Lecturers

A world-class faculty

The CMBP has been especially developed by an international team of scholars of contemporary China together with European executive education specialists and China-based professionals to respond to the growing demand for highly qualified profiles combining linguistic and substantive competence on China and the Euro-Mediterranean region, good command of the essentials of international business, and an entrepreneurial spirit free of naiveté.

The 2024 edition of CMBP welcomed the following faculty members. Further information on the Faculty of 2025 will be uploaded in the coming weeks.
Edoardo
Agamennone
China-EU business relations
Doing business in China
Cross-Cultural Negotiations
Business Plan Writing

Edoardo Agamennone has 20 years of experience in doing business with China, including 7 years in private practice with leading consulting firms both in Europe and China, 7 years as manager of an MNC in the energy field, and a vast experience as investor,  board member and fund manager. Throughout his career, he has advised a number of investors, multinational companies, governments, sovereign funds, banks and other financial institutions on investment projects and corporate transactions in more than 30 jurisdictions worldwide.

Edoardo holds an LLB from the University of Rome III, an LLM degree from the University of Hong Kong and a PhD in financial and management studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. He is the author of several publications in the field of China’s financial system, Chinese outward foreign direct investments, China-Europe and China-Africa commercial relationships, energy and corporate law. Edoardo is co-founder and managing partner of Levante Capital, the first and only fund specialised in investing in Southern Europe's most promising technology companies and supporting them in their commercial expansion in Asia.

Bruce
Alter
Fintech Development in China

Professor Bruce Alter is a full-time adjunct expert of ZIBS. He has held senior management positions at institutions such as DBS Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and Citibank. Proficient in financial technology, APIs, ecosystems, and blockchain initiatives, he possesses strong skills in trade, cash management, and digital banking, with in-depth knowledge of Asian business practices.

Bruce has a bachelor degree in Philosophy at New York University, a Master’s degree in International Affairs at Columbia University,

His research interests include: International Business and International Financial Practices.

Giovanni
Andornino
Geopolitics of China-EU relations

Giovanni Andornino is Assistant Professor of International Relations of East Asia at the University of Turin, where he heads the TOChina Hub, coordinating research, advanced training and track 1.5 networking with China. He is the President of the Torino World Affairs Institute (T.wai), with responsibility over the “Global China” research program. He teaches Geopolitics for the Executive MBA of ESCP Business School and Understanding the World for the Master in Management of IESE Business School.

Giovanni holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Catholic University of Milan and an MSc in Global History from the London School of Economics and Political Science.  A former Fellow of the Transatlantic Academy (Washington D.C.) and Visiting Associate of the China Research Centre of the University of Technology Sydney, he has been the co-director of the Executive Training Seminar on China at the European University Institute in Fiesole.

Giovanni is the Founding Editor of OrizzonteCina, Italy’s leading journal on current China's politics, foreign policy and political economy. His latest book, "La Cina e noi" [China and us] was published by Solferino in 2023.

BEN
Shenglin
VUCA Era Opportunities & Emerging Markets

Prof. BEN Shenglin is a Professor and the Dean of ZIBS, Dean of the Academy of Internet Finance (AIF), Zhejiang University and President of Beijing Frontier Institute of Regulation and Supervision Technology (FIRST). Prior to joining Zhejiang University in May 2014 as a Professor, he spent 20 years in China and abroad with ABN AMRO, HSBC, and lastly JP Morgan Chase, where he served as China CEO, JP Morgan Chase Bank. He is the founder and Director of the International Monetary Institute, Renmin University of China. He is also founder and chairman of the Zhejiang Association of FinTech (ZAFT), the industry association of global fintech hub - Zhejiang Province. He serves as a Counselor to the Zhejiang Provincial Government, a Standing Committee member of CPPCC Zhejiang and Vice Chairman of its Economic Commission. He currently serves as a board member of leading companies including China Construction Bank and China Industrial Bank.

Shenglin has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Tsinghua University, a Master’s degree in management from Renmin University of China and Ph.D. in Economics from Purdue University, USA.

His research interests include: International Finance, Fintech, Digital Economy, Global Business. He has published over 10 books and various articles.

Regina
Brix
Marketing & Product Development

Regina Brix is an Affiliate Professor of Marketing at the ESCP Business School - Turin Campus and the Academic Co-Director of the International Master in Food & Beverage Management. After completing her Master’s Degree in Germany, Regina worked over 20 years in leading management positions in the area of Marketing in multinational companies (Nivea, Danone, Lavazza) in different countries like Germany, China and Italy.

In her career in international marketing she has experienced firsthand the profound changes and challenges that have occurred in marketing, having covered important operational and strategic roles in the field. Her ambition is to transfer her know-how and experience combining theoretical models with future-proof hands-on training, so as to prepare students and young managers to become leaders in their business career.

From 2010 Regina has been collaborating with ESCP Business School teaching at the Turin Campus in different programs, including MBA, EMBA, Master in Management, Master in Hospitality, Bachelor in Management and Master in International F&B Management. Since 2008 Regina has also been working as a strategic business consultant for numerous multinational firms in the Food & Beverage, Cosmetics and Healthcare sectors.

Vittorio
De Pedys
Business Strategy & Finance

A cum laude graduate in Economics, Vittorio De Pedys is Affiliate Professor at ESCP Business School - Turin Campus, where he offers executive courses on Private Banking, Financial Markets and Corporate Finance, mostly tailor-made for key Italian and international banks. For ESCP Europe he also teaches at MBA seminars and executive management courses of Problem Solving & Decision Making. Furthermore, he is Adjunct Professor of Private Equity at the University of Rome (Tor Vergata), and teaches Finance at a number of international business schools. Valuing education being as a two-way process, Vittorio is also receiving training on Participants-Centered Learning from the Harvard Entrepreneurship Education Colloquium.


Throughout his 20-year business career Vittorio worked in banking and investment banking in Italy, the UK and the US: having started as a Treasury (BNL) and bond dealer (UniCredit), he later became Director of Proprietary Trading (Merrill Lynch), then Executive Director of the Smith Barney London Branch, Head of Finance at Banca Salento, and finally group CFO at Banca ICCREA. A certified financial analyst, Vittorio also works as a consultant for the Italian Banking Association.

Geng
Xin
Corporate Finance in China

Dr. GENG Xin is an Assistant Professor at ZIBS. Prior to joining ZIBS, she had positions at the University of Bath and University of York in the UK. She gained her PhD in Finance from the Accounting, Finance and Law Group, School of Management at the University of Bath. Her main research interests include corporate governance, corporate finance, and fintech. Her working papers were presented at both regional and internal conferences. Dr. Geng has a bachelor degree in Accounting at China University of Petroleum (East China), a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Accounting and Finance at University of Bath, UK.

Her research interests include: Corporate finance, Corporate governance, FinTech, Green Finance, State-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Walter
Joffrain
Problem Solving & Decision Making

Senior Manager with more than 20 years of corporate finance and business development experience in the Financial Services and in the Banking industry. Walter Joffrain has a good expertise on Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions, Company Valuation, Project Management, Business Planning and Operations.

Throughout his career, Walter has been Strategic Consultant in McKinsey & Co. working in banking and insurance companies in Italy and Europe on strategic projects to improve organizational models, service levels and business strategies.

He holds a cum laude degree in Physics, a Ph.D degree in nuclear Physics and has been Fulbright Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA). He studied Active Teaching and General Management at Harvard Business School in Cambridge and Shanghai.

Walter is the author of several books and publications in the field of finance, innovation and technology and he is Board Member of Companies and Foundations.

Lu
Jianzhong
Sustainable Business Thinking

Dr. LU Jianzhong is currently Board Member of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Deputy Director of sustainable management committee of China Management Science Society, Chairman of Expert Decision Committee of Shanghai Foreign Invested Association. He performed many senior executive roles for more than 20 years in a variety of industry sectors and multinational companies, including BHP, Essilor, RGE, Brunswick and Weir. He has been also performed as corporate and CEO coach, MBA guest professor and PHD Advisor in many business schools. 

Dr. Lu is the founder of “Sustainable Business strategy Paradigm”, “Sustainable Business Strategy Design Model and Leadership Model, the author of <Sustainable Business Strategy and Practices>.

Dr. Lu has a bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering at Zhejiang University, a Master’s degree in Industrial Innovation Management at Ecole Centrale de Paris and Ph.D. in Ecommerce at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Marc
Lussy
Entrepreneurship basics in China

Marc Lussy is an industry mentor at ZIBS leading a student start-up program designed todevelop the entrepreneurial skills and networks as well as the entrepreneurial mindset. He has worked in the finance sector for over 3 decades, and included the last decade in Fin-Tech and IBO investment. He is a Partner in IBO-We Compare Investment Performance, and founded MLI-Marc Lussy Innovation Consultant for Banking & Digitization in 2010. He is an expert in investment/private banking and IT and has been leading large scale projects and actively involved with over 50 start-ups .

He has an extensive network in the financial sector including banks, bigtechs and startups across several continents with a focus on China, Brazil, Europe and Middle East.

Graham
Mitchelmore
Leadership and Organizational Behavior
Human Resource Management

Prof. Graham Mitchelmore is a Professor of Practice and full-time Foreign Expert in Leadership and Organization Management at Zhejiang University, China. He has more than 30 years of experience in public sector leadership roles for both the British Army and the Hong Kong Police. His career spans operational leadership of counter-terrorist teams, executive leadership of police districts, field command of major security operations, head of a prestigious training school, and management of a branch of internal consultants responsible for the strategic management practices of an organization with around 40,000 employees.Graham has a passion for excellence and relishes developing young talent. Graham has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with Mathematics from the University of Reading, UK, a Master’s degree in business administration, Master of science and Doctorate in Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University, UK.

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI), Honorary Advisor at the Hong Kong Police College and a Honorary Judge for the International Association for Strategy Professionals, Goodman Award.

Wang
Cheng
Marketing in China

Prof. WANG Cheng is an Associate Professor of Marketing at ZIBS, Prior to joining ZIBS, he has worked at Newcastle University, Durham University, and Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. Within the area of service marketing and management, his research interests are focused on consumer acceptance and adoption of service technology. He has published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Service Research, among others.

Prof. Wang has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Fudan University, a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Marketing, University of New South Wales. His research interests include: Service marketing and management, IT-related service innovation and adoption.

Zhang
Gangfeng
Conflict Management & Resolution

Prof. ZHANG Gangfeng is an Associate Professor at School of Management, Zhejiang University, he teaches to MBA, Msc, and undergraduate students, and also teach to the Master students in a joint program between Polytechnic Institute of Zhejiang University and école Polytechnique of Paris in France. Prior to joining Zhejiang University, Dr. Zhang worked as a free-lance consultant for International Survey Research, Towers-Perrin-ISR, and Towers-Watson, all are American consulting companies specialized in human resource management. During that period of time, he provided consultancy to the companies such as ICBC (Industruial and Commercial Bank of China), Shangri-la Hotel & Resorts, Sino Gold, CITS-American Express (including Japanese division of American Expresss), Glen Raven Asia, Kulicke & Soffa, Symbian Software, Carlsberg, Areva T&D, Zuellig Pharma, Coca Cola (China) and Coca Cola China Industry, etc.

Prof. Zhang has a bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Hangzhou University, and Ph.D. in Sociology and Social Research from the University of Trento, Italy. His research interests include: Cross-cultural Management, International Business, Corporate Culture, SMEs and Industrial Agglomeration.

The ChinaMed Business Program faculty

Recurrent Guest Speakers

Stefano
Cardinale
China General Manager at TECNIUM-Casals Cardona Ind. S.A. (Shanghai)
Luca
Chinello
Managing Director for Asia, Viabizzuno
Massimo
Deandreis
General Manager, SRM - Studi Ricerche Mezzogiorno
Claudio
Grillenzoni
Group Retail Director, Florentia Village
John
Holden
Former Associate Dean, Yenching Academy of Peking University
Ipek
Kilicer Turker
Senior Risk Manager, Siemens Bank
Jeremy
Lancksweert
General Manager, Green Delta
Gregory
Lepkoff
Founder, Green I-guys
Omar
Maseroli
Founder, Mercante / Fiume
Giada
Piccinini
Head of Shanghai Office, Senior Tax Advisor at GWA Greatway Advisory (Shanghai)
Germano
Rollero
General Manager for North Asia, Etihad Airways
Yair
Shacked
Executive Director, NIO Capital
Nicholas
Sheffield
Director & Chief Representative, Rothschild
Bianca
Teti
Director of Communications, Lenovo
Wallace
Tong
GM of Investment & Financing, PowerChina International
Christopher
Von Gumppenberg
Automotive Consultant & Entrepreneur
Alice
Wurmboeck
Head of CSR Asia, Kaufland
Yang
Xiaodi
Chief Technical Officer, XKool
Ye
Xuan
In Country Expert, Inflexion Private Equity
Francesco
Zhou
Fei
General Manager, Mi Store Italia

Program directors

BEN

Shengling

Director

Giovanni B.

Andornino

Co-Director

Edoardo

Agamennone

Academic Director

Bruce

Alter

Academic Co-Director

Claudia

Chen

Danfeng

Program Manager - China

Kavinda

Navaratne

Program Manager - Europe