Gianfranco Chicco

Current

Marketing Manager at PICNIC / Cross Media Week Foundation
Owner, Author & Consultant at ConferenceBasics.com

Past

Online Social Media Marketing & Communications 2.0 at Meet The Media Guru 2009
free soul at On a Sabbatical
iSummit 2008 Documentation Team at iCommons

Project Manager at Pangea Day Milano / MGM Digital Communication
Contributor at 7th Floor Magazine
Marketing Director at HSM Italy
Business Manager Italy at HSM
Facilities Development at Austin Italia
Internet Product Developer at Intermanagers.com (HSM Group)
Financial Analysis Assistant (Trainee) at Administracion Enrique Duhau

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Education

MIP-Politecnico Di Milano
Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires
St. John's School

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Recommended

18 people have recommended Gianfranco

Connections

500+ connections

Industry

Information Services

Websites

Gianfranco Chicco’s Summary

During most of 2008 I’ve been on a sabbatical in Japan. I have also collaborated in the organization of iSummit 2008 international congress in Sapporo and with a creative Japanese company helping them penetrate the European market. Meanwhile I finished the project work of my executive MBA and attended Japanese language school and several photography workshops.

During the last 10 years I’ve been involved in very different projects that shared some common elements: international development and opening of new markets; working under pressure in high performance teams to reach ambitious objectives; understanding of business dynamics and promoting innovation; navigating successfully in a technological environment.

At HSM Italy I’ve been Business Manager and Marketing Director. I wasresponsible of the startup of the company in Italy, operations and marketing & communication activities. HSM organizes the World Business Forum, an event for the business community which brings together management gurus like Jack Welch, Bill Clinton, Michael Porter, Kevin Roberts, Philip Kotler, Malcolm Gladwel, William Ury and Tom Peters. This and other events take place in major hubs like New York City, Milan, Madrid, Mexico DF, Sao Paulo, and Buenos Aires.

I consolidated my experience in event management and marketing in several countries and I share part of it in my blog www.conferencebasics.com.

Before I’ve been involved in other projects including logistics & engineering feasibility studies, internet product development and financial analysis.

In my free time I’m an off/online freelance writer for magazines and blogs and have my own at www.gchicco.com. I occasionally do photography work too.

In the future I’d like to explore the “green” industry. Sustainability will be a strong driver for creating new products and services that not only will make the World a better place, but also offers a lot of opportunities for profitable business.

Gianfranco Chicco’s Specialties:

- Project management: development of new projects in several disciplines and countries, from the business plan to operations
-Marketing & Communication: using traditional and innovative resources, from printed media to web 2.0. Fluent in several languages
-Event design and management: from the design of an “experience” to the realization of it
-Company start-up and international development
- Business writing, blogging and photography

Gianfranco Chicco’s Experience

Marketing Manager

PICNIC / Cross Media Week Foundation

(Entertainment industry)

July 2009 — Present (5 months)

As Marketing Manager I'm responsible for all online and off line marketing and for online ticket sales.

My main goals are to:
- Supervise, and increase online ticket sales through various tactics
- Develop media-alliance and network partnerships with key international players
- Set-up online viral campaign through "social marketing"
- Set-up promotions and barters with other websites/relevant target groups, driving traffic to the site to increase ticket sales
- On-site management of Marketing partners and network alliance partners
- On site management of all Video recording, Webcasting, and Live posting of conference contents
- Support the Programme Director in Speaker acquisitions
Owner, Author & Consultant

ConferenceBasics.com

(Information Services industry)

April 2009 — Present (8 months)

For several years I have been in charge of startup, planning, marketing and operations of international conferences with outstanding business speakers.

After making many of the typical mistakes of the sector and seeing much more being done everywhere else, I decided to share some of the lessons learnt and in particular to dedicate my time to those innovative aspects of conference management that can transform a good event into an outstanding one.

I have dealt with speakers like Bill Clinton, Michael Porter, Philip Kotler, Kevin Roberts, Lawrence Lessig, Malcolm Gladwell, Rudy Giuliani and Jack Welch amongst many others but also with lesser known names which where many times much more inspiring than top shots.

I have worked in America (USA, Brasil, Argentina), Europe (Germany, Italy, Spain) and Asia (Japan) and taken part of events in many other parts of the World.

Some of the most relevant events I have worked in:
*World Business Forum - New York and Chicago, USA (2004); Frankfurt, Germany (2005) Milan, Italy (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007)
*World Business Forum - Milan, Italy (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007)
*Expomanagement - Madrid, Spain (2004)
*World Marketing & Sales Forum - Milan, Italy (2005)
*World Marketing & Innovation Forum - Milan, Italy (2007)
*iSummit - Sapporo, Japan (2008)
*Meet The Media Guru: Cory Doctorow - Milan, Italy (2009)
*Meet The Media Guru: Lawrence Lessig - Milan, Italy (2009)
*Friends of Pangea Day - Milan, Italy (2008)

Now I get involved only in innovative projects where my experience can help transform a good conference into a remarkable one!
Online Social Media Marketing & Communications 2.0

Meet The Media Guru 2009

(Information Services industry)

February 2009 — March 2009 (2 months)

I’ve been part of the management team responsible for two editions of Meet The Media Guru conferences:Cory Doctorow (March 6th 2009) and Lawrence Lessig (March 27th 2009). My main tasks were deploying a social media marketing & communications plan to increase the online visibility of the event, generate media coverage and have a big number of attendees (350 and 400 respectively).

I also curated the social media “conversation” with registered attendees and made the photo coverage of the conference.

The main social media tools involved were: Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, Mogulus, Youtube and Flickr.

For more information on Meet The Media Guru visit: www.meetthemediaguru.org
free soul

On a Sabbatical

(Think Tanks industry)

March 2008 — March 2009 (1 year 1 month)

During part of 2008 and beginning of 2009 I’ve been on a sabbatical, mainly in Japan. I’ve been using this time to travel, study photography, learn the Japanese language and writing. I have also collaborated in the organization of iSummit 2008 (icommonssummit.org) international congress in Sapporo, Japan, and with a creative Japanese company that produces toy cameras, art books and music, helping them penetrate the European market.

I also dedicated some months to finish the project work of my executive MBA, which consisted in a reorganization feasibility study for three companies operating in the Italian chemical/pharmaceutical instrumentation market.
iSummit 2008 Documentation Team

iCommons

(Non-Profit Organization Management industry)

July 2008 — July 2008 (1 month)

I collaborated with the organization team of the iCommons iSummit 2008 in Sapporo, Japan. http://icommonssummit.org/ as part of the Documentation Team

I was part of the blog team led by Daniela Faris and in particular responsible for live blogging sessions. I covered the main keynotes, Open Education Resource and other workshops.

I also volunteered as a photographer for the event's faceroll and general coverage.

http://icommonssummit.org/
Project Manager

Pangea Day Milano / MGM Digital Communication

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Non-Profit Organization Management industry)

April 2008 — May 2008 (2 months)

Project manager for the event Pangea Day Milano (www.pangeadaymilano.it), part of the "friends of Pangea Day" worldwide program (www.pangeaday.org) and financed by the Province of Milan.

I was responsible for the general management of the event and specializing in communication, promotion, organization and live coverage. I used my project management skills combined with my "2.0" marketing abilities to promote an activity that counted with a very limited budget. We took more that 1.000 people to the theater with less than 1 month of communication and several thousand people through online streaming, social networking and other online resources.

Pangea Day is a global event bringing the world together through film.

Why? In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that – to help people see themselves in others – through the power of film.
Contributor

7th Floor Magazine

(Online Media industry)

2007 — 2008 (1 year )

7th Floor (www.7thfloor.it) is the first italian free (s)corporate press.

I regularly collaborate by writing articles on digital entrepreneurs and the way they made it to launch their startups and create an innovative product or service using digital resources. The latest interviews have been to:
Jay Bhatti- Spock.com
Richard Moross - Moo.com
Brad Jefferson - Animoto.com

I also write about my experience as a modern "neo-nomad" traveling and working around the world.
Marketing Director

HSM Italy

(Privately Held; Professional Training & Coaching industry)

January 2006 — February 2008 (2 years 2 months)

As Marketing Director I was in charge of the whole cycle of marketing activities ranging from strategic planning to budgeting and operations, alliances with media partners and associations, online strategy and partnership agreements and development of new events.

I also managed key partners and providers to the above mentioned processes and coordinated the international programs with HSM headquarters.

Some regular speakers at out events were: Bill Clinton, Michael Porter, Philip Kotler, Kevin Roberts, Malcolm Gladwell, Rudy Giuliani, Jack Welch, Stephen Covey, Edward de Bono, Tom Peters, Gary Hamel and Renee Mauborgne
Business Manager Italy

HSM

(Privately Held; Professional Training & Coaching industry)

October 2003 — January 2006 (2 years 4 months)

HSM (www.hsmglobal.com) is a multimedia company focused on Executive Education.

I was responsible for the italian activities, from the startup of the company in Italy in 2003 to the marketing and operations of the World Business Forum and other events.
Facilities Development

Austin Italia

(Public Company; 51-200 employees; Construction industry)

January 2002 — June 2003 (1 year 6 months)
Internet Product Developer

Intermanagers.com (HSM Group)

(Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Information Services industry)

November 1999 — October 2001 (2 years )
Financial Analysis Assistant (Trainee)

Administracion Enrique Duhau

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Farming industry)

1999 — 1999 (less than a year)

Gianfranco Chicco’s Education

MIP-Politecnico Di Milano

executive MBA , 2006 — 2008

The final project consisted in a reorganization feasibility study for three companies operating in the Italian chemical/pharmaceutical instrumentation market.

Activities and Societies:

Design Management Week and Luxury Management special programs.
Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires

Industrial Engineer , 1995 — 2000

Activities and Societies:

AGITBA
St. John's School

Additional Information

Gianfranco Chicco’s Websites:

Gianfranco Chicco’s Interests:

Design management, event management, alternative/renewable sources of energy, web2.0; social networking, photography, mobile, languages (right now studying Japanese), literature, music, sports (tennis, bike, sailing), martial arts (aikido).