HI, I AM

ITALO MARCONI

My journey began at the United World College of the Adriatic, where I studied between the ages of 16 and 18 on a full scholarship. UWC’s mission, to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future, deeply influenced me. Living and learning alongside students from all over the world taught me that diversity of culture, thought and perspective is a powerful catalyst for change. That experience shaped not only my worldview but also the way I approach innovation, as something that thrives at the intersection of differences.

Since then, I have lived, studied and worked across Europe and Latin America, from London to Stockholm, Madrid to Berlin. Today, I live in Milan with my partner Giorgia and our two children, Dante and Lila, who constantly remind me that curiosity and adaptability are essential in a changing world, and whose gaze, always enthusiastic and free from bias, is a daily reminder of how to look at challenges and opportunities with fresh eyes.

In the innovation world, too many focus on change for its own sake. I have learned that the real skill is understanding what must evolve and what must remain untouched.

My own path reflects this balance: I started in the humanities with a PhD in Social Sciences, where the study of history taught me to recognize the invariants, the forces, values and patterns that persist despite change, and to understand how to govern transformations and transitions. I learned the value of culture as a guiding force in complex organizational change, a compass often more decisive than technology itself. I then bridged into technology with a Master’s in Computer Engineering and Design, and finally connected both worlds with an Executive MBA, learning how to translate insight into strategy and execution.

As I learned from Umberto Eco, the platypus is a reminder that the world does not always fit neatly into our categories. In today’s society, where accelerating complexity demands new concepts and fresh categories to interpret reality, it is a call to embrace complexity, resist oversimplification and stay open to what defies easy classification.

– Senior Advisor and Fractional Executive

– Innovation, Growth and MarTech Advisor at Retail Institute Italy

– Chief Innovation Officer, Partner and Board Member at OpenKnowledge (BIP Group)

– Chief Innovation Officer and Board Member at Connexia (a Retex Company), guiding strategic transformation and the creation of new services.

– Founder and Managing Director of UbiquityLab, a digital innovation studio with a team of strategists, designers, and developers delivering blended products, services and ecosystems for global brands.

– Vice President of Product & Customer Experience at Ubiquity (now Kaleyra), responsible for the strategy, development, and go-to-market of a global omnichannel engagement platform; the company later went public on the New York Stock Exchange.

Designing and implementing strategies, business models, and platforms that have generated measurable economic and social impact across multiple sectors.

Definition of strategic objectives, scenario design, open innovation programs, and culture change initiatives.

Go-to-market planning, acquisition and retention loops, scalable growth systems.

Business modelling, customer experience design, service blueprinting, product innovation.

Data strategy, AI-driven tools, digital platform development.

Stepping into interim C-level roles to guide strategy, execution, and transformation from within the organization.

Executive training, academic teaching, workshop design, design of corporate academies and impactful learning experiences, organizational design, and leadership team coaching.

– Teaching innovation, entrepreneurship, growth strategy, and AI-based business models to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

– Designing curricula that integrate real-world case studies, hands-on projects, and strategic frameworks.

– Designing corporate academies, organizational structures, and immersive learning experiences for companies aiming to build innovation capabilities.

– Providing leadership team coaching to strengthen decision-making, collaboration, and execution in transformation contexts.

– Preparing the next generation of innovators and business leaders to navigate complexity with clarity and purpose.

My mentorship and advisory work spans:

• Strategic Positioning – defining value propositions, customer segments, and competitive advantage
• Growth Strategy – building acquisition, retention, and monetization engines
• Product and Service Design – creating user experiences that drive adoption and loyalty
• Go-to-Market Planning – launching products and services with speed and precision
• Investor and Stakeholder Readiness – telling a story that wins buy-in and funding
• Leadership Coaching – developing decision-making and execution skills in leadership teams

I have mentored in programs such as Styleit Accelerator and PoliHub, and advised companies across industries from fashion tech to healthcare, always aiming to combine vision with measurable results.