Paolo Cuculi was born in Rome on June 1st, 1967; he is married and has two daughters. He obtained a Master's Degree in Political Science at «LUISS» University of Rome.

A diplomat at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He entered the Italian diplomatic service in 1992, working in the Directorate Generarl for Personnel. in 1994, he was appointed Second Secretary for Trade in Khartoum, and in 1997 he moved to the Embassy in Bangkok as First Secretary. In July 2000, he was appointed First Secretary at the Italian Mission to the to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

After returning to the Ministry in 2002, he served in the Directorate-General for Political, Multilateral and Human Rights Affairs. Starting from 2006, he has been First Counsellor at the Mission to the United Nations in New York, during Italy's two-year term as Member of the UN Security Council. Since 2010 he served first as Frist Counsellor, then as Minister Plenipotentiary, at the Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, during Italy's three-year term as Member of the UN Human Rights Council.

Back in Rome in 2015, he served at the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation, of which he became Deputy Director-General and Central Director for Programming and Implementation of Cooperation Initiatives.

Since April 15, 2019, he is Ambassador of Italy in Pretoria.

- Secretary General at the Italian South African Chamber of Trade and Industries.
- B-BBEE SPECIALIST and supplier development strategist at Aurik. Design, implementation and reporting on effective Enterprise and Supplier Development programmes including funding for SME’s

- NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR at A4E (Accounting 4 Entrepreneurs) in Pretoria

- FOUNDER and MD, Valverde Eco Hotel, one of the top 10 wedding venues in Gauteng, South Africa. Started with no capital and R0 turnover to over R10m turnover. Navigated operations from negative cash flow to 22% growth in adverse economy.

- PHILANTHROPIST: Entrepreneurial philanthropist - "Teaching business skills to empower people

During 2020 it has become Martin and his team’s key focus to help address the challenges posed by COVID-19. This includes various technical solutions for instance specially locally designed CPAP and BPAP ventilators which are being rolled out to clinics to help patients experiencing respiratory distress.
As Executive at the CSIR Manufacturing Cluster and Ambassador for the World Manufacturing Forum it is Martin's role to drive Research, Product Development and Manufacturing to solve SET and Societal Challenges in strong collaboration with stakeholders such as funders, R&D companies and industry partners in the areas of: Industry 4.0, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Digitalisation, Advanced Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing, Robotics, Health Solutions, Water Solutions, Infrastructure Development, Transport, Manufacturing Industry competitiveness, Components and Subsystems assembly, Light metals and alloys, particularly titanium beneficiation and much more.
Previously, as Divisional Director of Siemens (Pty) Ltd, Martin drove the Siemens Smart Grid strategy in Africa (CEO Smart Grid Africa), providing technologies and services in the fields of Smart Metering, IT, data communication, energy automation, micro grid solutions, demand response management systems and rail electrification solutions for utilities, municipalities, mines, O&G, renewables and industry in general.
As General Manager of SEACOM South Africa (Pty)Ltd. and Global Head of Sales of SEACOM Ltd., Mauritius, the first privately owned and operated pan-African ICT enabler and sub sea fibre optic cable operator Martin was part of the development of the African internet in 2009.
Martin headed up Siemens Mobile Networks as Sales Director and Divisional Managing Director in Southern Africa and as Senior Vice President he spent a number of years in Germany where he headed up the line of business for 3G at Siemens AG one of the top three 3G equipment vendors. He also headed up Systems Engineering and Product Management at Siemens Mobile during the pioneering days of mobile networks during the late 1980s and 1990s
Martin completed a BSc in Electrical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1984 and an MSc in Digital Systems in Cranfield, England in 1987. He is a registered Professional Engineer.

Mr Senona is currently the Chief Director Export Promotion and International Marketing in the DTIC where he is in charge of Internationalizing and expanding South African Business and commercial interest. He has been working in the area of International Relations, Trade and Investment for the last 15 years. Among others, he has held position as diplomat, a trade negotiator in the WTO, SA coordinator for the SADC- EU EPA negotiations, Tripartite FTA as well as African regional economic integration. Mr Senona is an avid supporter of trade and investment liberalization as drivers of economic development

Liz combined her career of marketing and communications with a desire to create a spectrum of business events aimed at improving and enhancing economic & social development, corporate social investment, and skills development with a strong interest in African infrastructure development, the industrialization of Africa and the
development of the African energy sector. Highly regarded for her professional performance in service and delivery, Liz has an extensive portfolio of key stakeholders within government and the private sector across the continent.

She has a strong ability to work in cross-cultural environments and has established her own company in South Africa in 2002. The business has grown and expanded from a pure consultancy to owning and developing large business events that impact the economic sectors within which they operate.

Some notable accomplishments to date include:
 World Summit on Sustainable Development, committee member of the Working Group of the Business Co-ordinating Forum;
 eWICE (Empowering Women in Clean Energy), co-founder and implementor of eWICE for the benefit and development of women in the clean energy sector in South Africa
 Africa Energy Indaba, founder and owner of this leading African energy sector event;
 Infrastructure Africa, founder and owner of the event aimed at the
infrastructure business market in Africa;
 Manufacturing Indaba, founder and owner of this event, which addresses the crucial manufacturing sector and important for the creation of jobs;

Her experience in senior management extends over twenty years as she progressed from already established corporates and organizations to launching organizations from start-up mode to her current role as Managing Director.