Who We Are:

Corrado Paina, Executive Director, Editor-in-Chief, Partners Magazine
Telephone: +416 789-7169 x25
Corrado Paina has served as Executive Director of the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario since 2001. In this capacity, he has traveled extensively throughout Canada and Italy to strengthen the business ties between the two countries. Paina has been instrumental in organizing a number of successful trade missions to Italy and has accompanied many Ontario delegations comprised of entrepreneurs, investors, mayors, politicians and institutional authorities, to meet their counterparts in Italy. He has worked tirelessly to promote Toronto, Ontario and Canada as sound places to invest and to facilitate cross-cultural and social exchange.
Paina is the editor in chief of Partners magazine, the quarterly publication of the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario that is distributed to more than 5,000 businesses in the GTA.
During his tenure at the Chamber, Paina also played a key role in spearheading discussion to create an alliance between the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario, the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Portuguese Canadian Professionals and Business and the Toronto Chinese Business Association. Established in April 2008, The Alliance oversees major cross-cultural events in the GTA and Ontario.
Paina has sat on the working committee of Toronto Expo 2015 and has acted as a consultant to the planning committee of Toronto/Milan Expo 2015. In 2006 he was elected Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Toronto Forum for Global Cities, a first-ever Toronto conference created to help provide Canadian business and political leaders with an arena to discuss global issues and their effects on local economies.
Corrado is a member of the Board of Invest Toronto Inc. He is also the Vice President of EUCOCIT, the umbrella organization of all European Union Chambers of Commerce in Toronto.
An author and poet with several collections of poetry and prose to his name, Paina’s most recent books include ”Souls in plain clothes (Mansfield Press, Toronto) and Abecedario in collaboration with renowned painter Sandro Martini and printer Paolo Nava.
He is also the Executive Producer of a documentary entitled”Made in Canada: The Italian Way,” which deals with a problem currently challenging family run companies and how they deal with the issue of succession and their children.
His interests include traveling, painting, human interest stories and spending time with his partner, Deborah and children, Andrea and Luca.

Elena Dell'Osbel, Deputy Director
Telephone: +416 789-7169 x28
Elena graduated in business administration from the University of Bologna and has worked as primary liaison between the Vatican and the national office for World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto. With several years experience working as a marketing and sales manager in the automotive and market research industries, Elena is ready to help you take your business to the next level.

Kate Hopwood, Editorial Director, Partners Magazine
Telephone: 416-789-7169 x 31
Kate joined the Chamber in 2009 from the world of journalism, where she has worked as a writer, blogger, copy editor and award-winning page designer. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario's master's degree program in journalism, with an additional background in political science, Hopwood is pleased to bring her experience with the Canadian media to the Chamber. Our recent improvements to the design and content of Partners will continue as she brings her innovation and expertise to its pages.

Rita Molinari, Director, Business Development
Telephone: +416 789-7169 x30
Rita has experience in organizational development and administration at multinational corporations in the mining and metals, specialty chemicals, and healthcare sectors. Recently, Rita has freelanced in the area of business development in the food and wine sector. Her fluency in French and Italian is a valuable asset at the Chamber, as she facilitates the development of synergies between Italian enterprises and their Canadian counterparts. Rita is a graduate of the University of Toronto.

Tiziana Tedesco, Director, Trade Department
Telephone: +416 789-7169 x24
Tiziana joined the Italian Chamber of Commerce in September 2000. With a BA in Translation (Italian, English and German) from the University of Trieste and having worked as a journalist and translator for the Italian daily Corriere Canadese, Tiziana brings a wide range of experience to the Chamber. Tiziana's role is to encourage, promote and facilitate new business relationships between local business people and Italian entrepreneurs seeking opportunities in Canada.

Faria Hoque, Membership and Events Coordinator
Telephone: +416 789-7169 x 35
Having lived in Italy for over ten years, Faria has always been “Italian” at heart. This passion for the Italian language and culture has guided her to work as a recreational therapist at Villa Colombo and to become a medical Italian Interpreter for University Health of Network. Faria joined the Italian Chamber of Commerce in February 2010. She has extensive experience in event planning and management and hopes to use this knowledge to create new and innovative events for the chamber. She is fluent in English, French, Italian, and Bengali. Faria graduated from the University of Toronto with a specialization in Human Biology and a double minor in French and Italian studies.

Claudia Barbiero, Associate
Office: +39 02 400 47157, Cel: +39 347 3446632
Via Soncino, 1 Milano (MI) 20123
Claudia Barbiero is based at the Italian Chamber of Commerce’s office in Milan. Her role is to connect with the business communities in Italy in order to promote investments and business in Ontario using the chamber network. Claudia has a business degree from Concordia University with a focus in Finance and in International Business. She has work experience in the biotech field and has worked in both Italy and in Canada in the private sector. She is fluent in English, Italian and French.