ELENA BECCALLI
Preside della Facoltà di Scienze Bancarie, Finanziarie e Assicurative Università Cattolica
Elena Beccalli is dean of the School of banking, finance and insurance at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan), and full professor of banking at the same School. She is research associate at the Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation of the London School of Economics, and academic fellow at the Centre for Responsible Banking and Finance of the University of St. Andrews. She has been visiting professor at the Singapore Institute of Management and at the Pecking University. She is chairwoman of the Italian branch of European Society for Banking and Financial Law (AEDBF), and member of the Directive committee of Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA). She serves as journal manager of Journal of financial management, markets and institutions (JFMI). She has published extensively (books and articles) on several subjects related to banking. She has a ten-year experience as independent non-executive board member and chairwoman of board committees of Italian listed banks and asset management companies.
DANIELE BENATOFF
Co-Founder & Co-CEO Planet Farms
Born and raised in Milan, Daniele achieved a BSc in Economics cum laude at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2002, Daniele has been living in London, where he worked for ten years for Goldman Sachs in private equity and then at the head of the bank's internal hedge fund. After starting his own business and managing his hedge fund, Benros Capital, Daniele ran the European business of Halcyon Asset Management. Daniele has been an angel investor for years, focused mainly on companies in the technology and consumer products spaces. This passion culminated in his decision to join forces with Luca, a childhood friend, and create Planet Farms.
SETTIMIO BENEDUSI
Photographer
Settimio Benedusi was born in Imperia in 1962, a professional photographer with a studio in Milan since 1990. He has been a registered member of the Association of Journalists since 2000 and is active as a fashion, advertising and portrait photographer, collaborating with all the major publishing houses. He is a precurser of internet sharing, having had an active personal blog since 2003, with over 5 million page views: http://www.benedusi.it/blog/ He is also highly engaged on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, with thousands of followers. Lecturer at IED Istituto Europeo di Design. Lecturer at IULM in Milan. Very active in education and publication, teaching in the best Italian workshops. The only Italian to produce the international edition of Sports Illustrated, with two covers, for 7 consecutive years. Exclusive curator and creator of the special swimwear supplement of the Gazzetta dello Sport Sportweek, with testimonials Melissa Satta, Elisabetta Canalis, Federica Pellegrini and Belen Rodriguez. Contributor to Corriere della Sera. In 2013 he held a Lectio Magistralis at the Milan Triennale organised by the Italian Association of Professional Photographers, an exhibition that invites onto the same stage Oliviero Toscani, Ferdinando Scianna, Gianni Berengo Gardin, Toni Thorimbert and Giovanni Gastel. In 2013, he was Artistic Director of the San Felice sul Panaro Photo Festival, for which he involved 12 major Italian photographers and Martina Colombari in a weekend to raise public awareness and give new vitality to a town seriously affected by the earthquake. He travelled to make investigative photographic reports in Uganda with Filippa Lagerback for CBM Italia and in Haiti for NPH with Martina Colombari. In 2016, at the Leica Gallery in Piazza del Duomo in Milan, he presented a solo exhibition dedicated to the memory of his late father. In 2016, to verify if photography can still have any real value beyond the ‘likes’ on social media networks, he travelled on foot from Imperia to Milan without any money, trading photographs in exchange for eating, drinking and sleeping: he succeeded! He has collaborated with Oliviero Toscani in countless initiatives. In 2018, he founded the ‘Collective of Popular Photography’ RICORDI STAMPATI (Printed Memories), which reproposes the luxury of the Printed Photographic Portrait. He loves to condense the infinite characteristics of a person into a single small gesture: what he would like to be known for is someone who never throws litter on the ground.
ELENA BERREBI
Founding Partner of REVAIA
Revaia invests in European growth-stage companies with global ambitions and sustainable leadership positions such as Aircall, Frontify and Deepki, helping them navigate throughout entire life cycles from the growth stage to IPO and beyond. Prior to founding Revaia, Elina was involved in the creation of Eurazeo Growth, Eurazeo’s growth equity arm where she supported leading tech companies such as Farfetch, PeopleDoc and ContentSquare. Elina has experience in the financing, structuring or the oversight of 30+ growth companies, and was previously an investment manager at Bpifrance. Elina sits on the boards of Frontify, Welcome to the Jungle and GoHenry. Elina has been consistently recognised as an investor and a young leader by the industry. Some distinctions she has received include Venture Capital Journal’s 40 Under 40 Rising Stars, Best Young Private Equity Personality of 2021 at the Private Equity Exchange & Awards, Les Echos’ France Tech Personalities of 2021, inclusion in the Choiseul 100 and France Invest’s “Coup de Coeur trophy” of 2019. Elina graduated from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and Columbia University in New York.
PIETRO BEZZA
Managing Partner of Connect Ventures
Pietro is a founder turned VC. He has invested at seed stage for 10 years, focusing predominantly on B2B software. He is first check and on the board of several unicorns, including: Typeform and TrueLayer. Pietro learned the whole rollercoaster journey of tech entrepreneurship as co-founder and CEO of Neo Network, a mobile communication platform. Started in Milan in 2001, scaled up to 25m ARR, acquired in 2008. Prior to that, he did 5 years of Product and Marketing Management at Kraft Food where he experienced with Philadelphia the power category domination. A classic journey from soft cheese to soft…ware. Pietro’s passion and expertise is in everything SaaS, in product-led growth and in category design. He likes experimenting with new frameworks like his notorious Minimum Viable Category Design or the PLG Trifecta (LINKs) Pietro lives in London with his wife and two boys who has coerced to become Inter Milan fans.
NICK BROWN
Co-founder and Managing Partner at Imaginary
Nick Brown is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Imaginary Ventures. Founded in partnership with Natalie Massenet in 2018, Imaginary Ventures invests in best-in-class brands, platforms and entrepreneurs that are changing how a new generation of consumers live, eat and shop. Notable investments include Skims, Reformation, Glossier, FarFetch, Daily Harvest and others. Prior to starting Imaginary Ventures, Nick was a Partner at 14W Venture Partners. Nick received his BA from Harvard University.
ELENA CAPPARELLI
Direttore Rai Play e Digital con responsabilità ad interim della Direzione Contenuti Digitali
Following a Master in Science Communication from SISSA (International School for Advanced Studies) in Trieste, Elena Capparelli began collaborating with Rai in 1997. From 1997 to 2000, she was the author of MediaMente, a historic Rai3 programme, which recounted the advent of the Internet in Italy. In 2000, she joined RaiNet as Content Manager and, after the launch of Rai's first portal in 2001, she began following all Rai projects for the first digital platforms, taking on increasing responsibility. She was also editorial manager of Rai's first on-demand TV service, Rai Click. In March 2008, she oversaw the launch of Rai.tv and until 2015 she was responsible for the editorial development of Rai’s entire digital offer. In June 2015, she was appointed Deputy Director of Rai Cultura, as head of Scheduling and Programming and the Rai Scuola channel. Since November 2017, she has been Deputy Director of Rai 3 with direct responsibility for Programming and Marketing. In May 2019, she was appointed Director of the Digital Department, renamed Rai Play and Digital the following December. From July 2019 to March 2022, she was a member of the Board of Directors of PER – (Player Editori Radio). Since June 2020, she has been a member of the Board of Directors of Rai Cinema, and since April 2021, she has been a member of the Board of Directors of Auditel Srl. In December 2021, she was appointed Director of the Digital Content Division and interim Head of Rai Play and Digital. In August 2022, she was again Director of Rai Play and Digital, taking interim responsibility for the Digital Content Division.
ILARIA CAPUA
Senior Fellow of Global Health Johns Hopkins University
Senior Fellow of Global Health at Johns Hopkins University, Ilaria Capua has directed Italian and international research laboratories and developed the concept of Circular Health. Member of the European Academy of Sciences, she is the author of books for adults and children and a columnist for Corriere della Sera. Among the most authoritative Italian scientists at international level, Ilaria Capua has directed research groups in Italy and abroad for over thirty years, dedicating herself to viral infections that are transmittable from animals to humans, and their pandemic potential. She pioneered open access science applied to pandemic preparedness, designing and laying the foundations for the development of a platform for sharing virus genetic data to accelerate and optimise the response to pandemic emergencies. This initiative – taken up by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal – overturned the existing paradigm and today, because of it, millions of Sars-CoV-2 sequences are available in publicly accessible databases. Appointed Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Republic in 2012, from 2013 to 2016 she was a member of the Italian Parliament at the invitation of the then Prime Minister Mario Monti. From 2016 to 2023 she directed the "One Health" centre of excellence at the University of Florida, where she developed the concept of Circular Health that promotes the advancement of health as an integrated system through interdisciplinary approaches. She is also an essayist and author of highly successful books including Io, trafficante di virus (Virus Trader) (Rizzoli, 2017), Salute Circolare (Circular Health) (Egea, 2019), Il Dopo. Il virus che ci ha costretto a cambiare mappa mentale (The Aftermath. The virus that forced us to change mind maps) (Mondadori, 2020), La meraviglia e la trasformazione (Wonder and transformation) (Mondadori, 2021), Il coraggio di non avere paura (The courage of not being afraid) (Solferino, 2022). She has also written books for children, including: Ti conosco mascherina (I know you, facemask) (La Coccinella, 2020), Il viaggio segreto dei virus (The secret journey of viruses) (De Agostini, 2021), Girogirotondo è uno il mondo (Ring-a-ring-o’ roses, there’s only one world (La Coccinella, 2021). A number of documentaries have been made based on her professional career, and in 2021 the film "Io trafficante di virus" (Virus Trader) starring Anna Foglietta. She has received countless awards, including in 2008 the Scientific American 50 Award, awarded to the world’s top 50 researchers, and in 2021 the Hypatia Prize for Life Sciences awarded from the European Academy of Sciences. In 2023, she was awarded an Honorary Master's Degree in Med
ALESSANDRA CARRA
CEO of Feltrinelli Group
Chief Executive Officer of the Feltrinelli Group since January 2022, for the previous seven years she held the position of CEO of Agnona, part of the industrial textile group Ermenegildo Zegna. Before that, she was Chairman and CEO of Emilio Pucci (LVMH group) for three years, and Senior Vice President Luxury Brands Europe and CEO South Europe of Ralph Lauren for eight years. Previously, she worked in top roles in Valentino and Levi Strauss. After graduating in Economics from the University of Bologna, she began her career in the strategic consulting firm McKinsey in Milan.
ALBERTO CARTASEGNA
Founder & Ceo Miscusi
Born in 1989, at eighteen he took his first plane to London for a sabbatical and immersed himself in catering. He returned to Italy and graduated with honours in Economics from Bocconi University, spending a semester of his MBA at the Kelly School of Business in America. After a brief experience in Boston Consulting Group, he joined Rocket Internet in Berlin and founded Helpling Italia, helping to raise 57M€. At the age of 26, he founded miscusi. In 2019, he was nominated by Forbes among the 100 young Italians who will change the future.
ENRICO CASATI
Co-founder & Co-CEO of Velasca
Enrico Casati is the co-founder and co-CEO of Velasca, together with Jacopo Sebastio. In the early years of his career, he worked for the HSBC bank, mainly abroad between London and Singapore, both in the field of management support to top management and directly on the markets in the Asset Management division. In 2013, he decided to follow his entrepreneurial vocation by starting his own business. That same year, he founded Velasca, covering all company roles according to the company’s needs. Today he focuses on strategy, human resources, marketing, operations, technology and customer service, overseeing and coordinating a team of dozens of people towards the common goal of sustainable growth. Passionate about business and entrepreneurship, over the years he has shared his experience with other startups in the Italian ecosystem, with students of university courses and on Linkedin. Velasca is the first Italian style brand, created online in 2013, to adopt direct sales to the final consumer (first online and now omnichannel) as the centre of its growth and development. Velasca's mission is to bring "beautiful, well-made Italian style" to the world. The brand started from men's handmade shoes, but is rapidly expanding into the women's sector and into other total-look product categories, consistent with a lifestyle brand strategy that unites people in the world with the same values of style, craftsmanship, appreciation, and high quality made to last.
VALERIO CHIARONZI
CEO & Founder of hlpy
Born in Rome where he graduated in Social Sciences from Sapienza, he grew up professionally in Milan where he began his working career in the ‘new economy’ of the late Nineties. He directly experienced the great enthusiasm of the first wave of digitisation in those years, followed by the bursting of the speculative bubble, first in Freedomland and then in Genie (British Telecom's digital brand). After two years of Sales & Marketing consultancy mostly in the automotive sector, in 2004, he joined Europ Assistance, the Generali Group's assistance providing company. In those years, in addition to covering various roles with increasing responsibilities in insurance, operations and sales & marketing, he developed his academic career by completing an Executive Program in General Management at Insead in Fontainebleau. In 2017, having exhausted his experience in Europ Assitance, he joined AmTrust International, the European arm of the American insurance group AmTrust, a player specialised in P&C and Warranty business, as General Manager. Since May 2020, Valerio Chiaronzi is CEO & Founder of hlpy, a European company based in Milan that is redesigning (digitising) the vehicle assistance services industry, serving car manufacturers, car rental agencies, motor insurance companies and mobility players. Hlpy has just concluded a Series A funding round and is expanding its activities into major European markets. Valerio is passionate about music, guitars and sports, and he is married with one son.
MARCO CHISARI
Executive Vice President of Samsung
Marco Chisari currently works as Executive Vice President at Samsung in Silicon Valley, California, heading the US Foundry business and Corporate Development and Venture activities. The business he heads had about $9bn revenue in 2022. From 2018 to 2021 he worked as Managing Director, Global Head of Semiconductor for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in San Francisco. At BAML he has advised on many transactions. In 2020 alone, he advised on $69bn of M&A, including the $35bn sale of Xilinx to AMD, the $21bn acquisition of Maxim by Analog Devices, the $9bn sale of Intel NAND business to SK Hynix. Other transactions include the $10bn acquisition of Cypress by Infineon, the $4.6bn acquisition of Osram by AMS, Marvell acquisitions of Aquantia and Avera. From 2016 to 2018 he worked as Managing Director, heading technology M&A in San Francisco for Credit Suisse. In this role he has advised on semiconductor and software transactions, including the $14.7bn acquisition of Linear Technology by Analog Devices, the proposed $47bn sale of NXP to Qualcomm, the $5.6bn acquisition of Brocade by Broadcom. Prior to this role, he served as an Executive Director at Mubadala, working on technology M&A investments. In about 7 years he participated in investments worth over $22bn, including the creation and the M&A activities of GlobalFoundries which has become the second largest foundry player in the world with over $6bn revenue. While at Mubadala he has also served as SVP, head of M&A and Corp Dev at GlobalFoundries working on the $2.8bn acquisition of Charter Semiconductor and IBM Microelectronics, partnerships with Samsung as well as a $2.5bn joint venture in China. He also served on the Boards of some of Mubadala VC portfolio companies, including SoftMachines, SmoothStone and Aquantia. Prior to Mubadala he worked at JPMorgan in TMT investment banking in London. In this role he worked on over $20bn of M&A transactions including some of the largest technology LBO transactions ($10.6bn NXP LBO). Prior to JPMorgan he worked at STMicroelectronics in San Jose, CA developing System-on-Chip products with ARM processors and Flash Memories, and at NOKIA in Italy, developing turbo codes and 3G algorithms for 3G baseband and smart antennas. He graduated summa cum lauded in microelectronics engineering from Politecnico of Milano, Italy and he holds an MBA degree from SDA Bocconi University and attended as a second-year exchange student the MBA program at Wharton Business School.
MASSIMO CIOCIOLA
Founder of Musixmatch
Product-focused, balance-sheet driven entrepreneur with a 25+ year track record in pioneering, launching and growing profitable business in the media and tech space with broad experience in product, business, and content development. Massimo Ciociola is the Founder and CEO of Musixmatch, the global leading consumer and business Music Data company based in Bologna, London and San Francisco. The company focuses on building the best languages, transcriptions and meta data out of any audio formats. From Music to Audio. Musixmatch has more than 70 million users worldwide throughout all consumer platforms and global distributions agreements with Apple Music, Amazon Music, Instagram, Google, Facebook, Vevo, Spotify, Tidal, Youtube, etc with the goal of enhancing the consumer music experience. Musixmatch since July 2022 is a TPG Growth's portfolio company.
JOHN CLIPPINGER
Researcher, Entrepreneur and Activist
John Henry Clippinger was a founding Director of the Open Earth Foundation, and co-founder of Bioform Labs. He was a co-founder of The Token Commons Foundation and Swytch, now ClearTrace Inc., and the Institute for Data Driven Design (ID3) with Professor Sandy Pentland. He was a Research Scientist at the MIT Media Lab Human Dynamics Group, and currently a Research Affiliate at the City Science Group. Formerly, he was a Senior Fellow and Co-Director of The Law Lab at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard Law School. He was the Co-founder and CEO of four AI and NLP companies and Director of Intellectual Capital at Coopers & Lybrand, now PWC. Dr. Clippinger is co-editor From Bitcoin to Burning Man and Beyond; The Quest for Identity and Autonomy in Digital Society, the author of A Crowd of One: The Future of Individual Identity, and the Biology of Business. (He has been a member of the World Economic Forum Global Advisory Council, Santa Fe Institute, Aspen Institute, Highlands Forum, Institute for the Future, Yale CEO Summit, Dubai Futures Forum, Aspen Italia, TII/Vanguard, Kinnernet, DLD, and others. Dr. Clippinger is a graduate of Yale University and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. His recent Boards and Advisories: Open Earth Foundation
Active Inference Labs
Raise Green
Swytch/ClearTrace
Cashaa
Bancor
Evident Proof
Smart Valor
Decentralized Pictures
Co-Makery
OVR
VITTORIO COLAO
Vice-Chair EMEA General Atlantic
Vittorio Colao is Vice Chairman EMEA of Growth Equity investor General Atlantic, a non Executive Director of Verizon Communications in the US and a Board, Executive Commitee member and Chair of the International Advisory Council of Bocconi University in Milan. Vittorio has been Minister for Technology Innovation and Digital transition as well as Delegate authority for Space for the Italian Government in 2021-22. Prior to that he was also Chairman of the Remuneration Committee of Unilever PLC. Vittorio has been the CEO of Vodafone Group from 2008 to 2018. He has worked at Vodafone and predecessor companies since 1996 and has been also the Group CEO of RCS MediaGroup in Italy between 2004 and 2006. He served as Vice-Chairman of the European Roundtable of Industrialists until 2018 and McKinsey’s International advisory council. Vittorio started his career as a consultant at McKinsey, where he was made a partner in 1995. In his early career he served as NED on the Boards of Finmeccanica (Leonardo) and RAS (Allianz Italy). He chairs since 2008 the advisory Board of Cometa (charity dedicated to children) in Como, Italy. He has served as an Advisor to the MedTech degree of Humanitas-Politecnico in Milan. In 2014 Vittorio was awarded Italy’s Knighthood of the Order of Labor and in 2021 the Grande Ufficiale honor from the President of Italy. He has also been appointed He4She Impact champion (UN, 2015), won the GSMA award for Refugees support (2017), and recognized FT HERoes champion (2017). Trained as a Carabinieri Officer at the Mountain Troops Military School in Italy, Vittorio is an avid cyclist and a retired windsurfer.
MOTY CRISTAL
Professional Negotiator, Founder of NEST Group and CEO of NEST Consulting
Moty Cristal is the founder of NEST Group and the CEO of NEST Consulting. Following an illustrious career as one of Israel's leading negotiation experts, Cristal established NEST in order to bring a unique systemic approach to the world of negotiation and the benefit of his experience and success to the private and public sector. From 1994 to 2001, Mr. Cristal served in various official capacities in Israel's Prime Minister’s Office and MOD. Since 2001, he consults and trains senior executives and government officials in US, Europe, Russia and CIS and Asia in analyzing, planning and designing complex negotiation and crisis management processes. Mr. Cristal is a Lt. Colonel (R.) in the IDF, with extensive operational experience in crisis negotiation, and lectures worldwide on crisis negotiation and crisis management. In recent years, he expanded this skills set to deal with crises in the cyber world and negotiating with cyber criminals in various ransomware and extortion situations. Mr. Cristal provides his services independently or as part of Incident Response (IR) teams, cyber intelligence companies, and legal firms throughout the world. As a Professor for Negotiation Dynamics at SKOLKOVO, Moscow's leading Business School, he established the Center of Negotiation and Network Studies. He is a lecturer at the leading Executive MBA programs at Tel Aviv and Reichman Universities in Israel. Mr. Cristal commentates and writes regularly on the international media, present at international conferences and in academic publications on negotiation processes and crisis interventions. Graduated Bar-Ilan Law School in Israel (1994), and Harvard Kennedy School of Government (1998), he served as board member of the International Association of Conflict Management, and a Steering Committee member of the prestigious PIN Group (Processes in International Negotiations).
BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
Chairman and CEO of Brunello Cucinelli SpA
He is Chairman and CEO of Brunello Cucinelli SpA, an Italian fashion house operating in the high-end luxury goods sector and specializing in cashmere, that has become, over time, one of the most exclusive brands in the ‘informal luxury’ pret-à-porter sector worldwide. His life dream has always been to make man's work more human, seeking to confer both moral and economic dignity, always trying to unite profit, talent and guardianship, thus realising a form of ‘contemporary humanistic capitalism’. Brunello Cucinelli has received an extraordinary number of national and international awards for his ‘Humanistic Capitalism’. In 2018, the University of Messina, considering Brunello Cucinelli "a concrete thinker, cultural promoter and true patron of our times", awarded him an honorary PhD in Philosophy. Previously, in 2010, he was appointed the prestigious title of Cavaliere del Lavoro, delivered to him by the President of the Republic, and in the same year he received an honorary degree in Philosophy and Ethics of Human Relations from the University of Perugia, paying tribute to his many activities as a humanist entrepreneur. In 2017, he received the ‘Global Economy Prize for the World Economy’ from the authoritative Kiel Institute, with the comment that he "[...] perfectly embodied the figure of the Honorable Merchant". The following year, in 2018, he was awarded an additional prestigious title of excellence, becoming a Knight of the Grand Cross of Merit of the Italian Republic. In September 2021, he received the ‘Designer of the Year’ award in London from the important British men's fashion magazine «GQ», confirming his continued humanistic commitment as a designer and entrepreneur and for his various projects of human sustainability. In October of the same year, Brunello Cucinelli was invited to attend the G20 in Rome to present his idea of ‘Humanistic Capitalism and Human Sustainability’ before world leaders and His, at that time, Royal Highness Prince Charles – now King Charles – of the United Kingdom. In 2022, he was awarded an Honorary PhD in Management, Banking and Commodity Sciences from the University of Rome ‘Sapienza’, a prestigious title – as Dean Antonella Polimeni beautifully put it – «for managing to combine a successful entrepreneurial story with respect of the vocation of the territory and social values, generating a new humanism of enterprise". His characteristic entrepreneurial approach has always been to offer work that fully respects the ‘moral and economic dignity of man’. He thus conceived his company not only as a tool to generate profit, but also as a means to develop a model of capitalism that places the human individual and his valorisation at the centre. In March 2023, he received the prestigious Neiman Marcus Award for distinguished services in the field of fashion, which the Dallas luxury department store has been conferring on the world’s most influential figures in fashion since the 1930s.
LITAL DAGAN
Founder and Managing Director of The Fintech Investment Club
Lital has more than 15 years of global experience in investment banking and alternative investments. She is the founder and managing director of The Fintech Investment Club, a limited exclusive investment invitation-only club which creates a lucrative investment community by bringing together the top venture capital and private equity funds as co-investors. She served as CEO of the IHFA -The Israel Hedge Funds Association, for over 5 years, representing the hedge fund industry ($16B of AUM), she now serves as a board member. She has a proven track record of successful collaboration with investors and fund managers and has created a global platform for multinationals in Israel. Lital is well connected in the local capital market as well as with government authorities. Previously, Lital was the general counsel of a publicly traded company and is currently the head of the Fintech Program of the Merage Institute in California, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of several companies. She is a member in good standing of the Israel Bar Association and holds an Executive MBA from Tel Aviv University.
SHIVAJI DASGUPTA
Global Chief Data Officer at UniCredit
Shivaji Dasgupta combines exemplary commitment to diversity with experience and know-how in top management. As Global Chief Data Officer at UniCredit S.p.A in Milan, Italy, he leads and implements strategic initiatives on data and control functions across the group in 13 countries. Previously, he held various data and technology leadership roles in different financial services firms, the latest being Deutsche Bank AG as European Chief Data Officer and CIO ESG. He studied Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in India, and then completed his doctorate in Physics at the Technical University of Munich in 2008. Thereafter, he started his career at McKinsey & Co., Inc. in Munich, Germany. Shivaji speaks four languages, is an avid movie-goer and married since 2017.
EMANUELE DI ANGELANTONIO
Head of Research at the Health Data Science Centre at Fondazione Human Technopole
Head of the Health Data Science Centre at the Human Technopole in Milan and Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at University of Cambridge, Emanuele works on big data analysis applied to the study of cardiometabolic diseases, blood donors, and risk prediction. After specialising in internal medicine in Rome, he obtained a Master’s degree in medical statistics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a PhD in epidemiology from the University of Cambridge. During his career, he has held senior positions at University of Cambridge, NHS Blood and Transplant, European Society of Cardiology, and World Health Organisation. He is the author of more than 250 studies published in prestigious journals, including Lancet, JAMA and New England Journal of Medicine.
ERIK ENGELLAU-NILSSON
Co-Founder Norrsken Launcher – Norrsken House Stockholm
Erik Engellau-Nilsson is the managing partner and co-founder of Norrsken Launcher, a VC that backs deep tech companies that fundamentally can change the future of the planet. Prior to Launcher, Erik was CEO of Norrsken Foundation, an organisation that helps entrepreneurs solve the world’s biggest challenges, and worked for the payments unicorn Klarna.
ERIC EZECHIELI
Co-founder of NATIVA
Eric Ezechieli is a regenerative entrepreneur. He is co-founder of NATIVA, a company that accelerates the transition of companies towards regenerative models, and author of the book Un'impresa possibile (A possible Enterprise). After graduating in Business Studies from Bocconi University, he completed a Master's Degree in Innovation for Sustainability at Stanford, California. He helped conceive and launch CO2alizione, and he is co-founder of the Regenerative Society Foundation and AssoBenefit. From 2015 to 2017, he was Chairman of The Natural Step International. He was nominated 'Most Valuable Player 2016’ in the global movement of Benefit Corporations for helping to introduce legislation on Benefit Corporations in Italy.
OSCAR FARINETTI
Entrepreneur, Founder of Eataly
Oscar Farinetti (full name Natale Oscar Farinetti) was born on the 24th of September, during harvest time, in 1954, an excellent vintage for wine in Alba, the capital of the Langhe, by mother Bianca from Barolo, and father Paolo from Barbaresco. He lives on the tip of a hill, among his vineyards. He founded Unieuro (electronics) and then Eataly (food). At the end of 2020 he launched his third major project: Green Pea, a huge department store entirely dedicated to high quality and design non-food products, but at the same time sustainable because built in harmony with the earth, air and water. He owns several farms where he grows and processes organic products. He has received two Honoris Causa degrees, has written various successful books and holds lectures around the world. His specialty consists in being able to describe in a simple but suggestive way how to create a project, tell his idea of what marketing is and define the actions necessary to successfully face the future. Through an innovative vision that is based on rules and feelings, poetry and mathematics, moves and human relationships. Oscar donates all the revenues of his lectures to two non-profit foundations; the Mirafiore Foundation that deals with spreading literature among ordinary people, and Earth (Eataly Art House) that deals with spreading art among ordinary people.
KARIN FISCHER
Co-founder Emotion Network
Karin’s emotion is galloping. Over 15 years consulting C-level management in public, private and social companies on strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and organisation in international settings; working with partners on end-to-end projects but ultimately a solo professional. Forever driven and motivated by innovation Karin has engaged in a broad range of domains; pioneering the sustainable mobility by leading a global multi-stakeholder platform; founding an electric mobility start-up developing recharge infrastructure network; digitalising comms in entrepreneurial organisations and healthcare; engaging in political and civic communications; advising universities for growth; running sponsorships in equestrian sports... to name a few. In 2018 she decided to brand her activity “Connecting Stories” because it is ultimately what she happens to do... no matter the industry, the need, the project, the place. Always in search of new stories and connections to cross-fertilise and combine. Based on the hills of the Garda lake, smart working far ahead of time, Karin lives with her teenaged kids, pets and horses.
ASH FONTANA
Investor and Author of “The AI first company”
Ash launched Zetta Venture Partners - the first venture capital fund focused on Artificial Intelligence - with Mark Gorenberg and was a Managing Director there from 2015 to 2021. Before Zetta, Ash launched AngelList’s fundraising platform that now manages over $15B. Prior to AngelList, he co-founded Topguest (acquired), a loyalty software platform that counted United Airlines, Hilton Worldwide, and Virgin America as clients. He started his career in growth investing at Macquarie Capital in New York after studying law at the University of Sydney. Penguin Random House published his book, “The AI-First Company: How to Compete and Win with Artificial Intelligence”.
ALBERTO FORCHIELLI
Investor, Managing Partner at Mindful Capital Partners
Alberto Forchielli, born in Bologna in 1955 – obtained an MBA with Honours from Harvard and a summa cum laude Degree in Economics and Business from the University of Bologna – he is a Founding Partner of Mindful Capital Partners. Forchielli is an expert in the development of international business, with particular focus on SEA (South East Asia), USA and China, thanks to his strategic skills based on 40 years of experience. Currently, he also deals with dynamics and issues related to the global labour market and the management of talents and skills at international level with particular attention to the problems of young people and vocational training. A long-standing expert in economics, he writes for Caixin Media (fugeli.blog.caixin.com) and has also published his own blog in English (www.albertoforchielli.com). He is a regular guest on Piazza Pulita, Class CNBC, Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and on the Chinese state television, CCTV. In the past, in addition to being Special Advisor to the Italian Minister of Defense, to the Minister of the Budget for the South of Italy, and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he has worked and lived for several years in different parts of the world: Singapore and Kuala Lumpur with Finmeccanica, Washington with the World Bank, Luxembourg with the European Investment Bank, Rome with the IRI Group, Boston, London, Santiago, Lima, Milan and Rome with the Mac Group, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Munich with Mandarin Capital Partners (now Mindful Capital Partners).
MARCO FOSSATARO
Chief Financial Officer Gruppo FS Italiane
Since September 2022, he has held the position of Chief Financial Officer of the Italian national railways company, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane. Previously, from 2020 to 2022, he worked at Haier as Regional European Chief Financial Officer, also covering the role of CEO of Haier Europe Open Enterprise, a Venture Building company. During his time at Haier, he was also Chairman and Board Member of several companies in Spain, USA, Luxembourg, China, Russia and Italy. From 2019 to 2020, he held the position of Chief Audit Executive of the Terna Group, where he was also part of the Supervisory Body of Terna Rete Italia Spa and Terna Plus Srl. Prior to that, from 2016 to 2018 he was Chief Financial Officer EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) of Whirlpool, also serving on the Board of a number of the Group’s companies. From 2003 to 2016, he worked within the Enel Group, holding various managerial positions, including Group Purchasing Control Manager, Chief Financial Officer of Enel Green Power North America Inc., General Manager of Enel Finance International B.V., General Manager of Enel Investment Holding N.V., Chief Financial Officer of the listed PJSC Enel Russia and various positions on the boards of directors in the United States, Canada, Holland and Russia. From 1998 to 2003, he worked in consulting in Solving International and KPMG Advisory, specialising in projects related to logistics, purchasing and corporate turnarounds. Marco Fossataro graduated with honours in Economics and Business from La Sapienza University in Rome and obtained a Master in Business and Administration from Columbia University in New York and the London Business School in London (EMBA Global), as well as an Executive Leadership for Energy Certificate from Harvard.
FRANCESCO GAGLIARDI
Partner KPMG Head of Markets
Graduated in Economics of Institutions and Financial Markets at the "L. Bocconi" University of Milan, he joined KPMG in 1999 and became a Partner in 2008. Expert in the energy sector and in financial engineering and financial risk management, he has followed large companies in the energy sector and leading financial institutions in a career stretching almost 25 years. Today at KPMG he is the Partner responsible for the Markets area and coordinates projects with large clients.
MASSIMILIANO GARRI
Terna’s Head of Innovation & Market Solutions
Massimiliano Garri is Director of Innovation & Market Solutions of the Terna Group, which he joined in 2020. Between 2017 and 2020, he was Head of the Innovation, Technology & Solutions Department of the Acea Group. Before joining Acea, he held prominent positions in some of the most important consulting firms in Italy and abroad, tasked with ensuring the success of transformation projects in the Technology and Operations sectors: Business Integration Partners (February 2004 – July 2017), Deloitte (April 1999 – January 2004), Andersen Consulting (October 1997 – March 1999). He also worked in Gruppo Formula (April – September 1997) and Bull HN Sud (October 1991 – March 1997).
LUCILLA GIAGNONI
Author and Theater Actress
Performer, narrator, writer for the theatre, radio and television. Trained by Vittorio Gassman, she has worked with various artists including Marco Paolini, Laura Curino, Gabriele Vacis, Luciana Litizzetto, Alessio Bertallot, Fabrizio Bosso, Antonella Ruggiero, and many others. She works on the language and dialogue between different disciplines, in particular between scientific research and poetry. Her latest theatrical and radio works include Big Bang, Apocalypse, Ecce Homo, Furiosa Mente, Magnificat, and Anima Mundi. Virgin Mother received the Persephone award for best theatrical show on television. From Teatro Faraggiana in Novara (of which she is artistic director) during the first lockdown in 2020, she became the first artist in the world to livestream a complete performance of the 100 songs of the Divine Comedy, later broadcast on Rai 5 in 2021, and now available on Rai Play. She teaches storytelling and communication. She goes running or swimming every day (to keep fit but, above, all to be kinder). She has grey-green eyes.
EMANUELA GIRARDI
Founder & President Pop AI (Popular Artificial Intelligence)
Fondatrice e presidente di Pop AI (Popular Artificial Intelligence). È membro del Direttivo di ADRA, l’Associazione europea su AI, Data e Robotics che lavora con la Commissione Europea per realizzare il piano di investimenti di Horizon Europe 2021-2027 (2.6 miliardi di euro) e costruire l’ecosistema europeo dell’intelligenza artificiale, i dati e la robotica. È membro del Direttivo di AIxIA, l’Associazione Italiana per l’Intelligenza Artificiale. È membro dell’Advisory Board di CLAIRE, la Confederazione dei Laboratori per la Ricerca in Intelligenza Artificiale in Europa. È membro del gruppo di esperti di intelligenza artificiale del Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico che ha elaborato la strategia nazionale italiana per l’intelligenza artificiale del MiSE.
ANNE GLOVER
Chief Executive and Co-founder Amadeus Capital Partners
Anne co-founded Amadeus in 1997 with Hermann Hauser. Building on her scientific training and operating experience, Anne has been a venture capitalist for over 30 years and has been investing in emerging markets for 15 years. Early in her career Anne lived in the USA, working in manufacturing with Cummins Engine Company and in strategy consulting with Bain & Co, before returning to the United Kingdom to join Apax Partners in 1989 to invest in early-stage companies. She became COO of one of her investee companies, Virtuality Group, after it listed on the LSE in 1993, and then returned to investing as a business angel before founding Amadeus in 1997. A former Chairman of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and Invest Europe, Anne was appointed Non-Executive Director of the Court of the Bank of England in 2018 and in 2019 became a member of the Investment Committee of Yale Corporation, which is responsible for oversight of the Yale University Endowment. In 2021, Anne was appointed as an external member of the Venture Capital Investment Committee of British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution. Anne holds an MA degree in Metallurgy & Materials Science from University of Cambridge and a master’s degree in Public and Private Management from Yale School of Management. She was awarded a CBE in 2006 for services to business, is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2021.
MAGNUS GRIMELAND
Founder & CEO of Antler
Magnus Grimeland is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Antler (www.antler.co), recognized as the most active seed-stage investor globally, backing the world's most driven founders from day zero to greatness. He leads a global team across 6 continents and 25 locations that has invested in and helped build over 750 portfolio companies worldwide. Prior to Antler, Magnus co-founded ZALORA.com, Asia’s largest fashion e-commerce company. He served as COO and Managing Director of Zalora after it was acquired by Global Fashion Group (GFG) and expanded it across 26 countries. Magnus is an alumnus of Harvard University. He was a Junior Partner at McKinsey & Co and worked in North America, Europe, and Asia in the global telecommunications, media, and tech industries. Prior to this, he served as a Navy Seal with the Royal Norwegian Navy Special Operations.
PAOLO GUALDANI
Co-fondatore, CEO e General Partner di Milano Investment Partners SGR
Paolo started his career at Bain & Co., joining afterwards ACM (Angel Capital Management), a holding company founded by Angelo Moratti, where he joined the Board in 2008 and held the role of Investment Director working on investments in Venture Capital and growth equity; he then assumed the role of CEO leading all the main investment operations of the holding in Italy and abroad. In 2017, together with Angelo Moratti, he founded Milano Investment Partners SGR SpA, a management company specializing in Alternative Investment Funds in the equity / consumer- digital field, of which he is Chief Executive Officer and General Partner. As part of the first fund (MIP I), Paolo led the investments in Miscusi and Poke House. He was Adjunct Professor of Accounting / Financial Statement Analysis at Bocconi University. He is co-founder of the Octagon Capital multifamily office.
MAXIMO IBARRA
Ceo & General Manager Engineering
Born in Colombia in 1968, he graduated in Italy and began his career at TIM in 1994. Over the next ten years, he held a series of senior positions in Omnitel Vodafone, DHL, Benetton Group and FIAT Auto. By 2004, he was Marketing Director of Wind's mobile telephony, becoming its Chief Executive Officer and General Manager in 2012. In 2016, he became CEO of Wind TRE. He next served as CEO of KPN, in the Netherlands, and then of Sky Italia, remaining in this role until July 2021. Starting 1st October 2021, Maximo is CEO & General Manager of Engineering. Since 2005, he has been a lecturer in Marketing and Digital Marketing at the Guido Carli Luiss University & Business School in Rome.
ANN KAPLAN
Award Winning Entrepreneur, Author and Founder of iFinance
Dr Ann Kaplan has a DBA, a Doctor of Business Administration, MBA, Masters of Business Administration, MSc, Masters of Science, and ICD.D, a Corporate Governance Designation. Kaplan also studied Spirituality at the PhD level. Following academic pursuits, Ann was recognized with the highest honor, a WIMA Award, as one of the top ten female graduates of the Rotman School of Management. Dr Kaplan founded a Company, iFinance, that provides consumers with small, unsecured loans at POS terminals and online. She implemented her predictive algorithms enhanced by AI and Machine Learning, then sold the Company in 2022. During her 25-year tenure with the Company, she won over 40 international and national awards including two national awards as EY Woman Entrepreneur of the Year. Dr Kaplan continues to stay involved in finance as a regular News commentator throughout North America. Not shy to media, Ann has hosted three national television shows and starred on the Real Housewives, she is currently slated to star in a docu-reality show largely based around her real estate investments. She currently owns and operates an insurance company, a large real estate portfolio and has her own fashion line. Ann is also a seven-times published author, she sits on three academic boards and committees and is a twelve-year delegate with the Ontario Economic Summit and twice co-chair in finance at the G20Y Summit in Geneva and is a motivation speaker on the public speaking circuit.
MICAELA LE DIVELEC LEMMI
Board Director, CEO of Public Company, Luxury/Brand/Start up Advisory Board (former CEO of Ferragamo)
Micaela Le Divelec Lemmi, is an independent advisor, since September 2021, involved in innovative projects, Innovative Start ups operating in the fashion luxury sector, and occupying Board chairs in listed companies and luxury consumers driven ventures: Porsche AG, De Longhi SpA, ADR SpA, Scuola 42 Firenze. Le Divelec has been Ferragamo Group CEO from July 2018 until September 2021, joining the Group on April 2018 as General Manager and driving the Company towards a repositioning strategy and achieving a full turnaround post COVID turmoil. She is a long-lasting experienced professional in the fashion and luxury industry, having worked for 20 years within the Kering Group with growing responsibilities. She first joined the Finance Department in 1998, she has been then appointed CFO at Gucci in 2008 and Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Operations Officer in 2013. On 2014 she became also Richard Ginori’s CEO, under the control of the Kering Group, until 2015 when she has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Consumer Officer of Gucci. She left the Group in April 2018.
DAVID AND DANIIL LIBERMAN
Libermans Co. Founders Product Science, Humanism. Ex-Directors of Product at Snapchat
David and Daniil Libermans are Los Angeles-based futurists, serial entrepreneurs, investors, ex-Snap directors of Product, founders of ProductScience.ai and Humanism Co. by Libermans Co. They were born in the Soviet Union, in a family of prominent molecular biophysicists whose work was at the cornerstone of the field. When they were 24 and 26 years old, they started their own VC firm. In 2009, together with their sisters, the siblings started a venture that had become an award-winning animation technology startup, Fastoon. Several years later the Libermans founded Kernel AR building advanced technologies for Avatars in AR, which was acquired by Snap Inc in October 2016. Today, David and Daniil Liberman with their sisters are founders of Libermans Co. — the first-ever company securitizing its founders' individual value creation potential. The main projects of Liberman Co. are Product Science (a service that maximizes app performance that has recently announced its USD 18 mln Series A funding round) and Humanism Co. (a first-of-its-kind VC firm working based on Libermans Co. model and offering equity investment in individuals' future financial output).
ALESSIO LORUSSO
Founder & CEO of Roboze
Alessio Lorusso was born in Bari in 1990. CEO & Founder of Roboze, listed in the 2018 Forbes ranking among the 30 most promising European managers under 30 in the Industry category, entrepreneur and visionary in the field of additive manufacturing, earning him the award of "Entrepreneur of the Year" from Ernst & Young. In Italy, he is called "The Italian Steve Jobs" for his passion, perseverance and vision. At just 17 years old, he built his first ‘beltless’ 3D printer dedicated to SMEs and in 2015 he founded Roboze, doubling its turnover year on year. His goal is to bring the value of production back to the point of use by employing advanced additive manufacturing solutions, not only for economic advantages through the reduction of warehouse and shipping costs, but also for environmental and social advantages, thanks to a new globally distributed production model able to overturn the classic approach of decentralised manufacturing, reducing CO2 emissions and increasing engineering skills on the territory, stimulating the creation of new professional figures. With headquarters in Italy and Texas, the company is seeking to make the Bari and Houston offices among the most important 3D printing hubs in the world. Roboze – Re-shaping Manufacturing Roboze is redesigning the manufacturing industry and revolutionizing 3D Printing with the world's most precise technology, capable of processing super polymers and composite materials for the production of finished functional parts for use in the most extreme conditions and sectors. Roboze's ecosystem includes a complete range of advanced 3D printers for high temperature and high resistance super polymers, developed in collaboration with the best players in the world. It guarantees a true optimisation of costs and times along the entire production chain, bringing Additive Manufacturing closer to the standards of traditional production. In addition, Roboze offers the possibility to produce custom finished parts On Demand and Just-in-Time through its global manufacturing network service, Roboze 3D Parts, which enables companies to reduce costs and times by shortening their supply chain steps and digitising their inventory.
PAOLO MANAZZA
Artist
Born in Milan in 1959, Paolo Manazza has studied Theoretical Philosophy at University Statale of Milan and taught at the Brera Academy. Today he is an all-round intellectual in the visual arts field. Painter and well-known journalist, he is also author of philosophic and critical essays. As a painter he has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Italy, France, Monaco, China, the United States, South Korea, Egypt and Moldova. As a journalist he regularly works for Corriere della Sera and is the founder of one of the most popular Italian art web site: www.ArtsLife.com.
DANIELE MANCA
Vicedirettore Corriere della Sera
Daniele Manca graduated in DAMS (Drama, Art and Music Studies) in Bologna at the Institute of Communication. He is an inaugural Fellow of the Sulzberger program at Columbia University School Of Journalism. He has worked in the main Italian newspapers and weeklies (from Mondo Economico to Panorama, from Italia Oggi to Il Giorno) and, since 1994, he has worked at Corriere della Sera where he started as an editor up to his current position as deputy director, columnist and head of the economy and innovation section. He has followed and organised coverage of major Italian economic and political events: from the stock market boom of '86 to Clean Hands, from the birth of the euro to the Fiat rescue and the European Central Bank, from the Maastricht Treaty to the Lisbon Treaty, from the crisis of 2008 to the birth of the Monti, Letta, Renzi, Gentiloni, Conte one, Conte two and finally Draghi governments. A renowned expert of the protagonists and events of the Italian economy and politics, he was one of the architects of the digital change at Corriere della Sera where, since 2009, he has been deputy director. Formerly an adjunct professor at the Master of Journalism Walter Tobagi State University of Milan, he held a course on ‘Journalism in the digital age’. He is strategic director and member of the Scientific Committee of the Master of Journalism of IULM. He is a member of the Scientific Committee Fuori Quota. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of 100 experts in the Economics and Finance field. He is Media Ambassador of ENWE (European Network for Women Excellence). He is a member of the Steering Committee of the Banca e Impresa 2030 Observatory. He was awarded the honour of Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by President Sergio Mattarella for the promotion of culture.
PIERO MANZONI
Founder & CEO of Simbiosi
Piero Manzoni obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, followed by a Master in Business Administration. With the aim of enhancing his family’s patrimony and connecting his passion for the environment and the skills acquired during his career, he realised he could create an innovative business model to respond to the problems the world is currently facing in terms of rising population, urbanisation, pollution, scarcity of natural resources, biodiversity, supply chain efficiency, food quality and health, and circularity. His technical and managerial skills have led him to develop a business model that brings together technologies, innovations and skills for the sustainability of the entire agri-food chain, "from the field to the table and back to the field", with the mission of redesigning urban and rural suburbs according to the needs of the city, the environment and Man. From 1989 to 1994, he worked at the Schneider Group and, from 1994 to 2001, he held various senior positions within the ABB Group, including General Manager of ABB Solutions up to the position of CEO and Country Manager of ABB Ltd Libya, for the entire global business of the Swiss-Swedish group. Subsequently, he was Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Power and, among other positions, Executive Chairman of Fiat Avio Power Services SpA, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Telegyr SpA and Chairman of Bonus Wind Power Italia SpA. In the same period, he was Director of CESI and a member of the Executive Committee of the Anie Federation. From April 2006 to November 2008, he was Chief Executive Officer of Alpiq and Chairman of Energit SpA, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the World Energy Council. From January 2009 to January 2016, he was Chief Executive Officer of Falck Renewables SpA, a company listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, and Falck Energy SpA, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Falck SpA, and member of the Executive Committee of Assolombarda, Assoelettrica and Assorinnovabili. Since January 2016, he is Founder & CEO of Neoruralehub Srl, CEO of the Neorurale Group, President of Innovenergy Srl, Board Member of Crickeat Srl and Youfarmers Srl, Vice President of Cisambiente and Founding Partner of the Rise Foundation, Assoambiente, ELO (European Land Owner Association) and a member of Confindustria Steering Group ‘Life Sciences’. Since April 2022, he is co-founder and CEO of SIMBIOSI Srl.
ANDREA MENICATTI
General Manager at Marchesi 1824 Prada Group
In February 2023, Andrea Menicatti was appointed General Manager of Marchesi 1824, a historic pastry shop in Milan that has been part of the Prada Group since 2014. Throughout his career, he has held managerial positions in Italy, the United States and the Middle East for The Boston Consulting Group, developing growth strategies and implementing transformation plans for companies in the Food and Fashion sectors. He began his professional career by training at JPMorgan and the investment fund Taste of Italy, part of the Dea Capital group.
GIORGIO METTA
Scientific Director of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Giorgio Metta is the Scientific Director of the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT). He holds a MSc cum laude (1994) and PhD (2000) in electronic engineering both from the University of Genoa. From 2001 to 2002, Giorgio was postdoctoral associate at the MIT AI-Lab. He was previously with the University of Genoa and from 2012 to 2019 Professor of Cognitive Robotics at the University of Plymouth (UK). He was member of the board of directors of euRobotics aisbl, the European reference organization for robotics research. Giorgio Metta served as Vice Scientific Director of IIT from 2016 to 2019. He coordinated IIT's participation into two of the Ministry of Economic Development Competence Centers for Industry 4.0 (ARTES4.0, START4.0). He was one of the three Italian representatives at the 2018 G7 forum on Artificial Intelligence and, more recently, one of the authors of the Italian Strategic Agenda on AI. Giorgio coordinated the development of the iCub robot for more than a decade making it de facto the reference platform for research in embodied AI. Currently, there are more than 40 robots reaching laboratories as far as Japan, China, Singapore, Germany, Spain, UK and the United States. Giorgio Metta research activities are in the fields of biologically motivated and humanoid robotics and, in particular, in developing humanoid robots that can adapt and learn from experience. Giorgio Metta is author of more than 300 scientific publications. He has been working as principal investigator and research scientist in about a dozen international research as well as industrial projects.
ROBIN MOORE
Vice president of Communications and Marketing at Re:wild
Dr. Robin Moore is Vice President of Communications and Marketing at Re:wild, where he blends scientific training with expertise in visual storytelling to bring nature-based solutions to an increasingly broad audience. Robin has spearheaded multiple innovative campaigns to raise the profile of overlooked species and save irreplaceable places for biodiversity. His first book, In Search of Lost Frogs, was named one of The Guardian’s best nature books of 2014 and provided a foundation for Re:wild's innovative Search for Lost Species, a signature initiative that has generated billions of media impressions through stories of adventure and discovery and catalyzed impact on the ground. With Re:wild, Robin is committed to bringing the protection and restoration of biodiversity - the most effective solution to our most pressing challenges - mainstream.
MATTIA MOR
Fondatore e CEO, Emotion Network
Mattia Mor is an entrepreneur and former Member of Italian Parliament. Graduated with honors from Bocconi University in Business Administration, he was first a strategic consultant at Value Partners, then at Bain&co, and since 2005 he has dedicated himself to entrepreneurship in the fashion sector, creating Blomor brand, leading it to sell in 30 countries of the world and 4.5 million in turnover. In 2015 he moved to Singapore where he worked as Senior Vice President for Lazada, the largest e-commerce company in South East Asia, active in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, acquired in 2016 by the Alibaba Group for 1, 5 billion $. In 2016 he returned to Italy as Executive Director Europe of Mei.com, a site owned by the Alibaba Group specializing in luxury. In both cases he was involved in helping the internationalization of Italian and European fashion and design companies towards Asia through the development of digital technology. In 2017 he created the civic project #HoSceltoMilano, with the aim of combating the rhetoric of lamentation and decline and awakening the civic passion and sense of pride of Italians towards their cities and their country, whose videos has reached more than 3 million people. Elected in the Italian Parliament in 2018 with the Democratic Party, in September 2019 he moved to the Italia Viva Group. In 2018 he deposited the "StartAct" bill in the Chamber, with the aim of allowing Italy to recover the gap of private investments in start-ups and venture capital and thus amplify their ability to grow, innovate and create jobs, encouraging the return of Italian expatriates, encouraging them to realize their entrepreneurial dreams. In his political and parliamentary work he has mainly dealt with issues related to economic development, Made in Italy, technological innovation, culture. In 2020 he founded, together with other Italian and international entrepreneurs who love innovation and Made in Italy, Emotion Network, edtech & media company with the vision of bringing the human being and his emotions back to the center of development, producing great stories to inspire, educate and entertain. Emotion pursues its goals through audiovisual production (films and series, docu-films and docu-series, podcasts), the organization of the Tech.Emotion Summit, in which innovation, technology and business are combined with emotions, creativity and culture and through TechEmotion.com, the edutainment video streaming platform, to offer companies and individuals great stories to inspire, educate and entertain themselves, in the form of masterclasses, talks and inspirational audiovisual contents. Married with two children, he is a great lover of travel and Italian food, as well as cinema, politics and business.
ANGELO MORATTI
Founder, Chairman and Anchor Investor, Milano Investment Partners Sgr
An entrepreneur, he has been involved in Venture Capital investments since 1996, when he founded the telecommunications company ePlanet (listed on the stock exchange in 2000) and, later, Sarlux, a company that built and operated a power plant. He is the founder of ACM (Angel Capital Management), a private investment company and family office. ACM is the majority shareholder of Milano Investment Partners SGR, a management company of Alternative Investment Funds, founded to support young visionary entrepreneurs not only in their search for capital but in the development of their project. A philanthropist and patron, he is vice president and executive committee member of Special Olympics International. He was formerly President of the Association of Friends of the Dino Ferrari Center, which is engaged in research for neurological diseases.
FABIO NOVEMBRE
Architect and Designer
Novembre Studio, under the guidance of Fabio Novembre, has been working in the field of architecture and interior design for over twenty-five years. His works include buildings for large private institutions, hotels, retail systems and residential interventions, for some of the most well-known brands such as Ac Milan, Stuart Weitzman, Una Hotel and Generali Assicurazioni. The poetics of the studio is the idea that architecture is a tool for telling three-dimensional stories in which people can become actors. Thanks to the visionary approach and the highly recognizable sign of the founder, Novembre Studio's projects are published all over the world.
CHAMATH PALIHAPITIYA
Founder & CEO Social Capital, former Head of Growth of Facebook
Chamath is the founder and CEO of Social Capital, where he makes big bets on transformational ideas, technology, and people. Over his investment career, Chamath has managed a diverse multi-billion dollar portfolio, including externally managed funds as well as his own proprietary balance sheet. As a prolific investor, Chamath has honed an ability to repeatedly identify opportunities in technologies and markets before many of his peers. Social Capital’s early investments in space technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning, electrification, climate science, and blockchain applications have served as a signal to the rest of the market, resulting in meaningful follow-on capital, talent, and attention to its portfolio companies. It has also allowed the firm to generate consistently high returns across stages, sectors, and market conditions. Facebook Prior to founding Social Capital, Chamath was an early member of Facebook’s senior executive team from 2007 to 2011, during which time he led the development and launch of new platforms that drove the company’s global growth. Chamath is credited with creating and leading Facebook’s “growth” team, which at the time employed a novel approach using sophisticated data and analytics to underpin product decisions, a must-have discipline for any technology startup today. During this time, Chamath also became well known as a magnet for talent, scaling teams of hundreds and recruiting and helping develop, as their direct manager, several of Facebook’s core business leaders today, including Javier Olivan (Meta COO), Naomi Gleit (head of product and longest serving Meta employee), Alex Schultz (Meta CMO), and Ray Ko (early Growth team hire and current Partner at Social Capital since2013), among others. Early life and career Prior to Facebook, Chamath held roles as both an investor and operator. He was a Principal at The Mayfield Fund from 2005 to 2006. Prior to that, he was an executive at AOL, where he led the instant messaging business and was the youngest VP in the company’s history. Chamath began his career on the trading desk at BMO Nesbitt Burns as a derivatives trader. Born in Sri Lanka, Chamath immigrated to Canada at a young age where his family was granted refugee status. A product of public schools, he later graduated with a B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
CLAUDIA PARZANI
Partner of Linklaters, Chairwoman Borsa Italiana
Claudia Parzani, lawyer, is a partner of Linklaters, Chairman of Borsa Italiana (the Italian Stock Exchange) and Vice Chairman of Il Sole 24 Ore S.p.A.. In the past she held the position of Chairman of Allianz S.p.A., she was an external member of the Board of Directors of the Politecnico di Milano and non-executive director of leading listed companies. She is also Vice President of the Italian group of the Trilateral Commission and member of the High Board of Directors of the School of Economic and Social Policies. Passionate about inclusion and social issues, she was President of Valore D and today she is a member of the advisory body of UNHCR Italia, she sits on the Scientific Committee of Parks - Liberi e Uguali (Free and Equal), and chairs the Strategic Council of the Italian donation foundation Fondazione Italia per il dono onlus – F.I.Do. She is also founder of Breakfast@Linklaters and ambassador for Italy of the international campaign "Inspiring Girls". In 2022, for the sixth consecutive year, Claudia Parzani was included in the global list of Women Role Models published by HERoes. "Eminent Practitioner" according to the legal directory Chambers & Partners, "Highly Regarded" according to the legal directory IFLR1000, Claudia Parzani has also been inducted into the "Hall of Fame" of the legal directory Legal500. Claudia Parzani is the author of Meravigliose. Tour guidato all’interno di noi stesse (Marvellous. A guided tour within ourselves), written with the actress and playwright, Francesca Isola, and focusing on gender issues and talent. Recently, in October 2022 – together with the advisor and essayist Sandro Catani – she published You Only Win Together, which describes, in eleven words, the tools that are needed today to face future challenges, underlining the value of diversity, sustainability and human capital for any organisation.
ANDREA PEZZI
Founder & CEO of MINT
Andrea Pezzi, born in Ravenna on 21 November 1973, is a founding member and CEO of MINT (www.mint.ai). All-round innovator, from 1996 to 2006 he worked as an author and presenter for MTV, Mediaset and Rai, helping to revolutionise the language of Italian television. Since 2006, Andrea Pezzi has launched several entrepreneurial initiatives: in addition to OVO (sold in 2019 to an English publishing group), he founded GoalScout (sold in 2017 to the Chinese media group) and TheOutplay, a video platform still integrated into the MINT ambit. His most successful business project, MINT was founded in 2014 under the name Myntelligence and it has evolved over the years to become the world’s number one Advertising Resource Management (ARM) software solution. Created to automate the advertising buying process, MINT today is a global company operating in over 30 countries and, thanks to its artificial intelligence algorithms, it ensures better efficiency and effectiveness in the marketing of companies, also bringing greater governance, visibility and transparency to advertising spending. Andrea Pezzi is the author of four books, including Fuori programma (Unscheduled) (Ed. Bompiani) and Io sono (I am). Io Sono is also the name of the Association he founded in 2019 to reinforce the view of human life as defined by the great fathers of humanist culture. Since March 2023, the Andrea Pezzi Foundation continues, with increasing commitment, from where the Association had started.
TELMO PIEVANI
Full Professor - Philosophy of Biological Sciences at University of Padua
Telmo Pievani (1970) is Full Professor at the Department of Biology, University of Padua, where he covers the first Italian chair of Philosophy of Biological Sciences since 2015. After Ph.D. researches in USA, he has been Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Milan Bicocca (2001-2012). Past President (2017-2019) of the Italian Society of Evolutionary Biology, he is Fellow of several academic Institutions and scientific societies. He is member of the editorial boards of Evolution: Education and Outreach, Evolutionary Biology, Rendiconti Lincei Sc. Fis. Nat., Nature Italy, Istituto Treccani, and the Italian edition of Scientific American. He is author of 322 publications, included several books: “Introduction to Philosophy of Biology” (Laterza, 2005); “The Theory of Evolution” (Il Mulino, 2010); “Born to Believe” (Codice Edizioni, 2008, with V. Girotto and G. Vallortigara); “The Unexpected Life” (Cortina Editore, 2011); “Homo sapiens. The Great History of Human Diversity” (Codice Edizioni, 2011, with L.L. Cavalli Sforza), “Introduction to Darwin” (Laterza, 2012); “The End of the World” (Il Mulino, 2012); “Freedom of migration” (Einaudi, 2016, with V. Calzolaio); “How we will be” (Codice Edizioni, 2016, with L. De Biase); “Imperfection. A natural history” (Cortina, 2019, MIT Press, 2022); “The Earth after us” (Contrasto, 2019; with F. Lanting’s photos), “Finitude” (Cortina, 2020); “Serendipity” (Cortina, 2021); “Nature is bigger than us” (Solferino, 2022). Fellow of the Scientific Board of science festivals in Italy, since 2014 he is fellow of the International Scientific Council of MUSE in Trento. He is Director of “Pikaia”, the Italian website dedicated to evolution (www.pikaia.eu). He is Director of the University of Padua web magazine, Il Bo LIVE (https://ilbolive.unipd.it). With Niles Eldredge, Ian Tattersall and Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, he curated International science exhibitions. Author of books for children and theatre scientific shows, he collaborates with RAI radio and TV projects, he is a columnist for Il Corriere della Sera, and the magazines Le Scienze and Micromega. Personal website: www.telmopievani.com
ERIC QUIDENUS-WAHLFORSS
Founder & CEO at Dance, Founder of SoundCloud
Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss is Founder & CEO at Dance. Dance is an e-bike subscription service founded with the purpose of having a positive impact on health, sustainability and livable cities. With Dance, you have a state-of-the-art e-bike at your disposal, without the hassle of buying and owning. The goal of Dance is to spark a global movement built on a connected community of passionate e-bike riders, ultimately making cities more bike-friendly and livable. Prior to founding Dance, Quidenus-Wahlforss founded SoundCloud in 2007 and served as its Chief Product Officer for 12 years. SoundCloud is the world’s largest open audio platform with over 200 million tracks from 25 million creators heard in 190 countries; what’s next in music is first on SoundCloud.
ALEC ROSS
Alec Ross is a New York Times best-selling author and Distinguished Adjunct Professor at l’Universitá di Bologna Business School. He is the author of the recently published The Raging 2020s: Companies, Countries, People and the Fight for Our Future. His prior book The Industries of the Future has been translated into 24 languages and been a best-seller on 5 continents. He is a Board Partner at Amplo, a global venture capital firm and sits on the board of directors for companies in the fields of technology, finance, manufacturing, human capital and cybersecurity. He has served as a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and as a Senior Fellow at the Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs. His writing has appeared in publications including The Wall Street Journal and Foreign Policy. His academic writing has appeared as the journal cover articles in publications including the SAIS Review of International Affairs and the NATO Review. During the Obama Administration, he served as Senior Advisor for Innovation to the Secretary of State, a role created for him to help modernize the practice of diplomacy and bring innovative solutions to advance America’s foreign policy interests. Alec served as the Convener for the Technology & Media Policy Committee on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and served on the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team. He co-founded and helped lead a technology-focused social enterprise and grew it from modest origins in a basement into a global organization serving millions of low-income people, with programs on four continents. Among recent recognitions: • U.S. Department of State Distinguished Honor Award
• Oxford University Internet & Society Award
• Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy Magazine
• 2020 National Consumers Union, Massimiliano Dona Award “For his commitment on the frontier of change, his gaze to the future and his step into the reality of a world that in order to change cannot betray the trust of consumers.” Alec started his career as a sixth grade teacher through Teach for America in inner-city Baltimore.
ALESSANDRO SABA
Head of Original Content The Walt Disney Company Italy
Alessandro Saba is Head of Original Content for The Walt Disney Company in Italy. In this role, he selects, develops and produces all kinds of original productions (Scripted, Unscripted, Factual), for all brands (Disney, Star, National Geographic) and for all the Group's platforms. Prior to that, he spent 4 years as Vice President of Fox Network Group, responsible for Channel Programming, Research and Original Productions. From 2001 to 2016, he worked in the Mediaset Group, first as Head of Prime Time programmes, then as Head of Content of Italia1: entertainment, fiction, sit-coms, web entertainment and branded content. He graduated in Bologna in Communication Sciences with Umberto Eco.
DONATELLA SCIUTO
Rettrice del Politecnico di Milano
Donatella Sciuto, Rector of the Politecnico di Milano since 2023, is Full Professor of Computing Systems in the Department of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering. She graduated in Electronic Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano in 1984. She got a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer. Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder (USA) and a Master degree in Business and Administration from Bocconi University. She has been named IEEE Fellow for her scientific contribution in “embedded systems design”. She has been a member of the Standing Committee of the Bank of Italy since 2013. From 2018 to 2022, she took part to the Supervisory Board of the Human Technopole Foundation. Since 2021, she has been on the Board of the Italian Institute of Technology. She is currently a member of the Technical and Scientific Committee of the National Cybersecurity Agency and a Board Member of the Corriere della Sera Foundation. She served as President of the Council on Electronic Design Automation of IEEE (the world's largest professional organization in technology) from 2011 to 2013. She was named “Inspiring Fifty Italy” in 2018, “IBM Women Leader in Artificial Intelligence” in 2021, and member of the Academia Europaea in 2022.
ANDREA SCROSATI
Group COO & Continental Europe CEO Fremantle
Scrosati joined Fremantle in 2018. Several global functions of the company report to him including Global M&A, Global Strategy, Global scripted (All Drama and Film), Global Documentaries, and all European Activities of the group (excluding Germany). During the last three years Fremantle acquired several companies operating in content production, among which Element Pictures (Normal People/The Favourite), Lux Vide (I Medici/Don Matteo), 72 Films (The Rise of the Tudors/All or Nothing,Arsenal), and grew its scripted output to 115 series and 17 movies delivered just in 2022. Before joining Fremantle Scrosati was EVP Programming of Sky Italia for eight years, with all non-sport programming reporting to him, including the all-news channel SkyTg24, the free-to-air channels TV8 and Cielo and Sky Italia original productions (scripted and unscripted). Under his leadership Sky Italia commissioned iconic shows such as “Gomorrah” and “The Young Pope”.
ULJAN SHARKA
Founder & CEO iGenius
With a passion for computer science since he was a child (at the age of 13 he wrote his first gaming program), after two years at Apple he decided to set up iGenius in 2016, an Italian company based in Milan evolved from a fundamental idea: traditional Data Analytics and Business Intelligence systems have always been designed from the standpoint of the technology necessary to make them work and not from the needs of the people desiring to easily obtain management information. Data, instead, must and can be ‘humanised’. This belief has become reality thanks to Crystal, the virtual assistant based on Generative Artificial Intelligence at the service of corporate Business Intelligence. In a nutshell, a combination of ChatGPT and Siri that, in a matter of seconds, is able to provide information, splits and processing from the enormous quantity of data present in company databases. iGenius has been recognised by Gartner, a world leader in market research for the IT sector, as a Cool Vendor in Core Artificial Intelligence for creating the first Conversational Analytics system. In addition, iGenius has received awards at international tech events such as: Web Summit, TechCrunch Disrupt and Startup Grind.
MAURIZIO TAMAGNINI
CEO FSI SGR
Maurizio Tamagnini is Founder and CEO of FSI (2016). He was CEO of Fondo Strategico Italiano, which he directed since its inception. Previously, he was Head of Southern Europe for Corporate and Investment Banking for Bank of America Merrill Lynch and was a member of the EMEA Executive Committee. With over twenty years’ experience, he has overseen more than a hundred major finance, private equity, and debt and equity operations. As part of his professional career, he has worked in New York, London and Milan. He is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of STMicroelectronics N.V.. He graduated with an honours degree in International Monetary Economics from Bocconi University in Milan and completed postgraduate studies at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy (State of New York, USA).
FABRIZIO TESTA
CEO of Borsa Italiana (Euronext Group)
Fabrizio was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Borsa Italiana, part of the Euronext Group, in November 2021 and joined the Board of Directors of Euronext NV in May 2022. His appointment as CEO of Borsa Italiana coincided with his return to Italy, after spending more than 20 years in London. From 2014 to 2021 Fabrizio held the position of CEO of MTS, the leading electronic market in Europe for trading fixed income securities. Fabrizio spent the first years of his career in Bank of America in Milan and London, where he was part of the Treasury team responsible for trading government bonds. Before graduating in Economics and Finance at Bocconi University, Fabrizio served as a second lieutenant in the Carabinieri army.
NAVIN THUKKARAM
Investor, Advisor and Entrepreneur
Navin Thukkaram is an investor / advisor with over $3 billion in exits. Having served on 7 corporate boards, Navin leverages his investing and operating experience to advise Founders & CEOs on their mindsets. He’s led mindset workshops at firms like Google and BNP Paribas, and has been profiled in major global media such as CNBC, Fox News and Fortune. Previously, Navin was a partner at Vulcan Capital, the investment fund of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Further, he served as COO / board member of Qwiki, a tech startup that won TechCrunch Disrupt and was acquired by Yahoo!. Currently, Navin sits on the boards of SkyKick, a cloud software platform, and CSIS, the #1 DC-based national security think tank. A former Division I golfer, Navin is a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Business School.
GIORGIO TINACCI
CEO & Founder Casavo
Giorgio Tinacci graduated with a degree in International Management from Bocconi and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2015. He then joined BCG, where he worked for two years focusing on digital transformation projects in banking, insurance, and industrial goods. Giorgio left BCG in September 2017 and founded Casavo, the next-generation European platform that matches home sellers’ needs with homebuyers’ desires.
LUCILLA TITTA
PhD Nutrizionista Istituto Europeo di Oncologia
Researcher and Nutritionist at the Department of Experimental Oncology of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. After graduating in Food Quality and Safety and in Food Science and Technology, she obtained a PhD in Food Biotechnology from the University of Milan. Her research activity focuses on the correlations between food and health, with particular attention to human nutrition, the epidemiology of nutrition and clinical intervention trials. She is also actively engaged in disseminating scientific knowledge on the topic of nutrition as a fundamental tool for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity and cancer.
MARIO UBIALI
Founder & CEO of Thimus
Mario Ubiali was born in 1972 in a small town in Northern Italy. A Philosophy graduate at the University of Parma, with a Master Degree in Human Development and Sustainability at the Catholic University of Milan, he spent most of his life between academia and entrepreneurship. After having co-founded an enterprise specializing in the metal sector in 2002, he co-patented innovative technology with the National Research Council of Canada and brought the brand to international expansion, opening offices in the UK, USA and Canada. Eventually, he sold the business to a large global Group. In the process, he managed international R&D projects, including one of the highest ranking Horizon 2020 Projects of the 2014 Call. In 2016, fascinated with a new challenge, he founded Thimus, an innovative company with the ambition of becoming an impactful agent in food innovation and research, basing on cultural neuroscience. Thimus is an official partner of the Alt Meat Lab of UC Berkeley and a regular teaching and research collaborator of Bologna Business School, Bocconi University of Milan, Catholic University of Milan, ISAM (Almeria, Spain), McGill University (Montreal, CA). The company currently has offices and test kitchens in Italy, Canada, Hungary and Spain. On top of being the CEO of Thimus, Mario is an adjunct Professor of ecological transition education at the Catholic University of Milan and two times TEDx Speaker. He is also member of a workgroup on AI ethics promoted by the CTO of Lenovo in Italy and an advisor to Confindustria’s InnexHUB Center in Brescia, Italy.
PIETER VAN DER DOES
Founder & CEO of Adyen
"A leading expert with over 16 years experience in the payments industry, Pieter van der Does, was CCO at Bibit before co-founding Adyen in 2006. Since then Adyen has grown from a startup into a global operation, averaging double-digit annual growth since 2007."
GESUALDO VERCIO
VP Programming Warner Bros. Discovery Italia
Graduated in Economics and Management for Art, Culture, Media & Entertainment at Bocconi University, after an experience in business and commercial devolpment areas in MTV Italia he joined Discovery Italia group in 2009. In Discovery Italia he first held the role of Insight and Research Manager, dealing with the group's qualitative and quantitative research and analysis activities. Since 2013 in the Programming and Content area she has been responsible for the programming and content of the Real Time channel - the group's flagship channel dedicated to women's entertainment. Since 2018 she has also been responsible for Food Network Italia, a digital terrestrial channel entirely dedicated to the world of food, and since 2020 also for HGTV - Home & Garden TV, the channel dedicated to the world of the home, Giallo and the kids channels K2 and Frisbee. Today he holds the position of VP Programming.
JAMES VINCENT
Founding Partner and CEO of FNDR
James is Founder and CEO of FNDR, who work hand in hand with transformative founders, harnessing the power of narrative to give voice to their vision and shape their companies’ future. For over a decade, James worked alongside Steve Jobs building Apple’s narrative for ground-breaking products such as the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, App Store & iPad. He founded and was CEO of Apple’s global agency of record, Media Arts Lab and later went on to work directly with Brian Chesky at Airbnb to build the Trips Platform. Before then launching FNDR with his three Partners - helping to drive growth for over 140 founder-led businesses globally, including Evan Spiegel (Snap), Emily Weiss (Glossier), Patrick Spence (Sonos), José Neves (Farfetch), Sara Menker (Gro Intelligence), Jack Conte & Sam Yam (Patreon), Nicolas Julia (Sorare) and Alexandr Wang (Scale.ai) to name just a few. James is also the guest host of Fast Company’s ‘Most Innovative Companies’ podcast.
PHILIP VON WULFFEN
Co-founder of JAB Consumer Fund
Philip co-funded JAB Consumer Fund in 2013. He is a former VP at Blackstone Advisory Service in NY and a former Senior Consultant at BCG, specialized in FMCG and Financial Services. Philip has been board member of VC More Capital and is a board member of Stiftung Lichtblick and Ambassador of Epic Foundation. He has a Master of Business Administration at the Columbia University.
JOE ZADEH
Advisor, Investor, former Airbnb VP of Product
Joe joined Airbnb as a software engineer when the company was just 9 people working in an apartment in San Francisco. He served as Airbnb’s Head of Product for several years. Joe also helped create Airbnb Experiences, the business unit focused on tours and activities. He led the effort to take Experiences from an idea on whiteboard to a business operating in over 1000 cities around the world. Joe left Airbnb after a decade and is now an advisor and investor residing in Bologna, Italy with his family. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Caltech.
VITTORIA ZANETTI
Co-founder & Executive Director of Poke House
Vittoria Zanetti is co-founder and executive director of Poke House. She was born in Desenzano del Garda in 1991, of parents who both worked in the food sector in the production of dairy products. She moved to Milan for her studies, where her passion for the world of food grew deeper. She subsequently gained experience in the catering sector, performing various operational tasks. During a trip to the States, she discovered POKE and decided she would like to bring this concept of healthy food to her beloved Milan, with the dream of disseminating the same Californian energy and mood that she had found in the States. Poke House was founded a very short time after Vittoria's meeting with her current founding partner, Matteo Pichi, then country manager of Glovo. She managed to realise her dream with him, opening the first Poke House in October 2018. Currently Poke House has 130 stores in 7 countries around the world.
GIADA ZHANG
Co-founder & CEO of Mulan Group
She spent most of her childhood trying to understand her identity – being of Chinese descent, raised in Italy and receiving an international education. When she was a child, she considered her diversity a weakness. She already spoke four languages, but she didn't feel she belonged to any of them. She has lived in Italy, New York, London and Shanghai and today she is the CEO of Mulan Group, a leading company in the Asian food sector in Italy. She has been described by Corriere della Sera, Il Sole24 ore and Fortune as one of the youngest and most influential entrepreneurs in Italy; in 2020, she was recognised by Forbes 30 Under 30 as one of the most influential talents in the Food & Drink industry.