Pietro Gennari is currently a Senior Consultant in Official Statistics and SDG monitoring, Editor-in-Chief of the Statistical Journal of the International Association for Official Statistics, and ISI Council Member for the period 2021–2025.

He has acquired over 35 years of professional experience in the main areas of official statistics and in managing statistical programmes, both at the national and international levels. During his professional career, he demonstrated the ability to lead transformational changes in large organizations, develop modernization strategies and implement them gaining support from senior management, staff, and peers. Proven capacity to manage and supervise effectively a large and diverse group of staff and effectively resolve a variety of HR issues. Extensive international experience in providing support to strengthen the statistical capacity of developing countries, with direct in-depth knowledge of their statistical system and their needs for technical assistance. Succeeded in raising large amount of funds to implement extensive capacity development programmes. Excellent knowledge of UN procedures and practices as well as of results-based programme planning, monitoring, and reporting. Wide experience in servicing UN intergovernmental bodies as well in building and maintaining statistical partnerships with member countries, donors, and international agencies. Published several papers in Italian and international scientific journals, and well acquainted with drafting both corporate official documents and technical reports.

From December 2008 to July 2023, he served as Director of the Statistics Division and then as Chief Statistician at FAO. In this role, he coordinated the FAO statistical system by leading the monitoring work for the SDG indicators under FAO custodianship, by fostering the quality and harmonization of FAO statistical processes and by ensuring the implementation of corporate and international statistical standards.

During the period 2013-2017 he served as Chair of the Chief Statisticians of the UN system, co-Chair of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) and Chair of the Committee on Agricultural Statistics of the International Statistical Institute. During this period, he played a key role in the advancement of the coordination of the global statistical system, leading in particular the preparation of the joint UN contribution to the selection of the streamlined list of global SDG indicators.

Before joining FAO, he worked as Director of the Statistics Division at the UN Regional Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and he served for 15 years at the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) with progressively higher managerial responsibilities.