Chiara Villani

Chiara Villani serves as a Manager for Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement (PSE) Unit at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, where she leads efforts to strengthen the organization’s strategic partnerships and global positioning. In this role, she oversees the Alliance’s engagement in global policy processes and high-level international fora, working closely with the scientific community to translate research evidence into actionable insights that inform international decision-making and global frameworks. She also leads the development of strategic partnerships with key stakeholders—including UN agencies, international organizations, foundations, and NGOs—and provides senior leadership with strategic advice on emerging global issues and politically sensitive matters.

Prior to joining the Alliance, Chiara worked at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), where she served as a Communication Specialist for the Strategic Programme to Reduce Rural Poverty and the FAO Gender Team for nearly four years. In this role, she led advocacy and communications efforts supporting key global policy processes, including the UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), and the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

Chiara holds a Second Level Master’s Degree in Food Law, a Second Level Master’s Degrees in Political and Institutional Communication and Marketing, a Second Level Master’s Degrees in Geopolitics, and a Master’s Degree in International Relations. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and is fluent in Italian (native), English, French, and Spanish.