The appointments mark an important step in Panattoni’s growth strategy in Italy, as the company accelerates the expansion of its development and investment pipeline with the ambition to build a leading market position — replicating the success achieved across other European countries. Panattoni will continue to focus on identifying the strongest market opportunities, partnering with top international tenants and investors, and delivering high-quality, sustainability-driven projects, with increasing emphasis on logistics, industrial and data-centre developments.
Robert Dobrzycki, CEO and Co-Owner of Panattoni Europe comments: “By combining Klára’s experience and long track record of success delivering for clients during her many years at Panattoni and Giuliano’s deep knowledge and history of achievement in the industrial and logistics market in Italy, we now have the leadership capacity in place to drive substantial growth of our Italian development platform and ensure market-leading execution for our clients” .
Klára Sobotková, one of the pioneers of female leadership in the industrial and logistics real-estate sector in the Czech Republic, brings more than 20 years of experience in senior commercial and development roles. She joined Panattoni eighteen years ago as Leasing & Marketing Coordinator and has since played a key role in building the company’s leading position in the Czech market. Since 2014, she has served as Commercial Director, and in 2022 she assumed the role of Development Director, where she has been instrumental in implementing ESG strategies, with strong focus on brownfield regeneration, sustainable construction and reducing land consumption. Since 2023, she has also served as Vice President for Foreign Investments at AFI, representing the Czech Republic in international forums and institutional platforms focused on foreign direct investment.
Throughout her career, she has led transactions exceeding 1,000,000 sqm of industrial space across logistics, manufacturing and warehousing, was shortlisted as a finalist for the Czech Management Association’s "Manager of the Year" award as well as been recognized twice as one of the most influential women in the Czech Republic by Forbes.
Klára Sobotková comments: “I step into Italy with deep respect for the market and enormous gratitude toward the Czech team that shaped me — professionally and personally. Together with Giuliano, we aim to combine Panattoni’s international experience with strong local insight to build a long-term, high-quality platform for growth in Italy and to serve our clients in the best way. As a woman in a traditionally male-driven sector, I hope this step shows that strong leadership has many forms. For me, it means leading with clarity, responsibility and humanity — and creating space for others to rise”.
Giuliano Casale's promotion recognises the decisive contribution he has made since joining the company in March 2024, which has led to a significant strengthening of the growth strategy and development pipeline in Italy. In his role as Director of Acquisitions & Development, he has coordinated the entire development cycle, helping to build one of the most dynamic and relevant pipelines in the domestic market. In his new role, he will be responsible for business growth, coordinating the development pipeline and overseeing investment and delivery activities on a national scale.
Giuliano has over 20 years of experience in real estate, with a focus on logistics and retail developments. Before joining Panattoni, he was Head of Development for Italy at a large international developer, he hold the position of Development Manager at Adeo Groupe for seven years, covering the markets of Northern and Central Italy, and gained experience at Auchan, Lidl and Banca Intesa. Overall, he has contributed to the implementation of logistic projects worth over €800 million, a significant deployment of capital that adds to the experience and projects previously developed in the retail sector. He has a degree in Financial Market Economics and is a member of the Board of Directors of ALIS – Associazione Logistica dell'Intermodalità Sostenibile (Association for Sustainable Intermodal Logistics).
Giuliano Casale comments: "I am deeply honoured to take on this role. Over the past few months, we have built a solid, dynamic platform that is recognised by the market. Together with Klára and the team, we will lead a new phase of growth, investing in innovative projects and focusing on the needs of our customers and partners, with the aim of generating lasting value and further strengthening our leadership in the reference market. Klara and I will challenge each other constructively, combining our experiences and perspectives to raise the bar even higher and accelerate Panattoni’s leadership journey in Italy”.
