Paola Cillo

Paola Cillo is an Associate Professor at the Department of Management and Technology at Università Bocconi and at SDA Bocconi she is Associate Dean for Research– Claudio Demattè Research Division.

She served as the Director of the Master of Science in Economics and Management of lnnovation and Technology (EMIT), at Università Bocconi (2011-2016) and as Vice Director of the Department of Management and Technology at Università Bocconi (2016-2020). She served as the Academic Coordinator for the Concentration in Luxury Business Management of the Full Time MBA Program (2017-2023). She has conducted many research projects and has worked both in executive education programs and consulting activities with some of the leading companies in the FMCG, luxury and retail, digital, and pharmaceutical industries.

Her areas of expertise include innovation in symbolic and creative industries, big data and innovation strategies and investors’ response to innovation. Currently, she is working on research projects on: innovation in luxury fashion, social data e start-up performance, and innovation and investors’ response to company innovation.

She is the author of more than 40 articles and books on marketing strategies, innovation, and new product development. Her research has been funded by public institutions and private companies in Italy and abroad and has been published in leading academic management outlets at an international level, such as Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Marketing, Research Policy, Strategic Organization, Journal of Product Innovation Management, European Management Journal, and Long Range Planning among others. She was a Visiting Professor at Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth (USA) in 2008, Visiting Assistant Professor at the Marketing Department of the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota in 2005 and Visiting Scholar at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 2000. She currently serves as an independent board member in illycaffé, Miroglio Fashion, and Generali Investment Partners SGR.

Paola earned a degree in Business Administration cum laude (1996) and a Ph.D. in Economics & Management (2001) both from Università Bocconi.