JA Worldwide Board of Governors Spotlight: Francesco Vanni d'Archirafi
August 25, 2021
Francesco Vanni d’Archirafi’s enthusiasm for JA is infectious. Perhaps it’s in his blood—Francesco comes from a family of diplomats—or maybe it’s the confidence built from a nearly four-decades-long career in global finance. Whatever the root of his irresistible fervor, one thing’s for certain: JA is one of the world’s largest youth-serving NGOs because of him.
And he’s not done yet.
“We reach 10 million students each year. That’s only 1 percent of the students on the planet. What about the rest? The 99 percent? Today, we can do almost everything we did before in the classroom digitally. Let’s go from one percent to one hundred percent.”
Growing up, Francesco didn’t plan to pursue a career in finance. His grandfather, great uncle, father, and uncle were all Italian diplomats, as is his brother. But after receiving his bachelor’s degree from American University in Washington, D.C., and an MBA from Columbia University in New York City, an ocean away from his European roots, Francesco remained Stateside and took a job with Citigroup. For the next 38 years, Francesco worked for Citi in a variety of capacities, including as CEO of Citi Transaction Services, a global provider of cash management, trade, and securities services, and later as CEO of Citi Holdings, which managed the portfolio of non-core assets and businesses. Most recently, Francesco worked as Citi’s Vice Chairman of Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory for EMEA. Having held numerous executive positions within Citigroup, Francesco also held several chairmanships for the company during his storied career, not to mention sitting on boards of charitable organizations close to his heart—including JA.
Francesco first learned of JA in 1998 while managing the Iberian businesses for Citi. When Citi Foundation asked Francesco to help allocate funds for charitable causes in the area, he and his team got to work. The internet had quickly become a vital resource for the future of education and employment, so the team identified schools in disadvantaged parts of Madrid that needed computers. Francesco put in a call to a friend who worked as the general manager at IBM. A chain of teamwork and communication ensued, and the team soon acquired computers, internet lines, and education for teachers on the use of the technology. While seeking the right providers for the education aspect, Francesco found himself in discussions with his counterpart at Citi in Argentina who, at the time, was doing a great deal of work with JA in that country. “I thought the JA programs were very worthy of my time and of Citi Foundation’s. So, in Spain, we started to import the model. Then we brought the CEO of JA Argentina to Spain to help me start the chapter.” The rest, as they say, is history.
Not only did Francesco serve as JA Spain’s first Board Chair, but he also helped expand JA programs across the continent, from Spain and Portugal to Italy, and Switzerland. Francesco was instrumental in joining forces with Young Enterprise Europe. JA and Young Enterprise member countries came together in 2002 to form JA Europe. Under the leadership of Caroline Jenner as CEO—now COO of JA Worldwide—and Francesco as Board Chair, JA Europe expanded. Today, the regional operating center helps facilitate operations in 41 countries, working in over 40,000 schools and serving more than 3.8 million students.
Francesco has been and remains one of JA’s most enthusiastic supporters and greatest advocates. His belief in the mission continues to push the organization forward, and his drive to reach every young person in the world is, for lack of a better word, inspirational. “Frankly, what JA does is very needed around the globe,” he said. “We raise the ambition of every kid that we reach, no matter where they come from. Our role is to open the eyes of every young person around the world and make sure they understand that there is no limit to what they can achieve.”
After two terms as Chair of the JA Worldwide Board of Governors, Francesco turned over the role to Jonas Prising; he will, however, continue to serve the organization as a member of the Board of Governors. In addition to his work with JA and his other charitable pursuits, Francesco left Citigroup this summer to join Euroclear, a Belgium-based financial organization. As Euroclear’s Chairman-elect, Francesco adds another non-executive position to his portfolio of for-profit and non-profit roles, leading the company’s board on value creation for all stakeholders. And, with Francesco on board, Euroclear will expand its already-strong partnership with JA.