The Faculty Council of the USI Faculty of Economics has appointed Prof. Gianluca Colombo as Dean for the period 2019-2021. He shall be deputised, as Vice-Dean, by Prof. Giovanni Pica. Both have started their new roles on September 1, 2019, taking over from Prof. Gagliardini, Dean from September 2015 to August 2019, and, respectively, from professors Mario Jametti and Paul Schneider.

“Studying economics is a rewarding and fascinating experience. Theories, models and tools in the subject areas of microeconomics and macroeconomics, finance, management, law and quantitative methods not only provide the means to address the economic challenges of modern societies, but also allow a better understanding of the problems and opportunities that future generations will face as responsible citizens, workers, entrepreneurs, or volunteers of non-profit organisations”, says the new Dean in his welcome address. “To all those who are and will be part of our Faculty, and especially to our students, I hope that you will appreciate the inclusive nature of this Faculty, which enables and encourages the interaction with professors who conduct research at an international level and who are passionately committed to teaching.” 

Gianluca Colombo is Full Professor at the Institute of Management and Organisation (IMO). Previously he was Full Professor at Università dell’Insubria, and Associate Professor at Bocconi University in Milan and at Università degli Studi in Pavia. His other previous roles: Deputy Professor at the Sapienza University of Rome; Visiting Professor at the EM Lyon business school, at Aix-Marseille III University, and at Università Federico Santa Maria di Valparaiso (Chile). Prof. Colombo is member of EURAM (European Academy of Management), and of the Academy of Management. He has published several books and academic articles in the fields of strategic management, M&A, complexity theory, entrepreneurship, and family business –the latter for which he is a consultant. Prof. Colombo is the Director of the USI EMBA – Executive Master in Business Administration.

Giovanni Pica is Full Professor at the Institute of Economics (IdEP). After completing his Ph.D. at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, he held positions at the University of Southampton, the University of Salerno and the University of Milan. He is also affiliated with Centro Studi Luca D’Agliano, CSEF, Centro Baffi and fRDB. His research concentrates on the labour market effects of financial market imperfections, globalization and labour market institutions. He is currently working on the role of internal capital and labour markets within organizations, on the labour market impact of the financial crisis, on the link between social mobility and macroeconomic outcomes, and on occupational licensing. His work has been published, among other journals, in the Journal of Financial Economics, the Economic Journal, the Journal of European Economic Association, the Journal of International Economics.

When: Monday 23 September, from 4 to 6 PM

Where: IBSA Insitut Biochimique

A dialogue about Finance in Luxury

&

EMBA Open Day

Guest speakers: Gilles Gaucher – Cazalis, CFO PHILIPP PLEIN Group ( Philipp Plein – Plein Sport – Billionaire)

Alberto Plazzi, Associate Professor of Finance, Università della Svizzera italiana

Presentation of the new edition of EMBA by

Gianluca Colombo, Director Executive MBA, Dean of Faculty of Economics

When: 12 September, 18:30

Where: Executive Center 

PHILIPP PLEIN International AG designs, manufactures, and retails apparel for men, women, and kids in Switzerland and internationally. 

Luxury beyond all convention for a brand, created in Munich in 1998 and guided by the entrepreneurial spirit of founder/designer Philipp Plein, which is in continual growth due to a capacity to astonish, surprise and command attention.
Today the headquarters are in Lugano, the Swiss Maison counts more than 100 employees worldwide; three showrooms, in Milan, New York and Hong Kong respectively and a significant presence in the principal world markets.

PHILIPP PLEIN, with men’s, women’s and children’s clothing collections, jewelry , accessories and the Home collection, meets the demands of a sophisticated and ultra-contemporary consumer. 

About the guest speakers

Gilles Gaucher – Cazalis, CFO PHILIPP PLEIN Group ( Philipp Plein – Plein Sport – Billionaire)

Gilles Gaucher – Cazalis is an international executive with abroad set of skills including finance, operations and strategy. 
He possesses a strong knowledge in Fashion, Luxury and Retail industries.

He previously worked in London fashion house Ralph & Russo after nearly four and a half years at Philipp Plein in May 2017.

Alberto Plazzi, Associate Professor of Finance

Alberto Plazzi is tenured associate professor of Finance at the Faculty of Economics, USI, since September 2016. He holds a PhD in Finance from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. His research interests include Empirical Asset Pricing, Real Estate, Institutional Investors, and Financial Econometrics. Prof. Plazzi’s research has been published in leading finance journals. He has taught asset pricing, corporate finance, and risk management for the master, executive master, or doctoral programs of various universities. At USI, he holds classes of Risk Management (Master), Quantitative Methods for Finance and Empirical Asset Pricing (PhD). In 2014, he has been awarded the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching at USI.

You can easily register by sending an e-mail at: emba@usi.ch

Have an espresso, take a tour of our Executive Center, and talk with your future professors and current program participants.

When: 13, 14, 15 June

Thursday, Friday, Saturday 8:30 – 18:00

Where: USI, Executive Center

Course: Creativity and Innovation

Business leaders often use the terms creativity and innovation to suggest how to go beyond conventional thinking yet few understand why and how they confer a competitive advantage in a globalized context.

Goals and objectives of the course:

– To provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the topics of creativity and innovation, so as to learn how to strategically leverage creativity and innovation for a sustainable competitive advantage.

– To understand the role of leadership in fostering creativity and innovation within an organization and to help them initiate their own creativity and innovation plan that they can implement.

– To learn how new industries are created and evolve through breakthrough technological innovations and in the battle for standards.

– To examine how business model innovations can be used for economic value creation as well as to address the big societal challenges of our world.

Natasha Munshi

Natasha Vijay Munshi received her doctorate degree in strategy, environment, and organization (SEO) in 2003 from the University of Pittsburgh, USA. Dr. Munshi also has a Masters degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and an MBA degree in Management and International Business. She has taught at a number of institutions in the USA, Europe, and China on courses ranging from capstone strategy, strategic management of technology and innovation, business ethics, and international business at the undergraduate, graduate (MBA, EMBA) and Ph.D. levels. She has also consulted for non-profit organizations in strategic planning and new product development and worked in the biomedical sciences industry. Her publications int he areas of strategy, innovation, and corporate social responsibility include a guest editorship on the topic of social innovation in the Journal of Asia-Pacific Business among others articles in Organizational Dynamics, Journal of Business Strategies, Business and Society Review and Thinking Skills and Creativity.

Last seats available: emba@usi.ch

Project Management

Have an espresso, take a tour of our Executive Center, and talk with your future professors and current program participants.

Book your place: emba@usi.ch

When: 9, 10, 11, 12 May

Thursday 10:00 – 18:00

Friday, Saturday 8:30 – 18:00

Sunday 8:30 – 12:30

Where: USI, Executive Center

Course: Project Management,

Prof. Paulo Gonçalves

Ph.D. (MIT Sloan), M. Sc. (MIT), M. Sc. (USP), B. Sc. (ITA)

In this course, we will cover three important aspects of project management:

1. Theory, methods, and quantitative tools used to effectively plan, organize, and control projects;

2. Techniques for managing projects more effectively revealed through practice and research;

3. Hands-on, practical project management knowledge from in-class exercises.

This course introduces students to the basic principles, methods, and tools for project management in a realistic context, such that they allow students to improve their ability to manage complex projects.

Enhance students’ ability to work effectively as team members or managers. Enhance students’ technical, decisionmaking, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Learning Objectives involve understanding the theory underlying the methods and tools of project management: Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Critical Path Method (CPM), Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), Design Structure Matrix (DSM), Optimization and Project Crashing, Earned Value Management (EVM), and Project Risk Management (RM).