Speakers

Full Professor of Business Organization at the University of Bologna and Dean of BBS. Member of the Board of Trustees of the EFMD, Founding Chair of the Emba Consortium for Global Business Innovation. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Ferrarelle SpA and Snam. He also is a Guest Professor at Nankai University (Tianjin, China) and at Mirbis (Moscow, Russia).

Founder and CEO of Musixmatch. A pioneer, innovation enthusiast, and serial entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience, he founded Musixmatch in 2010: a leading global music data company headquartered in Bologna, London, and San Francisco. He created the largest database of music lyrics and now collaborates with the giant Spotify.

Councilor for economic development and green economy, labor, and training. After making his debut at age 18 in politics, he took up trade union activity and, in 2002, was elected to the secretariat of CGIL Emilia-Romagna, where he headed the organization department for eight years. In 2010 he became regional general secretary of the CGIL, and in 2016 he was elected to the confederal secretariat of the national CGIL.

Mayor of Bologna. He was responsible for the Territorial Development, Innovation, and Internationalization Area of Legacoop Bologna. In 2010, he was part of the technical organizing committee for the city of Bologna’s mission to EXPO 2010 in Shanghai. He designed and organized the “States General on Culture in Bologna.” He has served as councilor economy and promotion, tourism, international relations, and digital agenda in the administrative term 2011 – 2016.

Rector of the University of Bologna from 2021. Full Professor in Agricultural Machinery and Mechanisation at the University of Bologna since 2016, an Associate Professor from 2010 to 2016, and Researcher from 2000 to 2010. Ph.D. in Materials Engineering at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.

Italian politician, economist, professor, public manager and business executive, who served as President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic from 1996 to 1998 and from 2006 to 2008. From 1999 to 2004 he was President of the European Commission. Romano Prodi is also Chairman of the Collegio di Indirizzo of BBS.

Distinguished Adjunct Professor at BBS, American technology policy expert, entrepreneur, and author. He served as Senior Advisor for Innovation to Hilary Clinton during her time as Secretary of State and as Coordinator for the Technology & Media Policy Committee during Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008. He serves on the Board of BBS and sits on other Boards of Directors of companies specializing in technology and finance.

CEO & Founder of Serenis Health, a StartUp offering psychotherapy and psychological support services via video call.
In 2015, she co-founded ProntoPro with her husband. In 2 years, the startup has become the #1 marketplace for services in Italy, receiving over 10 million in investments. She served as CEO of the company from 2017 to 2021.

Former Vice President of Product and Experience at Airbnb. Joe Zadeh earned a doctorate in bioengineering and joined the then-nascent home-sharing startup as its ninth employee in 2010. He directed product development activities as the “conductor” of Airbnb’s apps and website, contributing to Airbnb’s reach of 100 million users.