Versatile, with a passion for art, great books and organically produced wine, Rosalia Stella joined e-GEOS – a Leonardo Group company operating in the Earth observation and geospatial information sector – three years ago as a buyer. Two months ago, she became Procurement Lead for the Matera Space Centre. Her background is multidisciplinary and rich in experiences gained both in Italy and the United States: she worked as a project manager and fundraiser in the early stages of her career, later qualified as a labour consultant in her family’s firm, and subsequently became a digital sales consultant for Italy’s largest internet company in Siena. In 2023, she joined e-GEOS through an application submitted via LinkedIn.

“I wanted to join a more complex, structured and international organisation. I had no hesitation in applying for the e-GEOS job posting. It was also an opportunity for me to return to my roots, having left home at the age of eighteen to pursue my studies,” she explains. Born in Bari and raised in Altamura, Rosalia earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business from the University of Siena. She then moved to Milan to attend the Catholic University, where she specialised in Museum and Exhibition Event Management, later completing an Executive Master’s degree in Advanced HR Management in 2022.

Within the Leonardo Group, Rosalia found an international environment that values expertise, innovation and people. “The connection with the local area in which we operate is very strong: in Matera, e-GEOS has a solid presence that has grown over the years and is now experiencing generational renewal while becoming increasingly international.” Foreign delegations frequently visit the Matera Centre, where e-GEOS transforms satellite data into valuable information for Earth observation through strategic infrastructure and services operating around the clock. The Procurement team led by Rosalia supports the site’s operational and commercial activities. “We ensure supplies, services and operational continuity through close collaboration with suppliers and stakeholders,” she explains.

Rosalia returned to her home region with a wealth of multidisciplinary experience gained across Italy and abroad, finding a transformed Matera now firmly embedded in an international rather than a provincial context. For someone passionate about Lucio Fontana, Frida Kahlo, Alberto Giacometti and contemporary art – studied and admired at the MoMA – this represents the “right balance” between her love for Italy and the innate curiosity that has driven her beyond many borders. Alongside her passion for art and for masterpieces of American literature – The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck being the latest book she has finished – Rosalia has also developed expertise in sustainable wine production, first becoming a sommelier and later supporting her family’s winery business. Eclectic, certainly, but with very clear ideas about how to shape and express her own female leadership.