< Go back to listSara Citterio
General Counsel, Trussardi, IT
WORK EXPERIENCE
2004 – present TRUSSARDI SpA –Milan, ItalyGROUP GENERAL COUNSEL, Sustainability Lead, Secretary of the Board of Directors
Coordination of the Group’s legal team
Drafting and negotiation of all major contracts within the Group (distribution, retail and licence agreements, supply agreements, real estate agreements, employment agreements, advertising agreements, etc.)
Advice and implementation on the protection of the Group’s intellectual property rights (IP strategy, follow up of counterfeiting world-wide, registration/protection of patents and trademarks)
Corporate affairs management/Secretary of the Board
Compliance management (D. Lgs. 231/01) – 2020-2023 member of Group Supervisory Board (Organismo di Vigilanza)
Member of the Group Sustainability Committee and Sustainability Lead
Litigation (general advice on legal strategies; coordination and assistance to external lawyers in contentious and pre-contentious matters)
2001-2004 – TRUSSARDI SpA –Milan, Italy SENIOR LEGAL COUNSEL
Drafting of commercial contracts (license, distribution, franchising, agency, consultancy, retail agreements et al.), and real estate contracts
Drafting of opinions on Italian and international law (e.g. labour law, domestic and international private law, commercial law)
Legal counsellilng to the non-profit cultural organisation “Fondazione Nicola Trussardi” (drafting of minutes of meetings, legal advice on EU funding and non-profit Italian legislation, organisation of exhibitions, drafting of agreements)
Insurance and risk assessment management
Litigation (assistance to external lawyers)
1998-2001 – Istituto Auxologico Italiano – NPO, Milan (Italy) LEGAL SPECIALIST
Contract drafting with public entities (Ministry of Health, Universities and Hospitals) for medical advice and consultancy, financing of scholarships for university students.
Contract drafting with the EU for the financing of European medical projects.
Writing of opinions on health law and related matters, labour law, on non-profit organisations law.
Head of the Secretarial Offices and Legal Expert of the Ethical Committee for the authorisation of medical trials (responsible for one person of the staff).
1996-1998 – Istituto Auxologico Italiano – NPO, Milan (Italy) JUNIOR LEGAL COUNSEL
Member of the internal team for the drafting of the general labour agreement for medical staff
Contract drafting (real estate, labour, and health affairs)
Internal legal update of Italian regulations and drafting of relevant opinions
Litigation (assistance to external lawyers)
Insurance and risk assessment support
EDUCATION
▪ A.Y. 1994-1995 – Master’s Degree in Law, major in International Law, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy. Degree essay in EU Law “The Court of Auditors of the European Communities”
▪ 1990 – Diploma in Foreign Languages (High School)– Liceo Linguistico (English, French and German)
OTHER QUALIFICATIONS
▪ Women On Board – qualified in the second cohort (2023) of the vocational training for independent directors (https://www.percorsowomenonboard.it/)
▪ B-Leader – qualified by B-LAB France, giugno 2022
▪ Fully qualified Italian lawyer (Corte di Appello di Milano), 2006-2007
LANGUAGES
▪ Italian, mother tongue
▪ English, fluent - Certificate of Proficiency in English (grade A) of the Cambridge University, June 2000
▪ French, fluent
▪ German, elementary - Certificate “Zertifikat Deutsch” of Goethe Institut (grade 277/300), June 2004
PUBLICATIONS
▪ “Intellectual property rights issues in respect to upcycling and second-hand sales”, in AA.VV. “SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: IP CHALLENGES”, Indicam, 2024
▪ “Sustainability: the challenges from a corporate perspective”, in AA.VV. “FASHION LAW AND SUSTAINABILITY”, edited by Mario Di Giulio, Dike Giuridica, 2023
▪ S. Citterio – D. Paschetta “I diritti di proprietà intellettuale e antitrust: gli accordi di distribuzione e gli accordi di trasferimento di tecnologia” (IP rights and antitrust: distribution agreements and technology transfer agreements) in AA.VV. “LA PROPRIETÀ INTELLETTUALE: NUOVE PROSPETTIVE PER UNA CRESCITA SOSTENIBILE”, Les Italia-Netval, 2023
▪ “Changes to the instrument of incorporation” in AA.VV. “ITALIAN COMPANY LAW”, edited by V. Piacentini and D. Mascagni, IPSOA-Wolters Kluwer, 2021
▪ “Fundraising o raccolta fondi: la tradizione anglosassione e l’approccio italiano” (a comparative study on English and Italian fundraising legislation), in AA.VV. “DALL’ETEROGENEITÀ ALL’ECONOMICITÀ”, EGEA Publishing, Bocconi University, Milan, 2000
ACCOLADES
▪ 2023 – Professional of the Year Compliance, Inhousecommunity Awards
▪ 2019 and 2022 – In House Counsel of the Year Fashion, Luxury and Design, Inhousecommunity Awards
▪ 2018-2022-2023 – Listed member GC Powerlist Italy (https://www.legal500.com/gc- powerlist/italy-2018/2022/2023)
▪ 2019-2020-2021-2022-2023 – Listed member WTR300 (www.worldtrademarkreview.com)
▪ 2021 – Best practice Sustainability, Inhousecommunity Awards
FACULTY
▪ Regular Lecturer at:
− LUISS University (Rome) – LL.M. in Fashion Law (from 2019)
− Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan) – LL.M. in Fashion Law - MiFeLL (from 2022)
− LUMSA University (Rome) – LL.M. Corporate Lawyer (from 2023)
▪ Panellist at various seminars on Fashion Law
AFFILIATIONS
▪ From 2023 – Managing Director of the General Counsels’ Association (Italy) (https://generalcounselsassociation.com/)
▪ From 2023 – Member of the Scientific Committee of Accademia del Costume e della Moda, Milan (www.accademiacostumeemoda.it)
▪ 2019-2022 Member of the Executives Committee of Les Italy (LES International Italian Chapter) (https://les-italy.org/)
▪ 2017-2021 – Member of the Executive Council of INDICAM (www.indicam.it)