Meet CrestOptics team
Management
Renato Giacobbo Scavo
CEO
A seasoned entrepreneur and investor with over 20 years of experience in Venture Capital and Private Equity-backed industries. Renato holds a degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Rome and an MBA from HEC Paris. Following key managerial roles at TIM and Bain & Company—where he focused on innovation and scale-ups—he became a serial founder in 2007, achieving several successful exits across High-Tech sectors, including AI, Hardware, and Industrial Design.
An early stage investor and Board Director of CrestOptics since 2013, he has served as the company’s CEO since 2020.
CCO - Sales, Marketing and Technical Support
Alessandra Scarpellini
CCO
PhD in Cell Biology and Biochemistry after a Master degree in Biotechnology.
After developing experience in the microscopy field in Nikon Instruments Europe and Essen Bioscience/Sartorius, Alessandra joins CrestOptics and, since 2019, she oversees global business and marketing activities. Member of the Executive Committee.
Phillipa Timmins
Head of ODM Sales
PhD in Cell Biology and Biochemistry after a Master degree in Biotechnology.
After developing experience in the microscopy field in Nikon Instruments Europe and Essen Bioscience/Sartorius, Alessandra joins CrestOptics and, since 2019, she oversees global business and marketing activities. Member of the Executive Committee.
Marketing Director
Holding an MSc in Medical Biotechnology and an Executive MBA, he spent four years at Nanolive advancing holographic microscopy.
Back in Italy, Luca gained experience in electron microscopy and direct sales. Joining Crest in 2021 as EMEA Business Development, he expanded distribution and launched two products. Now Marketing Director and Executive Committee member, he leads trade marketing, application specialists, and communication, aiming to establish CrestOptics as a leading microscopy technology provider.
Application Specialists
Marketing & Communication Specialist
Trade Marketing Manager
Alessandra Scarpellini
Head of OEM Business
A PhD biotechnologist with a deep technical background in microscopy (Nikon, Sartorius), Alessandra joined CrestOptics in 2019 to lead global commercial and marketing strategies.
After years of contributing to the company’s success as CCO and Executive Committee member, from 2026 she focuses her leadership on the OEM sector. As Head of OEM Business, she oversees the development of customized solutions and strategic alliances for the global market.
Phillipa Timmins
Head of ODM Business
Phillipa joined CrestOptics in September 2025 to lead the global commercial ODM team.
PhD in Chemistry from the University of York, UK, followed by 2 years as a chemical crystallographer/global field application specialist at Oxford Diffraction.
Following this, over 20 years of global commercial experience spanning a wide range of disciplines, including: motion capture (Vicon Ltd), microfluidics (Cellix Ltd), high end cameras/spectroscopy (Princeton Instruments Inc), electrophysiology/multi-photon imaging (Scientifica Ltd) and microscopy (Leica Microsystems UK Ltd, Aurox Ltd).
Responsible for global sales of all Crest branded products through our business development team and our network of partners and distributors.
Business Development Manager US
Marketing Director
Holding an MSc in Medical Biotechnology and an Executive MBA, he spent four years at Nanolive advancing holographic microscopy.
Back in Italy, Luca gained experience in electron microscopy and direct sales. Joining Crest in 2021 as EMEA Business Development, he expanded distribution and launched two products. Now Marketing Director and Executive Committee member, he leads trade marketing, application specialists, and communication, aiming to establish CrestOptics as a leading microscopy technology provider.
Application Specialists
Marketing & Communication Specialist
Trade Marketing Manager
Andrea Santinelli
Head of Technical Support
Master’s degree in Physics, Quantum Optics. More than 10 years experience in CrestOptics through R&D, sales and technical support. Andrea is in charge of all the after-sales activities aimed at supporting system integrators and end users.
COO - Operations, Product Development
Paolo Sona
COO
Master’s degree in Electronic Engineering and Optoelectronics. 30+ years of experience in Research, Product development and Operations Management on Industrial lasers, Fiber Communications and Consumer Electronics in companies like Hewlett Packard, Jabil, Cisco, Pirelli , ADB and Quanta System. Paolo is leading CrestOptics R&D and Manufacturing teams. Member of the Executive Committee
Raino Ceccarelli
CTO
Master’s degree in Physics, Quantum Optics. Raino coordinates a team made of researchers, optical, mechanical and electronics engineers through the different phases of products development.
PMO Manager
PhD in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Nottingham and a Master’s degree in Mathematical Engineering from the University of Roma “Tor Vergata”. Before joining CrestOptics in 2021, Claudio gained experience on international projects in the Defence and Aerospace fields.
Claudio manages the Project Management Office. He oversees the product development projects within the R&D team, aligns them with organizational goals, helps the project managers managing resources, budgets, timelines and communication with stakeholders
Optical Design Manager
PhD in Physics, Matter Science, Nanotechnology and Complex Systems. After a 3-year experience at CrestOptics in exploring new technologies in structured illumination microscopy, Emanuele is responsible for coordinating the optical R&D team on current and future microscopy products.
Lorenzo Cruciani
Enrico Fongaro
Laura Giacoppo
Emanuele Pontecorvo
Giulia Zanini
Optical Engineers
Senior Software Manager
Degree in Electronic Engineering and valuable experience in designing and developing real-time, mission-critical softwares, Nicola joined CrestOptics as Software Manager in the R&D team.
Fabrizio Gala
Software Scientist
AFM Sanjan Rahman
Software Engineers
Giampietro Piscopo
Mechanical Design Manager
PhD in “Mechanical Systems Design” following a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
After extensive experience in research and university teaching in the field of mechanical drawing and computer-aided design, he developed a deep knowledge in the field of mechanics, first as a consultant and then as a technical director, for a well-known CAD software manufacturer. In 2014, he joined CrestOptics to manage the entire mechanical design area for the development of new products.
Mechanical Engineers
Mechanical Technician
Giovambattista Pulcini
Electronic Designer Manager
Over 25 years of experience in embedded systems design and real time operating systems programming, device drivers, accelerated network stacks, embedded HPC and distributed computing for real time signal processing. Head of electronics and firmware department at CrestOptics.
Electronic Technician
Federico Filesi
Electronic Engineer
COO - Supply Chain & Manufacturing Engineering
Supply Chain Manager
Master in Demand, Inventory and Supply Planning. Alessandro oversees processes related
to Supply Chain such as Planning, Procurement and Logistics
Senior Buyer
Elisa Ieraci
Purchasing Coordinator
Luigia Olivieri
Buyer
Logistics Coordinator
Mirko Infante
Warehouse Assistant
Domenico Zucaro
Warehouse Coordinator
Manufacturing Engineering Manager
A Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Adriano coordinates the Manufacturing Engineering team with the aim of developing and improving production processes throughout the product life cycle.
COO - Manufacturing
Manufacturing Manager
Beginning with initial operations in a garage, Gian Marco has been a part of the company’s expansion to its current production site on the ground floor of Via di Torre Rossa.In the middle there has been: 2 movings, 5 new products, 2 promotions, 50+ new colleagues, 1 PM that improved production areas. Shooting to the dust, but still aiming at that office at the 4th floor.
Chiara Bardelli
Andrea De Maio
Fatjon Gega
Carmine Miletta
Damiano Pirone
Leonardo Savelli
Manufacturing Technicians
Massimo Ricci
Disks
Manufacturing Technician & Logistics Expert
Administration & Finance
Bendetta Modaudo
CFO
Benedetta joined CrestOptics in November 2024 as Chief Financial Officer. Benedetta had a +20-year career at Capgemini, a global leader in consulting, technology services and digital transformation, where she served in several financial positions covering several progressively senior roles both in finance and operations. Most recently Benedetta moved to DGS, an Italian group specialized in the design and implementation of services and solutions for cybersecurity and digital business transformation where she served as Group CFO following M&A activities collaborating with H.I.G. Capital. Member of the Executive Committee
Financial Controller
Master’s degree in Management Engineering. +10 years experience in management consulting, before as a business consultant andfor the last 5 years as a AFC manager and financial controller.In CrestOptics Cristina supports the management with financial planning and analysis, forecasting, budgeting, and internal control.
Sales Administrator
Administration & Finance Manager
Economics graduate Erica leads Admin/Accounting since company’s start, managing subsidized finance personally.
Accounting Specialist
Corporate Development
Chief Corporate Development Officer
Master’s degree in Economics and Management of Innovation. After an experience in management consulting, currently Dario’s responsible for implementing and achieving success with Strategic Plan, as well as overseeing all activities related to corporate affairs, ESG, M&A, and corporate governance. Member of the Executive Committee
Corporate Development & Strategy
Corporate Development & Strategy Lead bridging the gap between high-level governance and technical innovation. Specialized in the design and execution of long-term Industrial Plans, managing M&A pipelines, and leading comprehensive due diligence processes. Driving efficiency through the implementation of tailored solutions (AI and RPA), with a focus on organizational and operational excellence. Dedicated to coordinating CrestOptics innovation system and leading Strategic Projects management for high-tech, market-defining products.
PhD in Industrial Engineering with a focus on Industry 4.0 and Neural Networks, following a Master’s Degree in Management Engineering.
HRO & Quality
Andrea Cappelletti
HRO & Quality
Bachelor’s degree in Law. Having more than 30 years’ experience in Human Resources, Andrea joins CrestOptics where he supervises the HR team along with the Office Management team Member of the Executive Committee.
Quality Engineer & Internal Processes Manager
With a master’s degree in Management Engineering and over 20 years of experience, as the Quality Engineer Manager and ESG committee member, Salvatore oversees quality management systems and regulatory affairs.
