Paolo Tosolini (paolo@tosolini.com)

Current

New Media Business Manager at Microsoft
Founder at ItalyFromTheInside.com - New media publishing startup focused on travel and Italy (Sole Proprietorship)

Past

New Media marketing consultant (vendor position) at Microsoft (Office Group)
Partner Marketing Manager - Office Group (vendor position) at Microsoft
Technical Program Manager - Office Product Group at Microsoft USA

International Data Analyst - MSN Programming Research & Metrics at Microsoft USA
Co-Founder at myItalianVacation.com (Startup specialized in vacation rentals in Italy)
Product Manager - Windows Digital Media Division (contract position) at Microsoft USA
Web Marketing Director at click2learn.com (formerly Asymetrix Learning Systems)
Web Marketing Manager at Asymetrix Learning Systems
International Product Marketing Manager at Asymetrix
Multimedia Developer (contract position) at INTEC College, Cape Town, South Africa
Visiting Multimedia Researcher (contract position) at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
Web Designer and Multimedia Developer (contract position) at Universita' di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Visiting Multimedia Researcher - C&C Research Labs (3-month contract) at NEC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

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Education

Università degli Studi di Trieste

Recommended

24 people have recommended Paolo

Connections

437 connections

Industry

Internet

Websites

Paolo Tosolini (paolo@tosolini.com)’s Summary

* 15 years of technical and marketing experience in high-tech industry
* Self-starter and self-motivated, with creative problem-solving ability and entrepreneurial drive
* Excellent team player with results-oriented attitude and great communication skills
* Comfortable with tight deadlines and fast-paced/changing working environments

Paolo Tosolini (paolo@tosolini.com)’s Specialties:

Business Development, International product management, New Media production (blogs, podcasts, video), marketing management, program management (Microsoft product cycle process), online and internet marketing

Paolo Tosolini (paolo@tosolini.com)’s Experience

New Media Business Manager

Microsoft

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; MSFT; Computer Software industry)

May 2007 — Present (2 years 3 months)

I'm responsible for business development, operations, internal adoption and external market awareness of a new enterprise podcasting and social media platform called Academy Mobile. Essentially, we built the first 'YouTube for the Enterprise' using Microsoft SharePoint technology.

For this work, I've received the Digital Marketing Excellence Award 2008 from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tosolini/2576512315/in/set-72157605604816597/)

Want to learn more about podcasting in the enterprise? Search the Web for 'Microsoft Academy Mobile' and feel free to contact me if interested.
Founder
ItalyFromTheInside.com - New media publishing startup focused on travel and Italy (Sole Proprietorship)

(Sole Proprietorship; Myself Only; Leisure, Travel & Tourism industry)

August 2004 — Present (5 years)

* Blog and podcast producer for http://www.ItalyFromTheInside.com

* Co-author of eBook Italy From The Inside: the definitive survival guide for travelers

* Planner and developer of a photographic travel multimedia CD-ROM (http://www.TriesteCD.com)
New Media marketing consultant (vendor position)

Microsoft (Office Group)

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; MSFT; Computer Software industry)

January 2007 — April 2007 (4 months)

Producer, editor and director of video projects and podcasts for internal Microsoft use (sales field readiness and employee edu-tainment). Content to be consumed online via RSS and via mobile devices (Zune).
Partner Marketing Manager - Office Group (vendor position)

Microsoft

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; MSFT; Computer Software industry)

November 2004 — January 2007 (2 years 3 months)

* Created the framework and managed the Office 2007 Partner Technology Adoption Program (TAP). This partner engagement initiative has resulted in the early adoption of the Office platform by more than 4500 partners (ISVs/SIs) and development of more than 600 new Office 2007 solutions (+800% response compared to the launch of Office 2003)

* Engaged with Microsoft regional offices to spin-off local Rapid Deployment Programs (RDP) that have resulted in the recruiting of more than 400 worldwide System Integrators and customers committed to the early adoption of Office 2007 solutions and marketing evidence

* Coordinated efforts of 3 staff to support technical escalations and manage day-to-day account communications.

* Managed the roll-out of a worldwide series of readiness initiatives

* Developed a marketing logo program to sustain partner momentum as part of the launch of Office 2007

* Project managed the creation of marketing evidence (video and new media)
Technical Program Manager - Office Product Group

Microsoft USA

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; MSFT; Computer Software industry)

March 2003 — July 2004 (1 year 5 months)

* Responsible for planning, designing and writing technical specifications for implementing the following Office 2007 features when running on Windows Vista:
o Digital Sticky Notes as a new system to annotate documents and replace native comments
o Adoption of a Common Annotation Framework to standardize storage of Office comments
o Freeze-Dry API to reduce application reboots during new update installations
o Better Office thumbnails to quickly identify documents in the new Windows Vista Explorer
o Office Command Center, an Office part for the new Windows Vista Sidebar

* Additional responsibilities: security contact inside PM team, performance PM for storage of Office XML documents in WinFS, research on integration of Short Message Systems (SMS) in Outlook

* Researched and documented scenarios related to Business Intelligence, document lifecycle and alerts
International Data Analyst - MSN Programming Research & Metrics

Microsoft USA

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; MSFT; Computer Software industry)

September 2001 — March 2003 (1 year 7 months)

* Coordinated efforts of 2 staff on all traffic metrics for MSN US Homepage and other high-volume network entry points

* Developed system to track historical traffic patterns for international MSN markets

* Redesigned internal communications and deliverables to reach a new higher standard of professionalism and usability with emphasis on information visualization (Interactive Traffic Heat Map, US Monthly Homepage Traffic report, Weekly Top Headlines report, documentation and collaterals of the internal MSN Search patterns and trends tool)

* Developed cross-group relationships with MSN Italy by driving the Adopt-a-Market program.

* Contributed to cross-regional efforts with MSN EMEA to standardize visualization of CTR data and link tagging best practices across all international markets

* Developed new cross-team processes in MSN Programming & Customer Delivery team that improved reliability of headline data by 30%
Co-Founder

myItalianVacation.com (Startup specialized in vacation rentals in Italy)

(Partnership; 1-10 employees; Leisure, Travel & Tourism industry)

January 2001 — September 2002 (1 year 9 months)

* Set up and marketed successful family business promoted exclusively online

* Developed company Web site from concept to final design

* Achieved top 30 ranking using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques

* Managed and implemented online advertising campaigns on a CPC cost basis

* Sold equity in company in 09/02
Product Manager - Windows Digital Media Division (contract position)

Microsoft USA

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; MSFT; Computer Software industry)

April 2001 — September 2001 (6 months)

* Managed distribution of $250K+ of business development funds to Content Delivery Networks

* Created team intranet and developed web-based scorecard to track performance of Business Development Managers

* Sourced and analyzed secondary market research on emerging digital markets and platforms
Web Marketing Director

click2learn.com (formerly Asymetrix Learning Systems)

(Public Company; 201-500 employees; SUMT; Computer Software industry)

November 1999 — December 2000 (1 year 2 months)

* Managed a team of 2 persons with full responsibility of the corporate Web site and intranet

* Led corporate site through a full redesign that increased visitor stickiness by 30%

* Planned, created and launched click2learn e-Learning Insights, a streaming media area dedicated to e-Learning featuring searchable video content and interactive tutorials using RealVideo / SMIL technology

* Responsible for the day-to-day online ad campaign strategy and management which returned consistent CTR 2x to 5x higher than average (CPM cost basis)

* Developed standardized reports to monitor, track, and report on all organic traffic metrics

* Invited to speak at several domestic and international conferences on topics such as streaming media applied to e-Learning and Internet Marketing
Web Marketing Manager

Asymetrix Learning Systems

(Public Company; 201-500 employees; SUMT; Computer Software industry)

September 1998 — October 1999 (1 year 2 months)

* Managed a team of 2 persons with full responsibility of the corporate Web site and intranet

* Applied SEO and SEM techniques to achieve top 10 placement in major search engines for most e-Learning related keywords

* Led adoption of streaming media technology in product demonstrations and corporate Web site

* Led corporate site through a full redesign that increased Web traffic by 65% compared to 1998

* Managed full redesign of the corporate intranet
International Product Marketing Manager

Asymetrix

(Public Company; 201-500 employees; SUMT; Computer Software industry)

April 1996 — August 1998 (2 years 5 months)

* Program Manager of four subsequent releases of Asymetrix ToolBook trial and marketing CDs. ToolBook was a leading multimedia authoring tool and the trial CDs were distributed to more than 60,000 prospective customers worldwide

* Led partnership with RealNetworks for development of a Player component that was incorporated into the Asymetrix ToolBook product

* Managed successful beta program for ToolBook II Instructor 6.0

* Negotiated licensing distribution agreements with technology providers for inclusion in ToolBook trial CDs

* Cultivated and expanded customer base by sponsoring international contests, creating and actively engaging in Asymetrix developer online communities

* Increased revenue in 1997 in Italy by 300% to more than $700K by setting up a localized Web site and nurturing local developer communities

* Invited to present at several domestic and international conferences on the topic of multimedia content distribution over the Web
Multimedia Developer (contract position)

INTEC College, Cape Town, South Africa

(Public Company; 11-50 employees; Education Management industry)

February 1996 — March 1996 (2 months)

* Prototyped and developed hypermedia courseware for online distribution (Virtual Book project)
Visiting Multimedia Researcher (contract position)

Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA

(Educational Institution; 201-500 employees; Internet industry)

April 1995 — August 1995 (5 months)

* Developed technical specifications for hypermedia kiosks that could be modified remotely over the Internet

* Developed one of the first Windows authoring applications to create 360-degree panoramic views using digital images. Published two papers, several articles and held various speaking engagements in US and European conferences
Web Designer and Multimedia Developer (contract position)

Universita' di Trieste, Trieste, Italy

(Educational Institution; 201-500 employees; Internet industry)

June 1994 — December 1994 (7 months)

* Set up the official University Web site

* Pioneered the development of APIs for distributing multimedia ToolBook applications over the Web. Published two papers and held various speaking engagements in Europe
Visiting Multimedia Researcher - C&C Research Labs (3-month contract)

NEC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Computer Software industry)

March 1992 — June 1992 (4 months)

* Designed and authored a virtual tour demo of downtown Tokyo using a time-based proprietary multimedia authoring system. Published one paper on multimedia user interfaces