for Defense and Security, published by Springer in its Major Reference Works.
Rizzo is passionate about peace, complexity and the power of imagination in shaping futures. His motivation to join The Club of Rome stems from a deep alignment with its mission: to apply foresight as a practical tool for anticipating global challenges and co-creating resilient human-centred futures.