About
Healthcare and education, built to reach people
I am a healthcare executive and entrepreneur. I build and scale ventures where healthcare and education meet. Today I am CEO of Newel Health, leading the development of regulated, AI-enabled digital therapeutics.
My career runs from software engineering to building and selling companies, executive roles in Asia, and senior strategy roles at Novartis. Across more than 15 years I have built ventures in Europe, North America and Asia.
15+
years building ventures in Europe, North America and Asia
2
companies acquired: Euronovate in 2017, Oppimi in 2020
3 → 45
people at Oppimi, after three funding rounds
6
board and advisory roles today
Three continents, in order
Where the work has taken me
From a start in Padova to China, Canada and Hong Kong, then Harvard, and back to Europe: Basel and Milan today.
- 1
Start
Padova
where it started: software engineering
Europe - 2
2013–2017
China
Euronovate: products, patents and assembly lines
Asia - 3
2015–2020
Montreal
Oppimi: co-founder and CEO, Canada
North America - 4
2018–today
Shenzhen and Hong Kong
Wygu family office and Olicom-PuYing; co-founded Ailemao, board advisor since 2019
Asia - 5
2019–2023
Boston
Harvard Business School
North America - 6
2021–today
Basel
Novartis, then home base today
Europe - 7
2023–2025
Los Angeles
Medaici, board advisor
North America - 8
2024–today
Milan
Newel Health: CEO and Board Member
Europe - 9
2026–today
Delaware
Childlike Wonder Games, board member
North America
2013 to today
One venture leads to the next
Acquired: Euronovate in 2017, Oppimi in 2020
01 · Build
Partner and R&D Director
Digital authentication products, including an AI-based forensic handwriting analysis system. I led product development and market entry in China, and built the manufacturing pipeline there.
- Patents registered for two core products
- Three assembly lines and up to 50 people in China
- On-site failure rate of the main product cut by 60%
- Acquired by a US company in 2017
What it taught me
“In product development, reliability is the most important feature.”
02 · Distribute
Co-founder and CEO
Our mission was to bridge the divide between healthcare and education. We built AI-based digital tools to diagnose and support children with learning differences.
- Three funding rounds
- International team grown from 3 to 45
- Market entry and launches in Canada, Italy and China
- Acquired in 2020; Chairman until 2021
What it taught me
“A great product is not enough. Strategic distribution is the key to winning.”
03 · Systems
Executive roles in Asia
Ailemao is a spin-off from Olicom-PuYing to expand K-12 STEM education in Asia. I helped turn ambitious visions into clear operating systems, with governance and long-term impact ahead of short-term gains.
- Senior Advisor, Wygu Investment Holdings (family office)
- VP Portfolio Strategy, Olicom-PuYing
- Co-founded Ailemao; board advisor since 2019
What it taught me
“True scaling is about building a solid system, not just chasing a bigger number.”
04 · Scale
Digital strategy in global pharma
Inside one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, I worked on how digital solutions are evidenced, launched and paid for.
- Digital Portfolio Associate Director, 2021–2023
- Senior Manager, Strategy and Growth, 2023–2024
- Designated CEO of a planned Novartis spin-off for an amblyopia digital therapeutic, 2023
- Digital endpoints for clinical trials
- Launch strategy for digital therapeutics in the US, Europe, Japan and China
What it taught me
“If it does not fit how care is delivered and paid for, it will not scale.”
05 · Lead
CEO and Board Member
My mission is to build and back the next generation of AI-enabled digital therapeutics, and to take them from clinical evidence to patient access.
- Leading development, launch and scale-up of regulated digital therapeutics
- Neuroscience, cardiometabolic disease and pain care
- Focus on clinical validation, partnerships and responsible AI
What it taught me
“The future of access hinges on applying data and AI responsibly to drive measurable outcomes.”
My operating system
“We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.”
Aristotle Onassis
Starting a company is the ultimate test of endurance, clarity and system-building. I work with founders who are anchored by a clear purpose, to move their venture from a small, fragile pilot to a strong, scalable business.
The compass
Purpose
Why does your company need to exist, and who does it serve? Every product decision, every hire and every dollar should pull toward that purpose.
Reading the weather
Evidence and distribution
In regulated fields, building the product is not enough. You build the evidence, fast, and the path to the customer through schools, clinics or corporate channels.
Building the right ship
Systems
Speed and resilience come from simple, repeatable systems: clear rhythms for decisions, board expectations and a culture where smart teamwork thrives.
Investment thesis
What I back
I invest in and back mission-driven companies at the intersection of healthcare and education, selectively with capital or as an advisor for equity, and help on product, evidence, partnerships and governance.
HealthTech
Digital therapeutics and software as a medical device that make continuous, outcome-driven care the standard: local, continuous care with clinicians and community health workers, and support between visits.
EdTech for kids
Early identification and structured practice that bridge the gap between school and home.
Boards, advisory and mentoring
Beyond my own ventures
Through board seats, executive advisory and one-to-one work, we define the challenge, set practical metrics, and build the strategy for distribution and evidence together.
CEO and Board Member · 2024–
Newel Health
Regulated, AI-enabled digital therapeutics. Milan and Basel.
Board Member · 2025–
PharmaTrail
Board Member · 2026–
Pagine Mediche
Board Member · 2026–
Childlike Wonder Games
Delaware, US
Senior Advisor · 2026–
Altamira Therapeutics
Board Advisor · 2019–
Ailemao
Shenzhen
Board Advisor · 2023–2025
Medaici
Los Angeles
Chairman · 2015–2021
Oppimi
Montreal
Volunteer mentor · ongoing
Harvard College and HBS students
Education and community
A path built on perseverance
My first university programme, Software Engineering in Padova, stayed unfinished. It turned into a lasting commitment to learning. Today, as an active Harvard Business School alumnus, I coach Harvard College and HBS students.
Foundation
Harvard Extension School
Software Engineering
2019
Harvard Business School
Entrepreneurship Program
2019–2021
Bologna Business School
Executive MBA
2022–2023
Harvard Business School
General Management Program
Giving back
Use cases and keynotes
Bologna Business School
Business use cases and keynotes for Executive MBA students.
Coaching
Harvard Business School
One-to-one coaching for Harvard College and HBS students through Firsthand Advisors. Read more
On stage
Speaking
I speak about building mission-driven companies where healthcare and education meet, and the operating habits that help them last.
5
Frontiers Health stages since 2024, in Berlin, Milan and Rome. Ambassador in 2026.
Signature talks
The HealthTech and EdTech flywheel
From pilot to program
The founder operating system
Responsible AI in human services
Book · 2026
In conversation with Ervin Ukaj
Lessons from cross-sector building: adoption over features
In Digital Business Models in Healthcare: Experts Shaping the Future of Digital Health, edited by M. Puls, R. Ascione and D. Matusiewicz (Medizinisch Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft).
Adoption over features
Digital health succeeds when it fits care pathways, reimbursement and workflows.
Problem first
Advice for new leaders: focus on the problem, collaborate, and be patient.
Trust by design
Equity, explainability and governed data use as the basis for scale.
In the press
Featured or quoted in
Also covered by PR Newswire, Yahoo Finance, Medical Device Network, MedCity News, Digital Health Italia, Il Gazzettino, Finovate and HBS Magazine.
What I write about