Our trainers

Simone Pozzi has been working as Human Factors and Safety R&D expert in Deep Blue since 2001. He is currently acting as the CEO, Head of Training activities and Coordinator of large EU projects. He has been designing and delivering training courses to top and middle managers, acting as the Human Factors trainer for EUROCONTROL since 2006, for IATA since 2013, since 2018 for the European Space Agency. Training topics typically include Teamwork, Leadership, Decision Making, Human Error, and Communication. In 2023 he will deliver training to the new group of ESA astronauts, on decision-making, teamwork and leadership in extreme, confined and stressful environments. Simone is currently lecturing Human Factors at two Universities, the University of San Marino and the Higher Institute for Arts and Industries (ISIA) in Pescara - as part of the design curricula. In the past, he held lecturer positions at the University of Siena and the University of Sassari-Alghero.

Paola Tomasello is an Aviation Psychologist, certified by the European Association for Aviation Psychology (EAAP) and specialised in Occupational Psychology and Psychotherapy. Paola has been working as a Human Factors expert in Deep Blue since 2011, where she has been supporting EU projects on Human Performance and aviation safety and also designing and implementing e-learning and classroom training programs on Human Factors for national and international organizations, including EUROCONTROL, ESA, LEONARDO, ENAV. Paola co-authored the first official European guide on stress management in ATM and is the author of several publications in Italian and international scientific journals, including Nature-Scientific Reports, about topics related to work-related stress, organisational well-being and the relationship between human performance and mental health. Since 2016 Paola has been working as a University Professor at the Giustino Fortunato University, where she teaches Human Factors.

Vanessa Arrigoni has been working in Deep Blue as Human Factors, Training and Digital Learning expert since 2015. Her expertise covers the application of Human Factors in everyday life and in safety-critical systems like Civil Aviation and Maritime. She is involved in consulting and EU co-funded projects as a technical expert, project manager, trainer and dissemination coordinator. In the past years, she developed deep expertise in the aviation domain (both in the Air Traffic Management and cockpit design sectors) thanks to strong collaborations with partners and clients from all over Europe such as European Commission, EUROCONTROL, THALES, LUFTHANSA, NLR (Netherlands Aerospace Centre) and Airbus.

Paola Lanzi is a Senior Human Factors (HF) Expert with demonstrated international project management and coordination experience in R&D and innovation projects. She has more than 10-year experience in project management and a 20-year professional carrier in scientific research concerning the introduction of automation in safety-critical domains (in particular air traffic control and aviation), with internationally recognised experience in the fields of human factors, user-centred design, user experience, validation and safety assessment. Paola is an instructor at the Aviation Learning Centre of EUROCONTROL (former IANS), where she is responsible for three courses concerning the topics of "Automation and Liability", "The Legal Case Approach" and "Artificial Intelligence in Future ATM". She is also a lecturer in “Communication and Human Factors” at the University of Arizona - Orvieto Study Abroad Program.

Marco Ducci got a master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Rome "La Sapienza" in 2009 and obtained his PhD in Aerospace Engineering in 2012. He joined Deep Blue in November 2012 working on National and European research projects in the field of ICT and aeronautics. He is the trainer of several drone-related courses held at IANS – EUROCONTROL and JAA-TO. In 2017 he joined JARUS WG-6 and contributed to the development of the SORA methodology. He coordinated a study about Detect & Avoid State of the Art (project DASA) funded by the European Defence Agency and was one of the authors of the study for the TRAN Committee of the European Parliament entitled “Safe Integration of Drones Into Airspace”. From April 2018 he is also CEO of EuroUSC-Italia, a subsidiary of Deep Blue providing consultancy service to drone operators, manufacturers and aviation authorities.

Damiano Taurino holds a Master's Degree in Computer Science from the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’ and a PhD from the University of Florence (Telematics and Information Society School). He collaborated with the Italian Research Centre for Renewable Energies (ENEA) as a scientific software developer, and then he moved to the transport domain, working as a software engineer in the road traffic information system division of the Italian Transport Ministry (CCISS). He joined Deep Blue in 2009 and is now the company’s Head of the Automated Systems Area. He is involved in projects concerning Automation and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). Damiano is a trainer for the EUROCONTROL Course on RPAS Regulation and for the EUROCONTROL Course on Liability in Air Traffic Management. He is a Certified Theory Courses trainer for RPAS pilots. He is a Certified ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management System Lead Implementer.

Alexandra Ghita holds an MSc with Merit in Human Factors in Aviation, from Coventry University in the UK. She has experience in various safety-related disciplines such as safety engineering, safety management and human factors training. Her experience in Safety Management includes hazard identification and risk management, monitoring and measuring safety performance and overseeing compliance with the national and international regulations. As Safety Engineer, she was involved in providing safety support in the ATS environment, for EUROCONTROL’s European Aeronautical Information Services Database (EAD). As a Human factors expert, she participated in the development and implementation of CRM training and the application of NTS matrices. She also acted as RPAS project manager for various national and international projects. Alexandra joined Deep Blue in 2020 as Senior Consultant and she is participating in various R&D EU co-funded projects as Human Factors Expert. She is also an External trainer in RPAS Regulations and safety for EUROCONTROL and a Member of the Italian Cyber Security Observatory. As European Commission Independent Evaluator, she contributes as an expert to the evaluation of project proposals on various topics, part of the Horizon Europe Work Programme.

He graduated with honours in Work and Organizational Psychology at the University of Rome "La Sapienza", with a thesis on the effects of acute and chronic stress in ICE (Isolated-Confined-Extreme) Environments on decision-making. Previously he studied Safety and Human Factors as an exchange student at the Stockholm University. He has a Postgraduate Master in Artificial Intelligence at the Institute of Cognitive Science and Technology, one of the most important research laboratories of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR). He joined Deep Blue in March 2020 and is currently working on Human-AI Interaction, Human Factors, Safety and Just Culture topics.

Anna Giulia Vicario is a Registered psychologist in the Emilia Romagna region, and a member of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF), a UK based professional society for ergonomists and human factors specialists. Anna holds a first-class honors’ master’s degree in Safety and Human Factors in Aviation at Cranfield University and is specialized in Occupational and Cognitive Psychology. She previously worked at Venice Marco Polo Airport, where she collaborated with the Safety Management System Department in the development of the emergency airport plan. Anna started working as a HF Consultant in Deep Blue in 2021.

Andrea Capaccioli holds a PhD in ICT from the University of Trento (Italy), and a master’s degree in Work, Organization and Information Systems from the University of Trento in Italy. His main research interests included Participatory Design, Human-Computer Interaction, commons studies. He worked as a National Expert for OECD, working on the HEInnovate project as an expert for digital transformation, curating the chapter on Digital Transformation of the HEInnovate report for Italy, as well as other supporting activities for the project. Andrea joined Deep Blue in July 2020 and he is involved in several European projects (e.g., INDIMO, STRATEGY, XMANAI) as an expert in design research, human factors, and cybersecurity. He is contributing to the identification and analysis of end-users’ and stakeholders’ needs for human-factors methods, explainable-AI needs, resilience methods and tools. He contributed to write two white papers on Human Factors in Cybersecurity published by the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors. Also he is following the elaboration and writing of supporting materials and reports.

Luca Save holds a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction and he has been working as a Human Factors and Safety R&D expert in Deep Blue since 2004. He has 19 years of experience in the area of safety-critical systems, including ATM and Railway transport. He has participated in research initiatives by the Italian Railway Organization and in many EU, EUROCONTROL and ENAV funded projects. He has been lecturer of Human-Machine Interaction at the University of Siena for 9 years and conducted several training courses in the area of Human Error and Usability. His main interests are in the areas of Safety Assessment and Investigation, Resilience Engineering and Human Performance Automation Support.

Giorgio Sestili is a physicist and a science communicator. He is currently covering the role of Head of Marketing and Communication in Deep Blue and, as a self-employed, he collaborates as a Scientific Journalist and Analyst with the main mass media (newspaper, radio and tv) in Italy. For 10 years he has been working with public and private organisations in science, research and innovation communication projects, and for the communication of health and environmental risk. In March 2020, Giorgio founded the Italian research project called Coronavirus - Scientific Data and Analysis. With a team of 9 people and about 100,000 followers on social networks, he has become one of the main sources of information on Covid-19 and related risks in Italy. Giorgio has extensive experience in science, risk and crisis communication courses.