Ms. Maria Laura Garofalo has obtained a Law degree at the University “La Sapienza ” of Rome and has gained experience in several Roman law firms as a qualified lawyer. She has also been enrolled as a lawyer.
She obtained her Master degree from the LUISS Guido Carli University of Rome in “Small and Medium-sized Business Management” and “Company Tax Law, and followed several courses on drafting, interpreting and analyzing financial statements.
Between 1991 and 1994 she held the office of director at Cofib Investimenti SIM and, from 1991, she has also served as director at Casa di Cura European Hospital, starting her career within the private health care business. Since 1994 she has taken up the position of CFO of Gruppo Aurelia 80 and Casa di Cura Città di Roma, where she became Chairman and CEO in 1996. Since 2000 (i.e. since our incorporation) she has been the initiator of the geographical and sector diversification process involving the GHC Group. This process led to GHC's listing on the MTA of the Italian Stock Exchange on November 9, 2018, as the first and currently only private operator in the healthcare sector, and which, based on a precise growth strategy defined by Maria Laura Garofalo, is set to continue. She is a founding member of “Federlazio Salute” and among the awards received are the Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” award (2011) and the prize promoted by Equita Sim with the sponsorship of Bocconi University and Borsa Italiana for the best strategy for using the capital market (2019).
In 2019 Forbes Magazine mentioned her among the 100 most influential women in Italy. She holds several board membership positions in certain entities of our Group. Since 2019, May, she is member of the General Council of Confindustria. At the report date, she holds the position of Chief Executive Officer of Garofalo Health Care S.p.A. and member of the Board of Directors of some companies of the GHC Group.
On June 2, 2020, she was awarded by the Italian President Sergio Mattarella with the honour of Cavaliere al Merito del Lavoro and in October 2020 she received the prestigious Marisa Bellisario Award for entrepreneurship.