My background and experience.

Academic career

I have worked at the University of Trento since 2000. I became an associate professor in 2010 and a full professor in 2016, in financial markets and institutions and corporate finance.

Before joining the University, I worked as a financial analyst for small and medium-sized enterprises at Mediocredito Trentino Alto Adige from 1997 to 2000.

University responsibilities

Since 2023, I have coordinated the PhD in Economics and Management at the Doctoral School of Social Sciences.

I headed the Department of Economics and Management from 2018 to 2024, after serving as Deputy Director from 2015 to 2018.

From 2015 to 2019, I was responsible for coordinating the Department’s teaching activities. From 2010 to 2019, I served as Director of Studies of the M.Sc. in Finance.

From 2000 to 2008, I served on the Board of Directors of the University of Trento.

Education

I earned my PhD in Financial Markets and Institutions at the University of Siena in 1999, having completed my M.Sc. in Banking there in 1995.

I earned my M.Phil. in Economic Theory and Econometrics at the University of Cambridge in 1993.

I graduated in Economic Sciences, summa cum laude, from the University of Siena in 1991.

Research

My research focuses on how financial markets work, credit risk and corporate financing. I have paid particular attention to debt covenants, examining their role in risk management and in the relationships between firms, banks and bondholders. I have explored these topics in journal articles, book chapters and a monograph. I have also studied collateral requirements for small and medium-sized enterprises and conflicts between shareholders and creditors.

Another strand of my work concerns market microstructure, high-frequency trading and market making. In this area, I have studied the use of order book information and the response of high-frequency trading to external shocks. My publications also include applications of machine learning to default prediction for small Italian companies and to the identification of high-frequency trading, as well as a study of the relationship between corporate credit spreads and economic activity.

Alongside these studies, I have worked on projects addressing cooperative credit, the capital structure of cooperative firms and infrastructure financing. I have led research projects with EURICSE and the Federazione Trentina della Cooperazione, as well as a project on project finance and infrastructure with Autostrada del Brennero. I also shared responsibility for a project with CMCRC in Sydney on market quality and market design, which supported a jointly supervised PhD scholarship with Macquarie University.

I have participated in national and international research projects, including POTION – Policies for Transition: Impact and Governance under the PRIN PNRR 2022 programme, and a study for the International Labour Organization on financial mechanisms for social and solidarity economy ecosystems. My work also includes developing computational tools for measuring portfolio risk and evaluating the economic and financial aspects of public investment.

Teaching and doctoral supervision

I have taught at undergraduate, graduate, professional master’s and doctoral levels. At undergraduate level, my teaching has covered corporate finance and models for financial and investment decisions; at graduate level, I have taught investment and derivatives, international corporate finance and financial instruments. I have also taught practical courses in financial forecasting and the financing of investment projects.

My teaching includes courses delivered in English and programmes for different audiences. I have taught investment project evaluation on the EMBA programme of the Universities of Trento and Udine, finance and capital for social enterprises, and financial instruments for different stages of business growth. I have also taught Financial Management at St. Thomas University of Mozambique.

At doctoral level, I have taught finance, advanced topics in banking and market microstructure, including on the PhD in Economics and Finance at the Universities of Trento and Bolzano. I have supervised more than two hundred undergraduate and graduate theses, as well as PhD students in Trento, Bolzano and Lappeenranta, combining teaching with guidance on their research projects.

I have also helped organise international study programmes. From 2012 to 2019, I was responsible for the double degree in Finance with Erasmus University Rotterdam, and from 2013 to 2019 I held Erasmus coordination responsibilities for Umeå University and Lappeenranta University of Technology. These roles complemented my work as Director of Studies of the M.Sc. in Finance and as coordinator of the Department’s teaching activities.

Engagement with public bodies and businesses

Since 2024, I have been Head of the Profi pension fund at Euregio+ in Bolzano. Since 2020, I have worked with ITAS Mutua in Trento as a scientific consultant on financial matters.

From 2011 to 2015, I served as an independent member of the Board of Directors of PensPlan Invest SGR. From 2009 to 2018, I was a member of the Financial Committee of Cassa del Trentino.

From 2008 to 2009, I served on ATREP’s tender committee for the supply and installation of a proton therapy system and associated works, as an expert in the economic and financial evaluation of the investment project. In 2003–2004, I served on the evaluation panel of the Autonomous Province of Trento for its project on the economic and financial evaluation of public investment.

From 2000 I coordinated and taught professional training courses on financial topics for public and private organisations, including the Trentino-Alto Adige Region and the Autonomous Province of Trento.