Mario Pezzini is Head of the OECD Division of Territorial Reviews and Governance since 1999. He joined the OECD in 1995 as a Principal Administrator in the OECD Urban Affairs Division and until 1999, he headed the OECD Rural and Regional Development Programme.

Before joining the OECD, Mr. Pezzini had the following professional activities: Consultant for the National Confederation of Business Co-operatives and for Local Governmental Agencies of Modena and Bologna in the field of Economic Development (1986-1990); Economic Counsellor in Regional Planning and Development for the Regional Government of Emilia-Romagna (1991); Professor in Industrial Economics in the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines in Paris (1991-1994).

He graduated with honours in Economy, and he obtained a senior fellowship between 1989 and 1990 in the Institute for Policy Studies in the Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, USA. He also studied a PhD in the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines in Paris.

Regional Economics, Industrial Economics, Labour Economics and Rural Development are his main fields of interest.