Francesco Arezzo was sitting with a friend at his district conference when he received a call, asking him to leave the room and join a Zoom meeting with the Rotary International Board of Directors. A few minutes later, Arezzo learned that he’d been chosen as RI president for 2025-26, the third Italian and the first from southern Italy to lead the global membership organization. Since the news hadn’t been officially announced, he couldn’t tell anyone. But soon, he noticed phones coming out all over the room.

“When the news arrived on social media at about 11 p.m., we were in the middle of the gala dinner,” he says. “You can imagine more than 400 Rotarians all finding out on their phones. It was quite an unforgettable moment. All of a sudden, they all lined up to kiss me and offer their congratulations. I was deeply touched.”

A week after the Board held a special session in June to select Arezzo to lead Rotary, he flew to Calgary, Canada, for the 2025 Rotary International Convention. There, he was warmly embraced by members from around the world. Thousands of attendees interrupted during his speech with ebullient applause at the closing session as he was officially introduced.

A member of the Rotary Club of Ragusa in Sicily, Arezzo has been part of Rotary for more than three decades. He has served as vice chair of the Joint Strategic Planning Committee, RI director, and chair of the 2023 International Convention Committee for Melbourne, among other leadership roles. Throughout his Rotary journey, Arezzo has supported initiatives that strengthen RI’s impact and expand opportunities for engagement across generations. He has served as president of Fondazione Rotary Italia, a national initiative that makes it easier for Italian citizens to support Rotary’s humanitarian projects around the world.

The following interview was conducted during multiple conversations with Arezzo in Calgary — in the hallway during breaks, inside a minibus en route to a Rotary event, and at a makeshift office inside the convention hall, where Rotary members frequently stopped by to greet and hug him. Despite his packed schedule, he set aside time to talk with Rotary magazine about his life, his Rotary journey, his plans for the organization, and two of his other passions: opera and olive oil.