Stuart McMuldroch, Managing Director

Dr. Stuart McMuldroch became the Managing Director of the CTAO Central Organisation in April 2023. Since then, Stuart has been leading the Observatory as it transitions to a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) in 2025. As the Managing Director of the CTAO ERIC, Stuart will oversee the next phase of the Observatory’s development as it moves from design to construction and operation.

Stuart has a PhD in Astronomy and spent more than 22 years managing large-scale international projects at academic, commercial and government organisations. He was part of the New Horizons and GOES-R space missions as team leader for the design and construction of key optical subsystems. Prior to his appointment, he was the Head of the Giant Magellan Telescope program office at the Center for Astrophysics (CfA)/Harvard & Smithsonian.

Federico Ferrini, Managing Director

Prof. Federico Ferrini became the Managing Director of the CTAO Central Organisation in March 2018. During his tenure, he oversaw the achievement of significant milestones for the Observatory, such as the hosting agreement for CTAO’s southern hemisphere array site in Chile and the definition of the Observatory’s Cost Book and Technical Description. He now supports Stuart as Co-Managing Director as the Observatory transitions to an ERIC.

Before joining the CTAO, Federico dedicated more than 30 years to astrophysics research and teaching at the University of Pisa. This included directing the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group and being named the Director of the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO) in 2011. As director, he fostered the collaboration and technical advancement of the VIRGO interferometric antenna – one of the three largest gravitational detectors in the world. Some of his other professional positions have included Scientific Attaché at the Permanent Mission of Italy in Geneva and Chair of both the CERN Pension Fund Governing Board and the Investment Committee.

Maurizio Miccolis, Project Manager

Maurizio Miccolis joined the CTAO Central Organisation as its Project Manager in November 2024. With more than 25 years of expertise in engineering and project management, Maurizio brings a wealth of experience in leading complex, high-profile scientific projects. Before the CTAO, he worked on the LFI instrument aboard the Planck satellite and the ALMA radio telescope, as well as the NEON project in the USA. Most recently, Maurizio held the position of Senior Project Manager for Computing and Software at the SKAO. 

As the CTAO’s Project Manager and a member of the senior management team, Maurizio leads the Central Organisation’s Project Office and works closely with the In-Kind Contribution Collaborations to build and commission the CTAO. He is also responsible for preparing the Observatory for operations, ensuring that the project’s technical, budget and schedule objectives are successfully met. Additionally, he is the Chair of the CTAO Configuration Control and Risk Management Boards.

Roberta Zanin, Project Scientist

Dr. Roberta Zanin joined the CTAO Central Organisation as its Project Scientist in June 2019. Roberta works with the project team in tandem with the In-Kind Contributor teams and the scientists of CTAO Consortium to ensure that the design, implementation and science verification of CTAO achieves the science goals of the project.

Roberta has devoted her entire scientific career to imaging Cherenkov astronomy. She has taken part in all the three major currently-running instruments of this kind: MAGIC, H.E.S.S. and VERITAS. Cultivating her research interests between Padua, Barcelona and Heidelberg, she built substantial experience in data analysis and interpretation, software development, operations and commissioning of the telescopes.

Nadia Defrancesco, Director of Administration & Interim Head of Finance

Nadia Defrancesco joined the CTAO Central Organisation in January 2019 as Head of Finance. In October 2024 she was promoted to the Director of Administration, overseeing the entire department. She continues to serve as the interim Head of Finance until the position can be filled but now is in charge of overseeing all the personnel and services in the Administration office, which also includes procurement, IT and human resources.

Nadia comes from the private sector, having worked first as a CPA and then many years for a German Financial Institution based in Bologna, where she was responsible for the finance, compliance and legal issues of the company.