Fintech and logistics are deeply intertwined. Financial digital technologies and solutions are reaching the momentum across many sectors. Logistics and international supply chains are massively impacted by disruptive digital solutions that, allowing a better flow of information, quicker payment, and financial solutions, revolutionise the market, facilitate international trade and offer opportunities for SMEs and entrepreneurs.
SCOPE
The INSME Annual Conference aims:
To size opportunities and understand market scenarios
To present emerging technologies, markets and business models
To characterise the business ecosystem needed to support the technological change.
CONFERENCE OUTLINE
Fintech Session 6th of June 2019
Digitalisation and technological progress in the financial sector have originated a plethora of new players who have provided alternative ways to secure funding for SMEs growth with their innovative ways to originate, assess credit risk and fund SMEs’ loans. Fintech has the potential to become a game changer for SMEs that can benefit from various new products and services impacting the whole financial system. The overall impact of Fintech for SMEs and thus for the economy as a whole seems tremendous. Opportunities exist for governments, financial institutions, banks, entrepreneurs and investors to support and at the same time benefit from Fintech.
Logistics Session 7th of June
One sector that will greatly benefit from Fintech is the logistics and transportation industry where it can provide efficient financial solutions through simpler, cheaper, and faster products and service, more accessible and faster means of conducting business processes and managing finances and operations.
Beside digital technologies, the global shipping and logistics chains are reshaped by changes new international routes. The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative that will tremendously impact the maritime economy, international global value chains and international trade.
Meeting Agenda, First Day, Thursday, June 6, 2019 – Fintech session
MORNING
09:00 – 09:30
Registration and welcome coffee
09:30 – 10:00
Welcoming remarks and introduction
Sergio Arzeni President, the International Network for SMEs – INSME
Francesco Guido General Manager, South Italian Regions, Intesa Sanpaolo Antonio Lucarelli
Director Machinery, Energy and Environment Office, Italian Trade & Investment Agency – ITA
Panel I – Fintech opportunities for SMEs
This Panel will examine how Fintech can overcome SMEs’ financing challenges and how technology can reshape the market with new players and new solutions.
Panellists will discuss the following issues:
To what extent do Fintech-related solutions provide new ways to secure funding for SMEs?
Does Fintech require new regulations and policies?
Which opportunities may arise for SMEs from this digital wave?
10:00 – 11:30
Chairman:
Salvatore Zecchini Former Chairman, OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship
Panellists:
Kris Boschmans Policy Analyst, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) Maurizio Casasco
President, Italian Confederation of Small and Medium-sized Industries – CONFAPI
Helmut Krämer-Eis Chief Economist, Head of Research & Market Analysis, European Investment Fund – EIF Patrick Meinhardt President, Foundation of Small and Medium Enterprises & Head of Politics, BVMW The German Mittelstand Captain Samuel Salloum
Co-chairman, Global Coalition for Efficient Logistics – GCEL
Panel II – The wider impact of digitalization on SMEs
This Panel will dig into digital innovations such as blockchain solutions and examine how digitalization is impacting on SMEs and fostering entrepreneurship.
Panellists will discuss the following issues among others:
In which way are Fintech innovations (e.g. blockchain, crowdfunding, mobile payments, etc.) reshaping the market?
What is the impact of blockchain solutions on SMEs?
11:30 – 13:00
Chairman:
Jay Mitra Professor, Essex University Business School
Panellists:
Su-Hyun Berg
Senior Advisor, Seoul Energy Corporation Raimund Broechler
Senior Research & Innovation Manager, Head of Innovation, Services Lab & Factories of the Future Lab, INTRASOFT International Mauro Minenna
General Director, ACI Informatica Roberto Parente
Global Leader, International Council for Small Business – ICSB Gaetano Patrimia
Innovation Project Manager, Prima Industrie S.p.A. Nuno Varandas
Co-founder, F6S Network
13:00 – 14:00
Networking lunch
AFTERNOON
Panel III – Competences and skills in the era of Fintech
This Panel will analyze competences required to support the technological change. It will include discussions on both the company and the human capital sides.
Panellists will discuss the following issues:
Which relation between the education system and the business system could guarantee the development of skills and competences needed?
Which are the soft and hard skills needed to master the technological change?
To what extent are digitalization and automation a threat for employment or an opportunity for high tech companies?
14:00 – 15:30
Chairman:
Giovanni Zazzerini Secretary-General, the International Network for SMEs – INSME
Panellists:
Andrea Di Anselmo Vice-President & Founding Member, META Group András Hlács
Vice-Chair, OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy Nadine Levratto
Director of Research, CNRS-University Paris Nanterre Research Unit Maily Anna Maria Nguyen
Expert of internationalization & Member of the The Italian Association for Quality Culture – AICQ Industry 4.0 Steering Committee Pierluigi Rivieccio
Innovation Project Manager, NovaFund S.p.A
15:30 – 16:00
Closing remarks
Giuseppe Tripoli, Secretary General, Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce
16:00 – 17:30
INSME General Assembly (INSME Members only) – Financial statements approval – Governing Body Election
Planned Speeches:
Partnership with the Observatory on Practices of Entrepreneurs and Enterprises (OPEE), Nadine Levratto, Director of Research, CNRS-University Paris Nanterre Research Unit
Launch of the INSME Education Committee, Patrick Meinhardt, President, Foundation of Small and Medium Enterprises & Head of Politics, BVMW The German Mittelstand
INSME Best Practice: Business Performance Monitoring Tool, Dinkar Kishor, Deputy General Manager and Faris Al Harty, Senior Project Specialist, Sharakah
Discussant: Roberto Santolamazza, Managing Director, t2i – technology transfer and innovation
20:00 – 22:00
Gala Dinner – Circolo Canottieri Napoli with the support of GCEL (by invitation only)
Second Day, Friday, June 7, 2019 – logistics session
MORNING
09:00 – 09:30
Welcome coffee
09:30 – 10:00
Report on the outcomes of the Fintech session
10:00 – 10:30
Digital benchmark trade lanes to boost SMEs trade
Gregory Bird, Deputy Secretary General, Global Coalition for Efficient Logistics – GCEL
Panel IV – Logistics for SMEs in the Mediterranean region
This Panel will discuss how logistics and supply chains are restructured considering digitalization and changes in international trade flows.
Panellists will discuss the following issues:
How do digital innovations in logistics and supply chains (trading platform, trade finance, e-commerce, etc.) impact on business?
How can logistics better support SMEs internationalization and their participation to global value chains?
10:30 – 12:30
Chairman:
Massimo Deandreis General Manager, Italian Research Center for Economic Studies related to Intesa Sanpaolo Banking Group – SRM
Panellists:
Despina Anastasopoulos Research & Innovation Manager, INTRASOFT International Alessandra Colpo Administration and Fincance Director, Carpisa Simona Lertora Managing Director Marketing & Business Development, DHL Express Mario Mattioli
President, Italian Shipowners’ Association – CONFITARMA Hamsa Thota President, Innovation Business Development – IBD
12.30 – 13.00
Closing Remarks Giovanni Zazzerini, Secretary-General, the International Network for SMEs – INSME, Italy
13.00 – 14.00
Networking Lunch
15:00 – 18:00
Naples City Sightseeing Tour
Speakers
Faris Al Harthy Senior Project Specialist
Fund for Development of Youth Projects – SHARAKAH
Oman
Mr. Faris Al Harthy is Senior Project Specialist at the Omani Fund for Development of Youth Projects – SHARAKAH.
Experienced Project Specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry and specially serving SMEs. Skilled in Business Planning, Analytical Skills, Accounting, Management, and Teamwork. Strong program and project management professional with a Diploma in accounting (CAT) focused in Accounting from College of Banking and Financial Studies (CBFS).
Despina Anastasopoulos Research & Innovation Manager
INTRASOFT International
Greece
Despina Anastasopoulos’ professional experience is on implementing and managing innovative ICT projects. Her employment record involves R&D Consulting in academic and public organizations, within the context of European funded projects. Mrs. Anastasopoulos joined INTRASOFT International as a Research and Innovation manager with areas of expertise and focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, ICT tools to enhance innovation and competitiveness of SMEs. She has also been part of the Innovation Competition of INTRASOFT team. Her experience as a researcher on innovative policies for sustainable development such as smart specialization, pre-commercial procurement, clusters and open innovation contributes in the successful management and implementation of EU projects. Mrs. Anastasopoulos holds a Communication Informatics and Management Bachelor’s degree from the Technological Institute of Epirus, Greece. She also holds an MBA degree from Athens University of Economics and Business.
Sergio Arzeni President
International Network for SMEs – INSME
Italy
Sergio Arzeni is President of the International Network for Small and Medium Enterprises – INSME. Mr. Arzeni is also Senior Advisor of Friends of Europe; Executive Member of the Global Coalition for Efficient Logistics GCEL; Member of the Advisory Board of SRM, the Research Centre on the Mediterranean of Intesa San Paolo Bank, in Naples; Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies (published by Sage Publishing in London, New York and New Delhi). For over 30 years he has been the Director of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) in Paris responsible for SMEs, Local Economic and Employment Development and Tourism.
Su-Hyun Berg Senior Advisor
Seoul Energy Corporation
South Korea
Dr. Su Hyun Berg is an independent business consultant in Germany. She is a senior advisor to the Seoul Energy Corporation and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), and general secretary of the German-Korean Society. Su-Hyun obtained her PhD in Social and Economic Geography from the Uppsala University 2016. Her doctoral dissertation is concerned with the complex dynamics of knowledge transfer in the creative industries from a spatiotemporal perspective. She holds an MSc/MA in European Studies from University Southern Denmark and University of Flensburg.
Gregory Bird Deputy SecretaryGeneral
Global Coalition for Efficient Logistics – GCEL
Switzerland
Mr. Gregory Bird, CPA, has 40 years of international finance, logistics, and manufacturing experience. He has been a CFO for a subsidiary of Deutsche Post DHL, providing global supply chain management, transportation, warehousing, customs brokerage and related services for the world’s largest automotive manufacturers and other Fortune 500 companies.
Mr. Bird has led various international teams to expand logistics services to customers while reducing their internal logistics and operational costs. He has also been the CEO of a multi-state Tier One manufacturing firm, supplying precision machined automotive components. For 10 years, he was a CPA and Senior Manager at Arthur Andersen & Co., an accounting, tax, and consulting firm, where he led various teams in financial planning, process improvement, and cost management in the manufacturing, real estate, retail and transportation industries.
Mr. Bird graduated with Honors from the University of Michigan BBA program. His experience includes hands-on knowledge of supply chain activities from shelf to shelf.
Kris Boschmans Policy Analyst
OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE)
France
Kris Boschmans works as a policy analyst for the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development at the OECD. He joined the organisation in 2014 and is responsible for the “Financing SME and Entrepreneurs” project, an annual OECD flagship publication, which gathers and analyses data on SME finance and relevant policies from 37 countries. Previously, Kris worked as an expert on SME finance and broader entrepreneurship issues for the Belgian government and private sector organisations. He holds an MBA from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, and a PhD in applied economics from the University of Antwerp, Belgium.
Raimund Bröchler Senior Research & Innovation Manager, Head of Innovation, Services Lab & Factories of the Future Lab
INTRASOFT International
Luxembourg
Dr. Raimund Bröchler joined INTRASOFT Intl. in 2004 and he has more than 17 years of experience in the Innovation, Consultancy, Research and Technology Transfer field. Because of his leadership skills, experience as coordinator and project manager, he runs strategic projects with volumes of +10 Mill€ and is Head of two INTRASOFT project labs; Innovation Services Lab and Factories of the Future Lab. Dr. Bröchler joined INTRASOFT Intl. as Project Director running large network projects with +1000 network members, like IRC & IRE and managed larger technical assistance projects under the EuropeAid scheme. Beside EU and industry projects he also coordinates/supports a portfolio of US projects. He is founder of the USA-EU Technology/ Business-Cooperation gateway EEN-US, works as expert in the BILAT-US and managed a study with RTI for NIST in Smart Manufacturing. Main focus since 2011 is the coordination and management of larger research or service projects that are designed as public private partnerships (PPPs). The main project foci are in the “Innovation Services” and “Smart Manufacturing” sectors.
Since 2007 Dr. Bröchler is Vice President of INSME and he was also twice a Member of the Board of TII and Member of the Advisory Board of Japan-EU Partnership in Innovation, Science and Technology. He has two lectureships at the HTW, Saarbrucken (University of Applied Science and the Institute for Scientific professional training) and was awarded in 2014 as member of the Scientific Advisory Council of the HTWsaar.
Maurizio Casasco President
Confederation of Private Small and Medium Industries – CONFAPI
Italy
Since 2012 Maurizio Casasco leads the Italian Confederation of Private Small and Medium Industries – CONFAPI. He is Vice-President of European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME.
Mr. Casasco is also contract professor for sports medicine at the Universities of Milan and Pavia, as well as Owner and Manager of companies delivering medical analytics, health care services and producing medical technical devices.
Last but not least, he is member of the Italian Olympic Committee.
Alessandra Colpo Administration and Finance Director
Carpisa
Italy
Alessandra Colpo is Administration and Finance Director at Kuvera SpA (Carpisa brand). From October 2012 to September 2017, Senior Manager at PWC in charge of the managing and coordination of audit teams in statutory and legal audit assignments of listed and not listed companies; deep experience in business services (Audit, Consulting, Deals, Tax & Legal Coorporate governance, Transaction Service, Corporate Finance). From 2007 Tutor at professional courses organized by Ordine dei Dottori Commercialisti di Napoli (Italian Accounting Profession) about auditing, auditors competences, Italian and international accounting standards.
From 2007 External Tutor at the following Master course:
– Master in Auditing and Financial Statements organized by IPE – Naples
– Master in Finance organized by IPE – Naples
– Master in Shipping organized by IPE – Naples
– Master in Business Administration organized by STOA’ – Ercolano (NA).
Massimo Deandreis General Manager
SRM – Economic Research Center related with Intesa Sanpaolo Banking Group
Italy
Massimo Deandreis graduated in International Economic Law at the University of Turin in 1991, he earned a second degree in International and Diplomatic History in 1994. From 1995 to 2000 he lived in Brussels, where he served as Head of the Italian Chamber of Commerce delegation to the European Union. In 2001 he was appointed General Manager of the Piedmont Regional Chamber of Commerce in Turin, a position he held until October 2008. Since November 2008 he has worked for Intesa Sanpaolo Banking Group where he served as Head of Cabinet of the President of the Bank; subsequently he was appointed General Manager of SRM, the position he currently holds. Massimo is currently contract professor of Business Management at the Department of Economics of the Turin University and he has recently been appointed President of the Italian Society of Business Economists.
Andrea Di Anselmo Vice-President and Founding Member
META Group
Italy
Andrea Di Anselmo has 25 years of experience in innovation services, Smart Specialization and Entrepreneurship Strategies. Vice President of META Group, he sits in the Board of Directors of Meta Ventures, the management company operating the Ingenium funds in Italy, Slovenia and Poland and is the former president of INSME. He has a background in civil engineering and research experience in materials science at the Storrs University in Connecticut, USA. He also sits in the Board of Directors of ISRIM (research institute on advanced materials), Sviluppumbria (regional development agency), TII (European association for TT) and of many SMEs.
Since 1993, he managed many Framework Programmes Projects, initiatives funded by ESIF and framework contracts dealing with R&D and innovation. Most recent assignments are in the field of international investments projects on Industrial modernisation, I4.0, open innovation, territorial cooperation and early stage financial instruments.
Francesco Guido Regional Manager South Italian Regions
Intesa Sanpaolo
Italy
After graduating in Economics and Banking, Francesco Guido started his professional career in Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino (now Intesa Sanpaolo) in 1983. He has occupied various positions over the years as Branch Manager, Area Manager, Compliance Officer, Regional Director, Head of Sales and Marketing and General Manager of Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia.
Since July 2015, he has been the General Manager of Banco di Napoli SpA. He has also been member of the Board of Directors in IS Formazione ScpA, Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno (Intesa Sanpaolo Group) and President of Associazione Bancaria Italiana Campania Regional Commission.
He is the Regional Manager of Regional Management Campania, Basilicata, Calabria and Puglia.
András Hlács Vice-Chair
OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy
Hungary
Mr. András Hlács is a Digital, Education, SME and STI counsellor at the Permanent Delegation of Hungary to the OECD and UNESCO. In addition, he is the Vice Chair of OECD’s Committee on Digital Economy Policy (CDEP). Before moving to Paris, Mr. Hlács worked as a senior strategic consultant at the National Research, Development and Innovation Office of Hungary (NKFIH) in Budapest from 2011 to 2015. His duties mainly focused on science, technology and innovation (STI) related program and strategic planning, including priority areas as Smart Specialization (S3) and Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI). In addition, he also worked as a part-time lecturer on PPI at the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd Science University of Budapest (ELTE). Mr. Hlács holds an MA degree in English Language and an MA degree in Foreign Relations (with a specialization in American Studies) from ELTE.
Dinkar Kishor Deputy General Manager
Fund for Development of Youth Projects – SHARAKAH
Oman
Dinkar Kishor did his Undergrad in Humanities from Chandigarh, India and thereafter completed his MBA and Bachelor of Law from Patna, India. He had a very short stint with Indian Army, followed by Sahara India Group [One of the prominent business conglomerates in India with activities in Non-Banking financial activities, civil aviation, electronic/print media and housing]; Indian Express [One of the leading Indian national English dailies] and SIDBI [Small Industries Development Bank of India, SIDBI, is the apex development financing institution for small and medium enterprises in India]. He has over 24 years of diverse experience in various fields of financing, encompassing SME, retail and development finance. Rich exposure to business development banking in SME domain and project financing with both – credit orientation and Post sanction, viz., Legal aspect, follow-up & Monitoring and a flavour for relationship. He has managed Asset as well as Liabilities. He has also handled international collaborations, e.g. Swiss Development Corporation’s developmental initiatives in India. He has been instrumental in revamping the new business model of Sharakah.
Helmut Kraemer-Eis Chief Economist, Head of Research & Market Analysis
European Investment Fund – EIF
Luxembourg
Dr. Helmut Kraemer-Eis is Head of EIF’s Research & Market Analysis (RMA) and EIF’s Chief Economist. The EIF is the EIB Group’s specialist provider of risk finance to benefit SMEs across Europe. By developing and offering targeted financial products to its intermediaries, the EIF enhances SMEs’ access to finance and fosters EU objectives, notably in the field of entrepreneurship, growth, innovation, research and development, employment and regional development. RMA forms part of EIF’s General Secretariat and supports EIF’s business development and strategic decision-making processes through applied research and market analyses. Prior to this, Helmut developed and headed EIF’s Guarantees and Securitisation Risk Management for 7 years. He also worked as Senior Manager at KfW (Germany) in the field of Business Policy / Securitisation and in KfW’s Economic Research Department. Helmut holds a M.A. in Economics from the University of Bonn (Germany) and a PhD from the University of Jena (Germany), where he also worked as researcher and teaching associate. He has authored and co-authored numerous research papers on economic topics, ie related to SME finance, and a book on country risk analysis. He is the editor of EIF’s Working Papers series.
Simona Lertora Managing Director Marketing & Business Development
DHL Express
Italy
Simona Lertora, Genoese, born in 1966, began her career in a fashion company, Marina Yachting Spa, as Import/Export Manager.
She joined DHL in 1995 as Marketing Product Manager dedicated to Fashion. In a few years Simona Lertora assumes roles of increasing responsibility: initially in the commercial area, as Head of Key Accounts in Fashion, Pharma and Finance sectors, then in Marketing, where in 2003 she took on the role of Marketing Development Manager.
The following year she accepted a new challenge in the Aviation division of DHL Express Italy, as Commercial Manager for Italy, Hungary, Slovenia, Greece, Cyprus and Malta.
In 2008 she joined the DHL Aviation Italy Senior Management Team as Customs Director.
Since April 2015, Lertora takes on the leadership of the Marketing & Business Development Department of DHL Express Italy.
Nadine Levratto Director of Research
CNRS-University Paris Nanterre Research Unit
France
Nadine Levratto is a French economist, Research Professor at the French National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS), lecturer at the University Paris Nanterre and Research Fellow of the Centre d’Economie du Travail et de l’Emploi (Noisy-le-Grand, France). Her main fields of interest are focused on firm growth, corporate bankruptcy, SMEs; Industrial Dynamics; Growth, Innovation and Economic Geography. Her research has been published in more than 50 scholarly articles in ranked academic journals. As an expert, she has consulted with the European Commission, OECD, French ministries and local administrations as well as numerous private banks and consultants. She is also the President of the Observatory on Practices of Entrepreneurs and Enterprises (OPEE), a nonprofit organisation, promoting a small business assessment tool.
Antonio Lucarelli Director Machinery, Energy and Environment Office
Italian Trade Agency – ITA
Italy
Antonio Lucarelli is Director of the Machinery, Energy and Environment at the Italian Trade Agency – ITA.
In the same organization he was responsible for Fashion promotion and he previously led the Montreal office of the Italian Trade Agency.
Mr. Lucarelli also acted as Deputy Director of the ITA office in New York and from 1997 to 2002 he was ITA Officer responsible for the relationship with World Bank Group, EBRD and ADB (Asian Development Bank) in the International Organisations Unit – Promotion and Co-operation Department, Co-operation and Relations with EU and WTO Division, European Affairs Bureau, ICE headquarters.
Mario Mattioli President
CONFITARMA – Italian Shipowners’ Association
Italy
Mario Mattioli was born in Naples on October 30th, 1963 where he graduated in economics at the Federico II University. Since the early 80s he began working in the family businesses belonging to the Cafiero Mattioli Group, holding numerous positions up to the current one of CAFIMA President (Cafiero Mattioli financial Spa). For about 20 years he was a member of the confederal council and of the executive committee of CONFITARMA, the Italian Shipowners’ Association, also holding the position of vice president and president of the education commission. From October 11th, 2017 he is president of CONFITARMA.
On the 11th April 2018 Mario Mattioli was unanimously elected for the next two-year president of the Federation of the Italian maritime system (Federation of the Sea), the organization that brings together the national cluster of maritime activities.
He has also been chairman of the ASSORIMORCHIATORI (Tug owners association), vice president of the Italian Academy of Merchant Marine, vice president of the Industrialist Union of Naples with responsibility for training and the study center.
Currently he is member of the committee of Britannia Steamship Insurance Association limited UK, Honorary general consul of the Kingdom of Thailand in Naples and in South Italy, president of FORMARE and Board Member of the National Fund for Seafarers, entity financing the training projects of Italian Merchant Marine cadets.
Patrick Meinhardt President
Foundation of Small and Medium Enterprises
& Head of Politics
BVMW The German Mittelstand
Germany
Since August 2014, Mr. Patrick Meinhardt has been responsible for Public Affairs, Public Relations, Economics, Cooperation with Associations and Foreign Trade as Head of Politics and Public Relations at the BVMW Federal Office Berlin (Bundesverband mittelständische Wirtschaft Unternehmerverband Deutschland e.V.).
In addition, he coordinates the European policy and the Brussels office and strengthens the federal management of the association. From 2005 to 2013 he was a member of the German Bundestag. Here he was spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group for education and the group “Christians in the FDP parliamentary group”.
Mauro Minenna General Director
ACI Informatica
Italy
Mauro Minenna is an electronic engineer.
After a few years as project manager in the IT departments of Enel and Rai, he worked in Poste Italiane in various roles of growing responsibility from 2002 to 2007.
From 2008 to 2012 he was CIO for API Group, an italian refining and marketing oil company.
As of 2013 he is the CEO of ACI Informatica, the ‘in-house’ IT company of Automobile Club d’Italia.
Jay Mitra Professor
Essex University Business School
United Kingdom
Jay Mitra is Professor of Business Enterprise and Innovation. He is a Visiting Scholar at Luneburg University in Germany and has held Visiting Professorships at the Institute of Management Technology in India, the School of Management, Fudan University in China, at Bologna University, Italy and at Externado University in Colombia. He has acted as a Scientific Adviser to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) in Paris. Prof. Mitra is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in the UK and is a board member of INSME. He also leads the International Entrepreneurship Forum (IEF) a unique network and forum for researchers, policy makers and business practitioners working on entrepreneurship, innovation and regional development. He has written widely on different aspects of entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development, and his latest book is ‘The Business of Innovation’ published by Sage in 2017. He is the editor of the ‘Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies’, also published by Sage, and a member of the board of numerous refereed journals around the world. He has worked with various institutions around the world such as UNCTAD, UNIDO, ASEAN, EU and other government agencies and private sector organisations.
Maily Anna Maria Nguyen Expert of internationalization & Member The Italian Association for Quality Culture – AICQ Industry 4.0 Steering Committee Italy
Maily Anna Maria Nguyen is an expert of internationalisation of SMEs, in the past couple of years she also gained relevant experience in SMART CITY and SMART COMMUNITY topic.
Currently she is representative of Becamex IDC Corp. (Investment and Industrial Development Corporation) in Europe.
She is also head of the Desk Emilia-Romagna/Italy in Binh Duong thanks to an agreement between the Union of Chambers of Commerce of Emilia-Romagna Region, the Chamber of Commerce of Italy-Vietnam and Becamex IDC Corp.
Ms. Nguyen is also member of:
– the board of National Association Italy-Vietnam for the friendship, cooperation and cultural and scientific exchanges;
– the Steering Committee of Industry 4.0 of AICQ (Italian Association of Quality Culture)
– the AEREC (European Academy for Economic and Cultural Relations), established as a Department of the National Body for the Development of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts constituted in 1981 with the aim of promoting the Italian industry in the world by means of economic and cultural exchanges with international organizations and institutions.
Roberto Parente Global Leader
International Council for Small Business – ICSB
Italy
Roberto Parente is Full Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at University of Salerno (Italy) and President of the Master Course in Management and Social Innovation. He is also the Founder and Director of LISA Lab, a Research Centre whose main topic is on Technology transfer and Academic Entrepreneurship.
Visiting Student at Sloan Management School and Visiting Professor at George Washington University.
Roberto has been recently appointed as President of the Entrepreneurship Group by the National Academy of Management –SIMA, and is ICSB Global Leader.
He has co-founded several Start-up companies operating in the Biotech and Digital Health industry.
Roberto served in many Conference and Global Forums promoted by ICSB and its affiliate, and was the Chair of the First Conference in Italy on “Social Innovation and Humane Entrepreneurship: from Policy to Action”.
Roberto’s papers have been published in leading International Journal including JSBM which features his Article on “The Epistemology of Humane Entrepreneurship”.
Gaetano Patrimia Innovation Project Manager
Prima Industrie S.p.A.
Italy
Gaetano Patrimia is an Innovation Project Manager. He attended a 2nd level University Master’s degree focused on Industrial Automation at Polytechnic of Turin. He holds a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering focused on Propulsion System.
Gaetano also worked as drones designer at Nimbus S.R.L. and has been an intern at GE Avio Aero focused on manufacturing processes optimization for thin-wall components. Today he is in the Innovation & Strategic Projects department of Prima Industrie as Project Manager, focused on Additive Manufacturing.
Pierluigi Rivieccio is an innovation project manager at Eidon Lab, managing research and innovation activities focused on e-health and smart cities. In addition he coordinated international partnerships within European and national framework programs dedicated to research and innovation, also supporting public administrations, the main Italian Universities and several companies in research and development projects.
He also worked as a Project Manager for several consulting companies, Scientific and Technological park of Naples and US medical device company called Howard Medical, based in Chicago (IL, U.S.). He attended a 2nd level University Master’s degree focused on Medical Biotechnology at University of Rome “Tor Vergata”.
Captain Samuel Salloum Co-Chair
Global Coalition for Efficient Logistics – GCEL
Switzerland
Captain Samuel Salloum is the Co-Chairman of GCEL, the Global Coalition for Efficient Logistics. GCEL is a Swiss-based nonprofit public/private partnership focused on sustained economic growth through increased trade efficiency based on an empowered Digital Economy. Under his leadership, GCEL has gained the support of more than 150 countries through their pan-regional organizations and 26 Inter-governmental/nongovernmental organizations worldwide. Its private-sector member companies alone exceed 2.7 million personnel and serve approximately 60% of global GDP. Captain Salloum is also Chairman and CEO of the World Logistics Council, a Swiss-based semi-governmental organization in coordination with 28 countries from around the world, supporting global trade efficiency initiatives.
Through his leadership of GCEL, he is currently focusing his efforts upon strategy, development and deployment of the organization’s groundbreaking Digital Economy program, the spearhead of an initiative which will universally boost trade efficiency, performance and profitability as it improves the wellbeing of millions of people worldwide. Captain Salloum’s international experience ranges from dockside to boardroom.
Roberto Santolamazza Managing Director
t2i – technolgy transfer and innovation
Italy
Roberto Santolamazza holds a Master Course degree in Car Engineering (MBA) and a Master’s degree in Electronic Engineering (Industrial Automation and Robotics) from Padua University, Italy. Prior to joining t2i – trasferimento tecnologico e innovazione, Roberto ha managed an innovation agency, Treviso Tecnologia, and worked for several years in a major consulting firm, Accenture. Before this experience, he worked for a wide famous Italian Car Manifacturer, Ferrari SpA, and at the European Technical Center of a major Japanese multinational electronics company, located in Holland, Omron Corporation, as visiting fellow.
He’s Adjunct Professor of Innovation and Development Economics at the Cà Foscari University in Venice.
He’s now the Managing Director in charge of t2i – trasferimento tecnologico e innovazione.
Hamsa Thota President
Innovation Business Development (IBD), Inc.
United States of America
Dr. Hamsa Thota is the founder and president of US based Innovation Business Development (IBD), Inc., a company specializing in product innovation performance improvement. He has 40 years of accomplishments as an inventor, entrepreneur, innovator, and teacher. He trains and consults with organizations to improve new product success rates in the US, China and India. He holds 10 U.S. patents. He coauthored “Key concepts in innovation”, a fundamental reference book for practitioners, students and scholars of innovation. He served as a senior advisor to the U.S. Art of Science Learning (ASL) project. Under his guidance, ASL project teams explored connections among arts-based learning and scientific innovation. Working in Innovation Incubators operating in San Diego, Chicago and Worcester, MA, the project teams developed STEM based novel solutions to pressing civic challenges.
Giuseppe Tripoli Secretary General
Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce
Italy
Graduated in Law at the University of Catania.
Since January 1 2016 Mr. Tripoli is the Secretary General of the Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce – Unioncamere.
He has been Guarantor of SMEs.
From 2014 to 2015 he acted as General Manager for the internalization policy and the promotion of exchanges of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.
He also held the following positions:
– From 2009 to 2014 Head of the Department for Enterprise and internationalization of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development
– From 2001 to 2009 Secretary General of Unioncamere.
– From 1999 to 2001 Vice Secretary General of Confcommercio.
– From 1996 to 1999 Vice Secretary General of Unioncamere.
– From 1992 to 1996 Managing Director of C.I.S. S.p.A.
– From 1984 Research activities for the setting of the school of Public Administration of the Chambers of Commerce.
– From 1982 to 1985 Research activities at the chair of Philosophy of Law of Catania and Rome.
Nuno Varandas Co-founder
F6S -Network of F-ounder-S
Portugal
Nuno Varandas is EU Projects Expert at F6S – Where Founders Grow Together – creating and finding new opportunities to support global Founders. Nuno runs an international team that lead F6S participation in H2020 projects – current participating in 9 EU projects.
F6S is a European based entity that has become the largest Startup/SME community globally with over 1.3 million Startups/SMEs and 1.7 million entrepreneurs. F6S delivers more than €2 billions every year to Startups and SMEs with the leading CRM for deal flow, corporate challenges, structured programs, startup services, corporate partnering, recruiting, government grants and free startup resources.
Before F6S, he took the position of Coordinator of SOUL-FI FIWARE Accelerator, investing 5.0 Million in European Tech-Startups. He has solid experience in management in different areas, from Research & Development, Sales, Services and Business Management. Over the past 17 years he has worked in strong global industrial groups (Allianz and Bosch), research entities (IPN) startups (eneida.io) – in Portugal, Brazil, Spain, Germany and UK, where he gain expertise in the creation, development and implementation of new products, services, markets and strategies.
Giovanni Zazzerini Secretary General
International Network for SMEs – INSME
Italy
Giovanni Zazzerini is the Secretary General of INSME – the International Network for Small and Medium Enterprises. He is adjunct professor at the Department of Management of LUISS Guido Carli, the University promoted by Confindustria, the Italian association representing manufacturing and service companies. He is also contract professor at the Department of Economics of the University of Perugia. His specializations are Innovation Management, Entrepreneurship and Marketing. From 2008 he works as an expert for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs carrying out regularly technical assistance, training and capacity building activities for Development Cooperation projects in China and in Vietnam. From 2012 he is also appointed by the European Commission to advise research projects on exploitation of research results, commercialization of innovation and business plan development.
Previously he has worked for almost 15 years as a consultant, developing projects in the field of innovation, entrepreneurship and internationalization of SMEs. Beside public Institutions he has advised national and multinational companies (Vodafone, Sky, Ericsson, DHL, etc.). He holds a Ph.D. in Marketing from University of Perugia (Italy), a Master’s Degree in Technology and Innovation Management from SPRU, University of Sussex (United Kingdom) and a Bachelor Degree in Economics from University of Perugia.
Salvatore Zecchini
Former Chairman
OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship
Italy
Prof. Salvatore Zecchini has been Economist and later Director in the Economic Research Dept. of Banca d’Italia (Italy’s central bank) (participated in the works of EEC Monetary Committee and EEC Economic Policy Committee). He also acted as Executive Director of the IMF (1984-89).
Prof. Zecchini chaired the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship. During his long lasting experience at the OECD he has also been Assistant Secretary General, Director of the OECD Centre for Cooperation with Economies in Transition and Deputy Secretary General.
Since 1997 he is Professor of International Economic Policy at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”.
Mr. Zecchini has also been: Director of Public Investments Evaluation Agency (1997-1998); Economic Advisor of the Treasury Minister (1997-2000); Economic Advisor of the Ministers for Industry, Trade and Energy (2001-2010); Chairman of ICE (External Trade Institute) Advisory Committee (2002-2005); Chairman of GME (Italy’s power exchange) (2006-2009); Chairman of Europex (European association of power exchanges) (2009); Chairman of IPI Institute for Industrial Promotion (2008-2009); Chairman of OECD Steering group on SMEs and Entrepreneurship financing; Chairman of the OECD Working Group on SMEs and Entrepreneurship; Vice Chair of the UN – ECE Committee on Economic Cooperation and Integration; Consultant on SME, entrepreneurship and finance in several economic sectors and in foreign countries, such as Arab gulf states and South Korea.
Author of numerous studies, article and books.
Meeting Venue
The 15th INSME Annual Meeting will be held on the 6th and 7th of June in Naples, Italy.
The event will take place in the Sala Delle Assemblee at the II floor of Palazzo Piacentini, premises of SRM – the Italian Research Center for Economic Studies related to Intesa Sanpaolo Banking Group. Palazzo Piacentini was once the headquarter of one among the oldest banks in the world,Banco di Napoli, whose origins date back to the 16th and 17th centuries.
The beautiful structure has a unique architectonic and historical significance: the construction was completely restored in 1939, expanding what were once the headquarters of the Building of Ministries of the House of Bourbons originally built in 1819. The external façade of the building is majestic with its staircase and the five large and grand banking halls topped by arches. The interior of the building is illuminated by a skylight and decorated with large quantities of polychrome marbles.
Address: Palazzo Piacentini Via Toledo n°177-178
80134 Naples, Italy[/su_tab]
The International Network for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises-INSME is a legally recognized not-for-profit Association open to international membership.
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