Andrea Mills
Economics of Innovation graduate from Università Cattolica, with Master of Management in the Network Economy. Currently working at Z-Cube as Technology Intelligence Advisor - North America, and as CEO at BraveBrains Innovation Alliance.
| Headline: | Investor |
| Work status: | Employed Full-Time |
| Industries: | Biotech, Cleantech, Computing, Food and Drink, Health, Information Technology, Internet |
| Skills: | Business, Contracts, Corporate, Design, Engineering, English, Entrepreneurship, Human-Computer Interaction, Incorporating, Investment, Italian, Languages, Law, Leadership, Management, Negotiation, Public Relations, Public speaking, Sales, Writing |
| Location: | Austin, TX |
| Interested in: | Advising startups, Consulting opportunities, Finding business partners, Finding experts, Investing in projects, Meeting new people, Mentoring, Offering Expertise, Partnering with other groups, Professional opportunities, Providing services to startups, Supporting my investments |
| Schools: | Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, University of California System - Berkeley |
WORK EXPERIENCE
| Employer: | Z-Cube (USA) | a Zambon Group company |
| Position: | Technology Intelligence Advisor - North America |
| Time period: | January 2008 - Present |
| Description: | • Scouting and mapping emerging technology in the fields of drug delivery platforms and advanced software
• Developing an ecosystem of strategic alliances with top universities and research institutions in North America • Pre-screening and evaluating investment opportunities at seed-stage and early-stage level • Shaping partnership agreements finalized to accelerate lab-to market technology transfer and negotiating technology licensing agreement |
| Employer: | BraveBrains Innovation Alliance |
| Position: | CEO |
| Time period: | March 1996 - Present |
| Description: | April 1996 – March 2000, EVP, Innovation & Global Knowledge Alliances
March 2000 – present, CEO • Develop and nurture relationships at senior management and executive level with key accounts in pharma, finance, software, telecom industries • Establish a global network of alliances with innovation consultancies and knowledge management software companies in Europe, USA and Asia • Devise business strategy and development plans for inventors and entrepreneurs in Canada, China, Germany, India, Italy, Lithuania, UK, USA • Engage in consulting projects for national and multinational clients, advising senior management on business strategy and change management • Gained extensive hand-on experience in designing complex Knowledge Management solutions and large-scale Web and IT projects |
| Employer: | ALESSI, Italy (www.alessi.com) |
| Position: | Global E-Commerce Strategy Consultant |
| Time period: | January 2007 - November 2007 |
| Description: | • Advised the company’s board on new sales channels and provided strategic consulting on e-commerce growth drivers
• Designed a new global Internet strategy, based on Web 2.0 business models • Conceived software pilot projects, prototypes and Internet-based experiments |
| Employer: | Finnat Euramerica Bank, Italy (www.finnat.it) |
| Position: | Executive Project Manager |
| Time period: | August 2005 - January 2007 |
| Description: | • Advised the Corporate Asset & Liability Performing Solutions Team of the Bank to develop a highly complex Web-based software solution for
pricing custom-built financial contracts and options on different stock markets, in order to minimize interest rate risks and exchange rate risks • Gathered requirements from client team, performed in-depth analysis, co-designed the architecture of the solution, defined scope and deployment • Established, coordinated and managed the software development team, supervising the full software development cycle and quality assurance |
| Employer: | INNOVATION LAB at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy (www.unicatt.it) |
| Position: | Executive Director |
| Time period: | January 2005 - February 2008 |
| Description: | • Conceived and directed a novel economic development model based on accelerated technology transfer and new knowledge brokerage practices
• Raised € 500K of initial funding from public and private sector for regional economic development and cross-border technology transfer • Managed a budget of € 250K for developing service innovation prototypes and proof-of-concepts • Developed Lab’s technology offering and a portfolio of value-added services for generating additional revenues • Identified, crafted and coordinated multiple software pilot projects, prototypes, field experimentations for local companies and government clients • Forged partnerships with research labs, technology companies like Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle and innovative tech start-ups in Europe and the US • Advised companies, universities, foundations and governments in Europe and Asia on launching innovation labs and entrepreneurship programs |
| Employer: | Zambon Group, Italy (www.zambongroup.com) |
| Position: | HR Information System Change Management Consultant |
| Time period: | May 2004 - November 2005 |
| Description: | • Supported Group HR Director in redesigning Zambon Group’s MBO performance appraisal procedures and HR information management system
• Conceived and designed a turn-key solution based on Web services and smart forms, for employee self-service MBO performance appraisal • Implemented, tested and deployed the solution in the Zambon Group Headquarters in Italy |
| Employer: | Agrileasing Bank – BCC Group, Italy (www.agrileasing.it/en) |
| Position: | Innovation Advisor and Technology Broker |
| Time period: | April 2004 - November 2004 |
| Description: | • Streamlined insurance products’ legal procedures and converted them into on-demand smart-instructions based on XML Web services
• Designed and produced a software prototype based on smart instructions, for allowing customer’s self-service in insurance needs assessment • Advised senior management on emerging business practices and working methods for fostering organizational and financial service innovation |
| Employer: | Università di Venezia, Italy |
| Position: | Visiting Professor, Management of Innovation |
| Time period: | December 2003 - November 2004 |
| Description: | Visiting Professor, Management of Innovation at the International Master in Nanotechnologies |
| Employer: | GlaxoSmithKline, Italy (www.gsk.it) |
| Position: | Procedural Knowledge Strategist (Italy) |
| Time period: | February 2003 - March 2004 |
| Description: | • Designed optimum decision-flows for contextual and just-in-time know-how delivery, with reference to internal procedural management systems
• Built a prototype in XML for an innovative information system for contextual procedural management and full regulatory compliance management • Conceived and defined an organizational mechanism for the capture and codification of further procedural knowledge within the organization |
| Employer: | Chiesi Pharmaceuticals, Italy (www.chiesigroup.com) |
| Position: | E-Health Innovation Strategist |
| Time period: | April 2001 - June 2001 |
| Description: | • Advised Board of Directors and European Country Managers on future trends in E-Health
• Evaluated e-business strategic issues, with particular reference to Electronic Medical Records Management • Produced executive briefing for the Board of Director on Internet usages in healthcare and distinctive opportunities in business-to-business |
| Employer: | Università Cattolica di Piacenza, Italy |
| Position: | Teaching experience |
| Time period: | December 2000 - November 2007 |
| Description: | 2007, Visiting Lecturer, Internet-based Marketing and Commerce of Wine
2001 – 2005, Visiting Professor, Management of Innovation • Management of Innovation – Masters-level course designed to offer a comprehensive roadmap of how organizations develop and adopt technological innovations in the business practice, providing insights from various leading innovators in different industries and markets • Technology Management and Organizational Innovation – Masters-level course focused on the latest management methods, business innovation models, and organizational designs to cope with the increasing pace of technological change, both at a macro and micro-economic level • Strategic Marketing of Innovations in the Networked Economy – Masters-level course focused on new marketing approaches to turn creative ideas into commercially successful innovative products and services, with emphasis given to the skills of bringing new concepts to the market |
| Employer: | GlaxoSmithKline, UK Headquarters (www.gsk.com) |
| Position: | E-Business/E-Health Strategy Consultant (UK Headquarters) |
| Time period: | March 2000 - January 2003 |
| Description: | • Devised KM strategy for GSK Global eBusiness Strategy Team with reference to distributed Electronic Medical Records Management
• Performed in-depth analysis of user functional requirements and needs, advised on key functionalities to be built into the Italian physician portal • Evaluated Web-based Continuous Medical Education (CME) delivery platforms, search engines and innovative field communication devices |
| Employer: | Network Economy Master Program, Università Cattolica, Italy and/US (www.mine.it) |
| Position: | Assistant Director, Strategic Development |
| Time period: | February 2000 - February 2005 |
| Description: | • Advised the Program Director in designing, establishing and implementing the Program in conjunction with the University of California at Berkeley
• Raised € 1.5 million for launching the Program and assembled the Program’s Advisory Board on Educational Strategies • Co-designed the network economy and innovation management modules of the Program and set-up the Program’s value-added services initiative |
| Employer: | Telecom Italia, Italy (www.telecomitalia.com) |
| Position: | E-Commerce Strategy Consultant |
| Time period: | September 1999 - April 2000 |
| Description: | • Developed and analyzed e-commerce scenarios and revenue models for B2C e B2B portals
• Benchmarked emerging technologies in the content management, knowledge management and taxonomic search domains • Organized international roundtables and workshops for decision makers, identifying, inviting and coordinating with international guest lecturers |
| Employer: | Wella AG, Germany (www.wella.com) |
| Position: | Knowledge Management Consultant |
| Time period: | March 1999 - November 1999 |
| Description: | • Designed business and functional specifications for a complex information and KM system to support sales force pre-sale and post-sale activities
• Pioneered field experimentation of new searching interfaces for hair stylists for just-in-time knowledge delivery on the job • Produced an executive blueprint for the Italian Board of Directors on “The Strategic Use of the Web to Enhance Professional Customer Service” |
| Employer: | University of California at Berkeley, California (USA) |
| Position: | Visiting Researcher and Research Associate |
| Time period: | December 1997 - November 1999 |
| Description: | The Berkeley Roundtable for the International Economy (BRIE) |
| Employer: | World Institute for the Digital Economy and University of California at Berkeley (www.berkeley.edu), Italy and US |
| Position: | Project Leader (European Markets) of Industry-Research Project |
| Time period: | October 1997 - September 2000 |
| Description: | • Led the European extension of a UC Berkeley-Stanford University research project on “Corporate Information Networks and B2B E-Commerce”
• Managed field research analysis and interviews to senior management in financial services, telecom, utilities, pharma, manufacturing, software • Coordinated activities with research groups in US, UK, Denmark, Singapore and facilitated in-house briefings and workshops with executives |
| Employer: | Wella Italia, Italy (www.wella.it) |
| Position: | Assistant Innovation Manager |
| Time period: | March 1996 - September 1997 |
| Description: | • Conducted software evaluation and vendor selection within the European Internet Strategy Team
• Produced comparative analyses on international best practices and best of breed technologies for e-commerce, CRM and KM technologies • Run workshops on interactive customer service for the European Internet Strategy Team and briefed the Board of Directors on Web innovations |
| Employer: | Università Cattolica di Milano, Italy |
| Position: | Research experience |
| Time period: | December 1994 - November 1999 |
| Description: | 1999, Lecturer, Computer Science, Department of Economics, Università Cattolica (Italy)
1998, Research Fellow, Center for Research on the Applications of Telematics to Organisations and Society, Università Cattolica (Italy) 1995-1997, Research Assistant, Center for Research on the Applications of Telematics to Organisations and Society, Università Cattolica (Italy) |
EDUCATION
| University: | University of California System - Berkeley |
| Time period: | 2001 - 2003 |
| Degree: | Network Economy, MSc |
| University: | University of California System - Berkeley |
| Time period: | 1996 - 2000 |
| Degree: | Visiting Scholar International Economy, None |
| University: | Catholic University of the Sacred Heart |
| Time period: | 1992 - 1997 |
| Degree: | Economics of Innovation, BA |
INFORMATION
| Awards: | • 1999: received CARIPLO Foundation’s Fellowship for Advanced International Studies
• 2003: received Italian Industrial Association’s Innovation Award for a new paperless mobile-payment solution for parking fees • 2004: became MiNE Fellow at the Università Cattolica/UC Berkeley joint Program in Management in the Network Economy • 2006: received Award from The Work Foundation in the UK for an innovative software solution for HR Performance Management Appraisal |
Andrea is Following (2)
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Biotic Laboratories
Biotic Laboratories is a nanotech startup changing the world by developing a customizable nanoscale drug-delivery system that can deliver a wide variety of drug types from small molecules to biologics.
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SmartPill Enterprise
New and smart way of time dependent drug delivery. This technology will ensure effective drug delivery and can be used for e.g. asthma, cancer and Addisons disease.