Born and raised in a small village in Italy near Mantua (between Milan and Venice), Luca studied in Milan at Università Commerciale L. Bocconi. He gained a Business Degree in Strategic and International Marketing, writing a paper on the "Impact of National Cultures on Corporate Organization and Market Strategies".

From his studies Luca was already interested in working in an international setting and after university he moved to London in 1992. Luca started his career at Andersen Consulting in January 1993 and after spending some time understanding business process reengineering he moved to the Strategy Division, Communications & Media Group.

In 1998, Luca enrolled at UCLA where he gained his MBA in Finance, Entrepreneurship and International Business. Luca then sought practical experience with JP Morgan in Private Equity & Investment Banking, and Lehman Brothers in Global Mergers & Acquisitions, the most strategic area of Investment Banking.

Whilst at Lehman Brothers, Luca gained valuable entrepreneurial experience working pro bono for a start-up in New York called Soundtrack Express, aiding with strategy, fundraising and VC introductions. The cutbacks in Lehman's M&A International personnel combined with September 11th were Luca's signal to leave New York. He moved back to London in October 2001 where he met Ariadne Capital's Senia Rapisarda through a mutual friend, Lorenzo Russo (Associate at TD Capital). Luca joined Ariadne Capital the following month, excited by the opportunity of working for a small, fast-growth company.

Q. What was your lucky break?
I suppose the biggest event in my early life was when I left my hometown to go to study in Milan. This was the point of no return, I wanted to go further and further - from Milan to London, Los Angeles and New York. This was lucky and unlucky! I sometimes feel I have no roots anymore, when I go back to Italy I somehow don't quite feel Italian and, quite obviously, I am not British. I started to discover the world and new horizons and it's now very hard to go back to the simple life I could have once had. I think this is why I ended up with my wife (American, fluent in five languages, with strong preference for Europe); we have a connection in that she shares the same feeling of rootlessness, of being part of a new global community rather than belonging to one particular place.

Q. Why did you go into Strategy?
Strategy has always been more appealing and interesting to me, especially in that it enables you to consult and advise top-level professionals on vision, strategy and business development. Strategy is really very creative, it often involves breaking away from "the way we normally do things" and explore new territories (new markets, new products, new partnerships, new acquisitions etc.); I feel I am a creative person but have never developed my creativity fully. I really enjoy the brainstorming part of the strategic definition - you have a blank sheet of paper and you are trying to figure out a direction, bearing in mind the competitive constraints and the resources available.

Q. What made you decide to do your MBA?
After 6 years in London, I realised that I wanted to develop other areas in particular finance & entrepreneurship. UCLA had a fantastic professor in finance applied to entrepreneurship (Bill Cockrum in 1998 was elected by Business Week the best entrepreneurship professor in the US) and a group-oriented culture. Furthermore, I was curious about living in the US and the perspective of spending two years in sunny California in a beautiful campus near Beverly Hill was part of the equation.

Q. How do you find working for a small company compared to the large Corporates?
I wanted to try working for a smaller company when I returned to London. I wanted to have more responsibility, exposure, contact with clients and variety in my role and the excitement of working with a small team all pulling in the same direction. I always found that in larger companies you tended to be pidgin-holed, they see you at your job level, rather than taking everyone individually on experience and ability, and you also have to deal with the huge amount of internal politics.

Q. What's your motivation to work?
The people around me are very important. I also thrive on mental stimulation and being part of creating something.

Q. What would you like to do if you weren't involved in Business?
Maybe travel writing, or driving motorcars. I would also like to develop my photography.

Q. What or who has been the biggest influence on your life?
My father and my sister. My father is a dreamer, very flexible, easy-going and has a strong focus on the future and living with out regrets. He would always say to me, "You never know what is good and what is bad", you can't tell how something will turn out until afterwards. My sister has influenced me in a totally opposite way, she is very practical, functional and down to earth.

Q. What do you do to relax?
I go to the movies and the theatre, but mainly I enjoy dinner and a glass (or two) of wine with some good friends.

Q. What do you feel has been your greatest personal achievement?
Getting married - without regretting it

Q. What would you take to a desert island?
I'm not very attached to things. I would like to think I am flexible and adaptable enough to be able to survive without any material belongings.

Q. Who would you most like to meet?
From a professional point of view, I would like to meet Richard Branson. I have always been impressed by his management style: creative, visionary and low-key. I would also like to meet Richard Holbrook, who used to be Managing Director of Credit Suisse First Boston, and then became US Ambassador to the United Nations. He negotiated on the Yugoslavian Peace Process and other UN diplomatic issues. I think its fascinating how he managed to go from an extremely profit driven industry to diplomacy and international peacekeeping. Oh, and you can't be Italian without wanting to meet Sharon Stone, but that would be a different dinner.