Tech.Emotion 2024

In 1983, at just 22 years old, Nerio Alessandri founded Technogym in his home garage by combining his passion for innovation (TECHNO) and that for sport (GYM). In the early 1990s Alessandri coined the concept of Wellness, a lifestyle that aims to improve the quality of life thanks to regular physical activity, a healthy diet and a positive mental attitude. Today Technogym is a world-leading brand in products and digital technologies for fitness, sport and health and is present in 85 thousand wellness centers and 400 thousand private homes in over 100 countries. Technogym has been the Official Supplier of the Olympic Games for over 20 years: Paris 2024 will be the ninth edition in this role. In addition to Technogym, Nerio Alessandri also created the Wellness Foundation, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting wellness as a social opportunity for all stakeholders: Governments, Businesses and Citizens.

With an academic background in Business Administration and further specialising with a Master's in Econometrics and Quantitative Economics, Giacomo Barigazzi has always sought to merge economics with actionable business insights.
Since co-founding Axyon AI, Giacomo has dedicated himself to building strategic partnerships as our Head of Corporate Development. His pursuit of excellence has helped to position Axyon AI as a player and a leader in the innovation realm, developing strong partnerships to grow our influence in the AI sector.
Outside the company, he is a member of the European Commission's Digital SME Focus Group on AI, which champions the cause of Small and Medium Enterprises, ensuring that the voices of SMEs resonate in European AI strategies.
Before co-founding Axyon AI and jumping into the Fintech and AI business, together with two long-time friends, he founded a successful software development company.

Bernardo Bertoldi teaches at the Department of Management of the University of Turin and has been visiting professor at ESCP-Europe and at LUISS. After accomplishing his Ph.D. (2003) in entrepreneurial management and corporate finance, he focuses his research activity in entrepreneurship and family capitalism. In 2007 he attended the EECPCL (European Entrepreneurship Colloquium on Participant-Centered Learning) and the CWCD (Case Writing and Course Development Seminar) at Harvard Business School.
He is member of CIFE-Cambridge Institute for Family Enterprises founded by Prof. John Davis of Harvard Business School. The academic research and the gained experience have allowed him to support many entrepreneurial families in Europe.
He has a column with Il Sole 24 Ore, familyandtrends, where family capitalism and strategic trends are discussed.
He teaches at the Business School of the University of Turin (Marketing to the bachelor students, Competitive Analysis II and Family Business Strategy to the post graduate students, and Corporate Finance to MBA students).
He is one the founder of 3H Partners, a consulting firm based in Italy, UK, France and USA.
He is Vicepresident of Club degli Investitori, the first Italian business angel association. He is board member or statutory auditors committee members of listed and non-listed companies.

A pioneering voice on ethical technology and human-centric innovation, Ruma Bose seamlessly blends business strategy with social impact. Her diverse experience as an entrepreneur, investor, author, and global keynote speaker offers a unique perspective on leveraging transformative technologies to drive sustainable growth and positive societal change.
Bose is co-author of the international bestseller "Mother Teresa, CEO," distilling the legendary humanitarian's principles into an innovative leadership framework centered on humanity, humility, and execution.
As former Chief Growth Officer at fintech unicorn Clearco, Bose rapidly launched and scaled international operations across 11 countries in just 12 months. Her entrepreneurial expertise also catalyzed better food access as President of Chobani Ventures and Foundation, and created economic opportunities for refugees as the Founding President of Tent Foundation.
Currently, Bose is Managing Partner at Amura Growth Partners, advising companies and investors on growth strategies. She serves on the boards of deep tech, AI, and impact investing leaders like SealSQ, Improvability AI, Calvert Impact Capital, and KAO Corporation's ESG Advisory Board.
A passionate advocate for ethical leadership, Bose's insights have been featured by The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the World Economic Forum. She has received an honorary doctorate from Dalhousie University and the prestigious Scotiabank Ethical Leadership Award. As a keynote speaker, she inspires audiences to embrace technology as a catalyst for humanity's greatest opportunities.

Roberto Bosisio is a Managing Director and Partner in Milan Office, and he is a core member of the Digital Acceleration System, of the Insurance Practice and the Energy Practice in CEMA. Roberto holds a Master Degree and a PhD in Telecommunication Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and he has been taking a strong path in strategic consultancy with more than 13 years of experience.
Roberto’s activities focus on two main topics: Setting up Digital Data Platform solutions for companies willing to develop digital use cases, refresh their technology platform, establish new way of working (agile, devOps); and developing Digital Marketing solutions (marketing automation, multichannel coordination, etc.).

Stefano Ciurli was appointed Head of Global Services at Enel Group in July 2023.
He graduated with a degree in Economics and Commerce from LUISS University in Rome in 1987.
Ciurli began his professional career at Telecom Italia, where he progressively took on responsibilities in Finance, Administration and Control, International Development, Procurement and Logistics, Real Estate and Energy, Caring Services, and Wholesale.
From 2003 to 2005, he served as the CFO of Tim SpA, and also managed the merger operation of Tim SpA into Telecom Italia SpA.
From 2008 to 2012, he was the Chief Procurement Officer of the TI Group.
From 2012 to 2014, he held the position of Executive Vice President of the Caring Services Division at Tim, and from 2015 to 2018, he was the Executive Vice President of Wholesale.
From 2019 to 2023, Ciurli was the CEO of PTS, an Italian consulting firm.
He has also held various positions on national and international Boards of Directors, including: Telepiù, TESS, Saritel, Telecontact (Caring), TI International (holding), Tim Brasil, Tim Digitel (Venezuela), Avea (Turkish Telecom), Telenergia, Olivetti, Flash Fiber, Unidata, and PTS.

Qomodo was founded in Italy in 2023 by the vision of Gianluca Cocco and Gaetano De Maio with the goal of providing more convenient, straightforward, and cost-effective payment solutions for managing essential, often unforeseen, and indispensable expenses, both in physical stores and remotely. With an initial round of financing amounting to €34.5 million led by the lead investor Fasanara Capital and supported by other prominent national and international funds such as Exor Ventures, Ithaca Investments, Proximity Capital, The TechShop, Lumen Ventures, Primo Ventures, Notion Capital, Octopus Ventures, Plug&Play. Angel investors: Mark Ransford, Luca Ascani, Attilio Mazzilli, Simone Mancini (Scalapay), Benedetta Arese Lucini, Kai Hansen (Lieferando), Giorgio Tinacci (Casavo), Stiven Muccioli (BKN301), Freddy Kelly (Credit Kudos), Christer Holloman (Divido), Raffaele Terrone (Scalapay), Andrea Gennarini, Giuseppe Lacerenza, Pietro Invernizzi, Serge Chiaramonte, William Neale.
Qomodo has achieved one of the most significant pre-seed investments in the Italian tech sector to date.
Qomodo operates as a digital payments player to help businesses of all sizes grow, ensuring innovation and security even for micro and small businesses that sometimes struggle to manage and collect payments, exposing themselves to financial risks. Qomodo provides the certainty of immediate, secure, and transparent collections while simultaneously promoting increased spending opportunities for regular customers through interest-free installment payments.
Qomodo stems from the experience of young successful Italian entrepreneurs who have been working for years to bring innovative solutions to the market to help businesses thrive. In pursuing and implementing their vision, Qomodo is aware of the importance of creating an ecosystem that encourages collaboration with other innovative entities, capable of fostering synergies and creating successful projects and stories that generate value for everyone.
Qomodo provides a concrete solution to the stress caused by essential, nondeferrable expenses, often of high value, simplifying payment management for both merchants and end customers. Through the Qomodo platform and the solutions it offers, businesses, merchants, and end customers can benefit from an innovative service that generates advantages for everyone and adds value to the entire system.
Qomodo ensures merchants receive rapid and secure payments, streamlining processes with a consequent reduction in time and costs. It also fosters customer loyalty by offering clear and transparent installment payment options.
End customers can access a convenient 0% interest installment payment service at no additional cost, avoiding traditional bureaucratic procedures that significantly lengthen the process. Additionally, they can benefit from a wide network of affiliated professionals according to their specific needs.

Executive Chairman and founder of Italo SpA, the first European private high-speed railway company and founder of Itabus, the first Italian private company of long-distance buses, where he have been member of the board until April 2023.
He is also President of Manifatture Sigaro Toscano and Fondazione Telethon.
He has been Chairman and CEO of Ferrari Auto S.p.A. since 1991 until 2014 where he won 19 world title and Chairman of Fiat Group and of Maserati S.p.A.
He has been President of Confindustria, President of LUISS University, Chairman of the Bologna International Trade Fair and Chairman of FIEG, the Italian Federation of Newspapers Publishers.
On 2015 he has been inducted in the Automotive Hall of Fame of Detroit, the international most prestigious award of this sector.
He was awarded with four honorary degrees: in Mechanical Engineering by the University of Modena, in Management Engineering by the University of Genoa, in Industrial Design Engineering by the Polytechnic of Milan and, finally, in Materials Physics by SISSA (Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati) of Trieste.

Journalist Corriere della Sera

Brunello Cucinelli is the founder of the eponymous fashion house, renowned worldwide for its exclusive cashmere garments that exemplify Italian elegance. Today, Cucinelli leads the company as Executive Chairman and Creative Director.
In addition to making a mark in the world of informal luxury prêt-à-porter, Cucinelli has been an innovator in entrepreneurial thought through the development of "humanistic capitalism." His main goal is to create a work environment and a production philosophy that respect human needs. For this purpose, he has actively sought to integrate ethical and economic principles, finding a balance between profit, sharing, and care, and engaging in philanthropic initiatives.
Brunello Cucinelli has received numerous national and international awards for his original vision. In 2010, he was appointed Cavaliere del Lavoro by the President of the Republic, and in the same year, he received an honorary degree in Philosophy and Ethics of Human Relationships from the University of Perugia. In 2018, the University of Messina awarded him an honorary Doctorate in Philosophy, describing him as a "concrete thinker, cultural promoter, and true patron of our times."
Cucinelli has never strayed from the path set by his ideals, continuing to pursue them year after year. In September 2021, he was named "Designer of the Year" by the British men's fashion magazine "GQ" in London, in recognition of his ongoing humanitarian commitment as a designer and entrepreneur. That same year, he participated in the G20 summit in Rome, presenting his vision to the world's leading leaders.
In 2022, the University of Rome "La Sapienza" awarded him an honorary Doctorate in Management, Banking, and Commodity Sciences. The rector, Antonella Polimeni, praised his ability to combine entrepreneurial success with deep respect for the land and social values. In March 2023, he was honored with the prestigious "Neiman Marcus Award for distinguished service in the field of fashion" by the luxury department store in Dallas.

Expert in innovation and industrial policy, he has significant experience in the management of European funds and corporate finance, founder and CEO of Next4, an accelerator and accredited investor under the CDP venture fund relaunch, investing in Digital Transformation.
He is also currently founder of Impatta4equity, a corporate benefit holding company that invests in seed capital programs in innovability sectors.
Secretary General of the Fondazione Italia Digitale, the first foundation in Italy dedicated to digital policy at the public and private levels.
Consultant for the PNRR of Campus Bio-Medico S.p.A.
Member of the Board of Directors of Campus Bio-Medico Investment Holding S.r.l.
Consultant on innovation issues in P.A. for EUTALIA-Studiare Sviluppo, an investee company of the MEF, coordinates for Ecoter srl important technical assistance activities in central state administrations.
He is a consultant for IFEL and Anci in particular on issues of Public Innovation management and Govtech. Former instructor for European funds of Lazio Innova S.p.A and member of the evaluation nucleus for research funds of the Lazio region. Awarded at the Chamber of Deputies at the "excellence of made in Italy" event for expertise on industrial policy issues.
Now, he is MISE registered Innovation manager and is Investor relator of major scale-ups such as Speri Ingegneria and Termo Spa, an energy fintech company formerly owned by mediaset and now acquired by Fondo italiano strategico (cdp).
A member of the Capacity building task force of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Institute of Nuclear Physics, he has been inside the national task force of Anip-Confindustria and the Technical Scientific Committee of Anci Lazio, and has coordinated the Ventotene Training Camp that, every year, indicates strategic policies for local authorities.
Founder of Next4international, to date he has important collaborations with Innovit in San Francisco, IXL Center in Boston and Italia Camp in Abu Dhabi. Partner and speakear of Emotion Network, media company in partnership with corriere della sera and skytg24.
Creator of the first observatory on govtech in the national territory and author of several publications including the most recent, Govtech - the Italian technological renaissance, Investor Business relator - a tool for the growth of SMEs and Public Innovation Manager - for a P.A engine of our country.

He began his career at the newspaper Giornale where he also followed the most important political and cultural events as a correspondent in the US, including the presidential elections in 2008 and 2012. He was appointed deputy editor of the newspaper in 2011 and then co-editor-in-chief in 2016. In 2014 he has founded and directed the magazine Rivista Undici. In 2017 he served as editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine GQ. He has joined Sky in 2018 and served as deputy co-director of Sky Sport managing Sky Sport24, SkySportHD.it and Sky Sport digital editorial content. He has been at the helm of Sky TG24 since January 2019. His book Doppio passo won the CONI Award for sports literature in 2007.

Stefania founded Physis with the vision to disrupt the financial industry and empower investors to make an impact through their investments. As CEO, Stefania has developed Physis from an idea to an award-winning AI fintech company. Today, Physis serves clients globally, helping investment managers advance their sustainable investments.
Before starting Physis, Stefania was a skilled portfolio manager with extensive global experience. She previously worked at Sella SGR as the youngest impact investing fund manager in Europe for a multi-asset global allocation fund, which grew from $16M to $100M in assets in just two years. Stefania was the first fund manager to provide a methodology for impact reporting, and she reached over 6,000 individual investors with this report. She has advised institutional investors with $90 billion in assets on sustainable portfolio implementation. Stefania has published two books on sustainable finance, and she is a guest lecturer on sustainable investing at universities around the world, including Harvard.
In her free time, Stefania is dedicated to fostering women's empowerment and entrepreneurship. She is a mentor at Harvard’s Undergraduate Women in Business and the Global Director at Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs. She is also a member of the Scientific Committee at Symbola. Previously, she was a member of the Harvard Sustainable Leadership Council and a Board Member at Etica SGR.
Stefania received her undergraduate degree in Economics and Finance from Bocconi University in Italy and has studied at the London School of Economics and ESADE. She also has a master’s degree in Sustainability and Finance from Harvard University.
Physis is an award-winning fintech platform revolutionizing sustainability data to offer detailed and objective information to investors, empowering them to monitor the impact of their investments. PHysis provides investment managers with the highest quality sustainability data through a Saas platform and chatbot, ImpactChat.ai, empowering truly impactful portfolios that create a more sustainable planet.

Anu Duggal is the founding partner of Female Founders Fund, the first early-stage fund for female founders. She launched Female Founders Fund in 2014 to start a movement to diversify venture capital and direct more dollars to female founders. Over the last ten years, Anu has played an instrumental role in not only investing in female founders, raising seed capital with over $4 billion in enterprise value, but shifting the VC industry as a whole to make more investments in female-founded companies. She has led Female Founders Fund in two funds and invested in over 45 of the fastest growing female-led companies nationwide. These include category leaders like Zola, ELOQUII, Billie, Co-Star, Peanut, Real, BentoBox, Tala, Maven Clinic, WinkyLux, and more.
Anu has been honored in Fortune’s “40 Under 40” list and Crain’s “Notable Women in Tech” list and been included in Business Insider’s “Ultimate List of Female Startup Investors” and “Top 4 Venture Firms Investing in Women.” Anu has appeared in leading outlets like The TODAY Show, Bloomberg TV, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC Squawk Alley, Fortune, Inc, Yahoo! Finance and is the host of the podcast, The 2%. She has spoken at the Milken Institute, Vogue Business x Google Summit and TechCrunch Disrupt. Anu holds board member/observer roles for Maven Clinic, Billie, VIOLETTE_FR, Co--Star, and WinkyLux.
Prior to starting Female Founders Fund, Anu co-founded Exclusively.in, a private-sale e-commerce company backed by Accel Partners and Tiger Global, which was acquired by Indian fashion e-commerce company Myntra in 2011. Her first entrepreneurial venture was in 2005 with the launch of India’s first wine bar ,The Tasting Room in Bombay. She holds an MBA from London Business School and a BA from Vassar College.

Ph.D. in History and Theory of Economic Development and graduated with honors in Economics and Commerce from "LUISS Guido Carli" University in Rome. She held the role of Subject Matter Expert in the chairs of Economic History, History of Economic Thought and History of Finance and Financial Systems at the same University.
She is a professor of Entrepreneurship and History of Made in Italy at the European University of Rome, where she has also served as Contact Person for External Relations and Development Projects for the Third Mission Area.
Having gained significant entrepreneurial experience, she continues to develop complex business projects and supports enterprises in defining sustainable and eligible investments and programs.
She performs strategic consulting for business growth, analyzing strategic options for accessing finance and creating partnerships and industrial matching on a national and international scale. She is involved in the process and definition of internationalization projects and business relations between Italy and the Middle East, where she has been permanently residing since 2022.
As a Senior Advisor in Business Incubators and Accelerators, she promotes the spread of entrepreneurial culture, territorial relations within innovation ecosystems, and productivity growth through the creation and development of start-ups, scale-ups and spin-offs with high capitalization and human capital.
She is Senior Partner at Miller Group, as well as Banking & Finance Manager at Prestige Legal, and a member of the Advisory Board of Spartan Tech. She is part of the Board of Italiacamp EMEA -Dubai Hub for Made in Italy and is a Board Member in Next4 and Fondazione Italia Digitale.

With over 15 years of experience in consulting for top-level executives, Karin Fischer has worked for public, private, and third-sector companies, helping them refine their strategic communication, engage stakeholders on key issues, develop organizational strategies in international contexts, and digitize their processes. She collaborates with various partners on end-to-end projects, always maintaining her professional independence.
Innovation drives her to explore every area. Notably, she has been a pioneer in the field of sustainable mobility, leading a global multi-stakeholder platform and contributing to shaping the future of electric mobility through the founding of a startup dedicated to developing cutting-edge charging infrastructure.
But her experiences are not limited to the business world. Karin Fischer has also leveraged her expertise in political and civic communication, served as a consultant in universities, and managed sponsorships in the equestrian sports sector, her great passion.
In 2018, she launched the brand "Connecting Stories," a name that embodies her personal mission: to connect stories and ideas, create bridges between different sectors, and combine concepts in innovative ways.
Living in the hills above Lake Garda, Karin has embraced remote working from its inception, allowing her to share her everyday life with her children, her beloved pets, and, of course, her cherished horses.