Clara received her degree in telecommunication engineering at Politecnico di Milano. She joined Eni in 2002, where she started her career as an R&D geophysicist, working on the development of innovative technologies for subsurface exploration. She then held several managerial positions in the exploration function; among them: West Africa Area Manager, Head of Technical Assurance, Digital Transformation partner, Head of subsurface data management.

Before becoming CEO of Eni Next, Eni's venture capital arm, she was the Head of Business Support Services and Transformation Program Director of the Eni’s Natural Resource General Direction.