Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, a 49-year-old Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of BAC Consulting in Hungary, boasts an impressive resume. She speaks seven languages, holds a PhD in particle physics, and has an apartment in Budapest adorned with her own pastel drawings of nudes. Her career has taken her across Africa and Europe, where she has engaged in humanitarian work.
However, Barsony-Arcidiacono has denied any involvement in the production of the exploding pagers that caused fatalities and injuries in Lebanon. After her company was found to have licensed the design from the original Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, she clarified to NBC News that she was merely an intermediary. "I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong," she stated. Since then, she has remained out of the public eye, with neighbors reporting no sightings and no response to media inquiries.
The Hungarian government has confirmed that its intelligence services have interviewed Barsony-Arcidiacono multiple times since the incident. Despite further attempts by Reuters to contact her, there has been no response. The government also clarified that BAC Consulting is a "trading-intermediary company" without any manufacturing facilities in Hungary.
Those who know Barsony-Arcidiacono describe her as intellectually gifted but with a career marked by short-term engagements and a lack of long-term stability. An acquaintance, who requested anonymity, characterized her as "good-willed, not a business type," noting her enthusiasm for new ventures and her tendency to believe in what she hears. Kilian Kleinschmidt, a former UN humanitarian administrator, described hiring her as a "mistake" due to disagreements over staff management.
At her Budapest residence, a steel gate protects a vestibule adorned with her life drawings in red and orange pastels. A neighbor described her as kind and communicative. Barsony-Arcidiacono was part of a Budapest art club but had not attended in recent years. Her schoolmate recalled her as a reserved youngster from a working-class family in Sicily.
Barsony-Arcidiacono earned her PhD in physics from University College London, focusing on positrons. However, she did not pursue a scientific career. Her resume also lists post-graduate degrees in politics and development from the London School of Economics and the School of Oriental and African Studies, though these could not be independently verified. She has worked on various NGO projects across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
On BAC Consulting's website, which was taken down, the company's actual business in Hungary was unclear. Barsony-Arcidiacono described herself as a scientist utilizing her diverse background for interdisciplinary projects, emphasizing her skills in analytical thinking, language, and leadership in multicultural settings.
