People


 

Partners

Angelo Moratti
Entrepreneur, he has been investing in Venture Capital since 1996, when he founded the telecommunications company ePlanet which went public in 2000 and later Sarlux, a company operating in power and energy. He founded ACM (Angel Capital Management) a private investment company and family office. ACM is the majority shareholder of Milano Investment Partners SGR, the management company of Alternative Investment Funds, created with the aim of supporting young visionary entrepreneurs not only in the search for capital but in the development of their projects. Philanthropist, he is vice-president and member of the executive committee of Special Olympics International. He was President of the Friends of the Dino Ferrari Center, which deals with research for neurological diseases.
Paolo Gualdani
Paolo started his career at Bain & Co., joining afterwards ACM (Angel Capital Management), a private investment company and family office founded by Angelo Moratti, where he joined the Board in 2008 and held the role of Investment Director working on investments in Venture Capital and growth equity; he then assumed the role of CEO leading all the main investment operations in Italy and abroad. In 2017, together with Angelo Moratti, he founded Milano Investment Partners SGR SpA, a management company specializing in Alternative Investment Funds focused especially on venture investments in the high-growth Consumer/Lifestyle space, of which he is Chief Executive Officer and General Partner. As part of the first fund (MIP I), Paolo led the investments in Miscusi and Poke House. He was Adjunct Professor of Accounting / Financial Statement Analysis at Bocconi University. He is also co-founder of the Octagon Capital multifamily office.
Alberto Corte
Alberto is Senior Advisor, and former Deputy CEO, of Milano Investment Partners SGR S.p.A. (MIP SGR). He is Investment Director at Angel Capital Management S.p.A. (ACM), MIP’s main shareholder and Angelo Moratti's investment company and family office. Before joining ACM in 2017, Alberto had worked for nearly ten years between management consulting and consumer goods. Alberto earned a Master of Science in General Management, with honors, from Bocconi University (Milan) and he is passionate of fine food and wine and a professional sommelier.
Lorenzo Calcagni
Lorenzo joined MIP SGR as Partner in 2021 from U-Start, the largest VC Investment Club in Italy operating in Europe and US, where he served as General Manager managing its merger with the SGR. Previously Lorenzo was based in London, where he spent several years working as Marketing Manager at Amazon, as Country Manager at made.com and as Chief Operating Officer at Flowerbx.com, having also previously worked at Google in Milan. Holds a Master in International Marketing from King's College in London and a Bachelor Degree in Psychology and Communication from San Raffaele University in Milan.
Massimiliano Dendi
Massimiliano joined MIP SGR in 2021 as Partner, to launch the Cliffs fund focused on early-stage, U.S.-native, opportunities across deep-tech verticals. In 2017, he founded his own company builder, One Factory, which creates and supports startups across their development path. He also promoted club deal investing in Italian high-potential companies. Previously, Massimiliano worked for 10 years in advisory, collaborating side by side with Private Equity, Venture Capital and Real Estate firms. He holds a degree in Economics and a Master Degree in Enterprise and Business Strategy from SDA Bocconi.
Selim Giray
Prior to joining MIP SGR as Partner, Selim served as an executive at Starbucks Corporation, where he led the development and international expansion of an artisanal fast-casual food retail concept, including organizational build, brand management, operations and innovation. During his tenure at Starbucks, also sourced and executed strategic transactions in Europe, Asia and Latin America as part of the Corporate Development & Business Alliances team. Previous experience also includes the Consumer & Retail and Financial Sponsors industry groups in the Investment Banking division of Citigroup, as well as managing several global initiatives at Visa Inc. Began his career in asset-backed securitization deal structuring at Providian Financial (now JPMorgan Chase). Holds a Master of Business Administration from Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Washington.
Igor Pezzilli
Igor is Partner at MIP SGR since its inception in 2017 and contributed to the launch of the MIP I fund. Prior to joining MIP SGR, he co-founded Lazada, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in South Asia, acquired by Alibaba in 2016. Previously also worked at Bain&Company as a consultant.
Antonio Versace
Antonio joined MIP SGR in 2021 as Partner and is currently developing his own family office, as well. Previously worked in the M&A department at DeAgostini, focusing on scouting and due diligence of new potential targets, after working in the fashion industry where he boasts considerable experience, collaborating with Versace, Verri and other brands to lead strategic development and retail expansion. Antonio graduated with a degree in Economics in New York.
Mattia De Michel
Mattia joined MIP SGR in 2021, as Associate Partner of the Cliffs fund. Previously worked for three years as an Investment Manager at Neva SGR (the VC fund of Intesa Sanpaolo), focused on international investments. He also worked at PUBT, a VC-backed tech startup in the media/fintech space in New York, where he managed the financial activities. He started his career in the M&A division of Mediobanca, after earning a master in Corporate Finance from SDA Bocconi.

Investment Team

Edoardo Gava
Edoardo è entrato in MIP SGR come Investment Associate nel 2021, dopo la fusione di U-Start, il più grande VC Investment Club in Italia che fino al 2020 ha operato in Europa e Stati Uniti (ora parte di MIP SGR) in cui ha in precedenza lavorato come Investment Analyst. Edoardo ha collaborato anche con Infineon Technologies (Monaco) come MBA Associate, dopo avere iniziato la sua carriera in Accenture come Strategy Analyst, dove si è concentrato sul settore Aerospaziale e Difesa. Edoardo si è laureato in ingegneria industriale con un doppio master presso l’Università di Udine e FH Joanneum. Alumnus MBA al Collège des Ingénieurs. Appassionato di tecnologia e innovazione, Edoardo investe, fa da coach e mentore a molteplici startup early-stage nell’ecosistema italiano.
Raffaella Bianchi
Raffaella joined MIP SGR in 2021, currently serving as Senior Investment Analyst, after the merger with U-Start, the largest VC Investment Club in Italy operating in Europe and US (now part of MIP SGR), in which she started her career in 2018 working in the VC ecosystem. Raffaella also collaborates with Futurely, a digital orientation organization that guides students in choosing the university and realizing their future. Graduated from Bocconi University with a Master in Economic and Social Sciences.
Edoardo Cassina
Before joining MIP SGR in 2023 as an Investment Associate, Edoardo began his career in strategy consulting at Roland Berger in the Milan offices. During his time at Roland Berger, Edoardo worked in various sectors, including automotive, industrial machinery, packaging, and TMT, supporting companies and Private Equity funds. Previously, Edoardo completed internships in Investment Banking, FinTech, Audit, Commodity Trading and Asset Management. Edoardo holds a Master's degree in Corporate Finance from Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Università della Svizzera italiana.
Shubhangi Sharma
Shubhangi joined MIP SGR In 2021 as an Investment Analyst. She previously collaborated with a family office in Italy working in the Alternatives sector. She has international experience interning in Corporate Finance roles centered around an investment funding program for SMEs at Outsourced CFO (South Africa), and assisting with M&A transactions at Indorama Ventures (Thailand). Shubhangi graduated from Bocconi University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance.
Deborah Toffanello
Prior to joining MIP SGR in 2022 as Operational Analyst, Deborah was an Audit and Assurance assistant at Deloitte in Milan offices. Deborah worked on a variety of projects at Deloitte, all related to the financial services sector. Previously, during her time at university, she was a member of the Pavia’s Junior Enterprise, where she took part in consulting projects with various SMEs in the area. In 2016 she began her academic career at the University of Pavia first with a degree in Economics and Management and subsequently with a Master in International Business and Entrepreneurship.

Strategic Team

Letizia Olietti
Letizia has been with MIP SGR since its inception, holding the position of Administrative Director. She was involved in setting up the asset management company and its first AIF, MIP I. She is responsible for all administrative and accounting activities of the AMC and the AIFs and for managing relations with supervisory bodies and outsourcers. In addition, she is in charge of AML activities. Previously, she worked as an Administrative Officer and Accounting Manager at Ambienta SGR SpA from its inception, in 2008, until 2016. From 2001 to 2007, she worked for Aureo Gestioni SGR SpA (a company of the ICCREA banking group) as an Accounting Manager, besides working in the internal audit function. Prior to that, she worked for over 15 years for the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro banking group, contributing to the establishment of BNL Fondi Immobiliari SGR SpA, Lavoro Servizi Previdenziali SpA and Tamleasing SpA in the role of Administrative Manager.

Team

Chiara Bianchi
Prior to joining MIP SGR in 2021 as a Corporate Secretary in the legal Department, Chiara worked as a Head of Corporate Secretary at Advanced Capital SGR S.p.A. (now Capital Dynamics SGR S.p.A.), after collaborating on corporate consulting activities at Mazar Outsourcing S.p.A. She began her career at MC Gestioni SGR S.p.A. (MC is Sara's Insurance Group's SGR) after graduation in Law and specialization in the Corporate Secretary and regulatory reporting duties of the Italian alternative asset managers.
Elisa Castegna
Executive Assistant & Office Manager at MIP SGR. She joined ACM in 2019 in an administrative role at U-Start, and then proceeded in the same mandate for MIP SGR after the merger of the companies. Previous experience as CEO Personal Assistant in the Product Design and Financial Services industries, after working in the retail sector for Lush and Nestlè. She holds a degree in Literature, Music and Performing arts.