Multilingual Physicist Denies Involvement in Deadly Pager Incident

Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, the 49-year-old CEO of BAC Consulting based in Budapest, has found herself at the center of a controversy involving exploding pagers that resulted in 12 fatalities and over 2,000 injuries in Lebanon. The Italian-Hungarian executive, who possesses a PhD in particle physics from University College London, has denied any direct involvement in the manufacturing of these devices.

BAC Consulting, Barsony-Arcidiacono's company, licensed the pager design from Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese manufacturer. When questioned about her role, she stated, "I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong." Since this statement, she has not been seen in public, and attempts to reach her have been unsuccessful.

Acquaintances describe Barsony-Arcidiacono as highly intelligent but potentially naive in business matters. One individual, speaking anonymously, suggested she "could easily be used" and characterized her as "good-willed, not a business type, more like someone who often tries something new, who quickly believes things and then gets enthusiastic about that."

Her professional history reveals a series of short-term positions across Africa and Europe in humanitarian work. However, investigations have uncovered discrepancies between her claimed roles and actual positions. For instance, while her CV listed her as a "Board Member at the Earth Child Institute," the organization's founder, Donna Goodman, clarified that Barsony-Arcidiacono had never held any role there.

"Cristiana. That was one of the biggest mistakes of my life, I think. It was simply awful on a personal level... Then at some point I said enough is enough. I should probably have done it sooner. I said that's enough and I sent her home a month early."

Kilian Kleinschmidt, a veteran ex-U.N. humanitarian administrator, hired Barsony-Arcidiacono in 2019 for a six-month Dutch-funded program in Tunisia. He described her management style as "bullying" and terminated her contract prematurely.

Despite her impressive academic background, including a PhD in physics focusing on positrons (subatomic particles with the mass of an electron and a positive charge), Barsony-Arcidiacono appears to have not pursued a scientific career. Her former professor at UCL, Akos Torok, confirmed that to his knowledge, she has not engaged in scientific work since completing her doctorate.

As investigations continue, the incident raises questions about the oversight of international business operations and the verification of professional credentials in sensitive industries.