A graduate in political science in Italy, Francesca Aceto spent five years in Paris working for the Italian Railways (FSI) and the International Union of Railways (UIC) before joining SNCF in 1998. Since then, she has held various roles involving customer relations, communication and international development, both within the station operations division and at the company’s head office. In 2016, she became President of SNCF au Féminin, France’s largest corporate network dedicated to gender diversity.

In 2020, she was appointed Regional Director for SNCF Réseau in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Certified by the IFA–Sciences Po programme, she was a member of the Board of Directors of UN Women from 2020 to 2024, and of the Franco–Italian Chamber of Commerce from 2016 to 2020. 

She was awarded the title of Chevalier of the National Order of Merit in 2019. In 2025, she was appointed Deputy Managing Director, Communications at SNCF Réseau.