Alfonso Gambardella: Flutist, Footballer and Paladin of Innovation

As a young boy, Alfonso Gambardella played the flute at the conservatory, studied at school and played football in regional tournaments. "If I had to choose what to do with my life, at 15 I would have put football first, flute second, studying third. At 20, flute had become more important than football. But apparently", he adds smiling, "I was not good at playing either flute or football, so I had to go to university". He chose Economics because he thought it was the most rigorous way of doing politics.

"That idea led me to figure out how to create a better society and then to focus on innovation as an engine for growth". Nathan Rosenberg, an economist at Stanford where Gambardella was getting his doctorate, made him realize that markets create efficiency not only through competition, but also through the division of labor. "Having analysed the pharmaceutical industry, I realized that innovation is not promoted only by R&D divisions within enterprises, but also through the market. I focused on companies specialized in production and sale of technological innovation. We live in the age of electronics and biotechnology now, we know how important they are".

In 2004, after teaching in Urbino and Pisa, Gambardella came to Bocconi where he is currently Director of the Department of Management and Technology, "a position that allows me to contribute to the growth of the university, a growth which I believe is unique in our country. I value the freedom of thought and the chance to be part of a community of people who share the same values and firmly believe in the positive power of academic discussion".

In his personal webpage, there is a "family matters" entry. It was his father who had the insight to make him apply for a PhD. His grandmother was a painter, his great-great granduncle invented a special kind of safe. Perhaps innovation, not music nor football, was in his Dna.