Before his appointment as Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Kosovo, he played a leading role at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a coordinator for EU Foreign Policy and as a Coordinator for EU Security and Defence issues.

Between 2002 and 2006, he was Director of the Conflict Prevention Centre of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna.

From 2000 to 2002, he served as Representative of Italy to the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague.

From 1991 to 1997, he served as Head of Disarmament, Arms Control and Cooperative Security at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Previously, he served in Rome, Abu Dhabi and Vienna, mainly specialising in multilateral and security affairs.