Short Biography  --> download a  Short CV (in EN)         

Simona Zambelli is Full Professor of Finance at University of Florence and Director of International Relations of the Department of Economics and Management. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics of Financial Intermediation, from University of Siena (Italy); a degree in Economics with a legal focus from the University of Bologna (Italy); and a second postgraduate degree focused in Finance with a Mathematical Finance specialization (PCF), from the University of London, Birkbeck College (London). After specializing in financial regulation at the University of London (Birkbeck College, UK, as visiting research fellow) and in venture capital and financing innovation at Harvard University - Harvard Business School (Boston, MA, USA, as a post-doctoral fellow), she was visiting professor at the University of Leicester (UK), and IPAG Business School (Paris), as well as visiting researcher at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute –RPI (NY, USA), and York University - Schulich School of Business (Toronto, CA), as the winner of various prestigious international Awards sponsored by the Government of Canada (e.g., The Canada-Italy Innovation Award; The Faculty Research Program Award), and other Foundations. Before joining the University of Florence, she was Associate Professor at the University of Bologna (Italy), coordinating a wide number of International Bilateral Agreements and holding various institutional positions, such as the Director of the Business & Organizational Unit (RUOS) of the Department of Management at the Forlì Campus. She has published several articles in international journals, including, European Financial Management, International Journal of Management Reviews, and Journal of Banking and Finance, as well as books with high-rating publishers, such as Oxford University Press. She has been involved in various program committees for international conferences (such as: European Financial Management, conference focused on Entrepreneurial Finance & Venture Capital Symposium, Montreal; II International Workshop on Banking and Financial Intermediation, SMEs, Growth, and Banking, Rimini Center For Economic Analysis;  Conference on Emerging Trends in Entrepreneurial Finance, Stevens Institute of Technology, New York, USA). She is currently engaged in various international research projects with York University (Toronto, Canada), Western University (Canada), as well as in a number of international exchange programs, as the Head of International Relations and Exchange Programs with the Department of Economics of the University of Florence. Her main research interests refer to: Financing Innovation (Venture Capital, Crowdfunding, Private Equity, and Impact Investing),  Neurofinance, Gender Diversity, and Woman Empowerment, as the recipient of various research Awards, sponsored by Government of Canada (Innovation Award), Government of Italy, Cariplo Foundation, INCORME Institute for Research in Management and Engineering (Best Paper Award), and Rotary International (International Ambassadorial Scholar Award).  She has written several international publications on: Private Equity Financing, Leveraged and M&A Acquisitions, and Corporate Governance in Private Equity. In terms of teaching activity, she is involved in international programs: her undergraduate courses (taught in English) refer to: Topics in Corporate Finance (Investments & Neurofinance); her postgraduate courses (taught in English) refer to:  Venture Capital & Private Equity Risk Managemet; Due Diligence Laboratories (where she also focus on Social Impact Investing Indicators). Her teaching approach involves students' active participation, with project works, case discussions, and business games (both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels).

 Current Position & Academic Roles 

• Full Professor (Area Finance, Secs. P/09), University of Florence, specialized in Private Equity, Venture Capital, Impact Investing (from Mar. 2021)

• Director of International Relations (DISEI): Responsible for International Exchange Programs with the Department of Economics and Business, University of Florence (from October 2021 to present)

• Co-supervisor PNRR Project on Startup

• Member of the Department's PNRR Task Force (October 2021)

• ANVUR Reviewer for VQR (2015-2019), evaluation of the Quality of  ITALIAN RESEARCH (August - Sept. 2021)

• Director of  the Book Series "Finance & Entrepreneurship", created to support outstanding researchers (from  2016):

• Responsible for a European Project, WP4, sub-area "Student Entrepreneurship", focus on Social Entrepreneurship  (from April 2021-2022)

• Editorial Board: Venture Capital; Book Series Aracne Collection "Finance & Entrepreneurship"

• Promoting Committee of a new International Bachelor's Degree  Program in English, focusing on Social Innovation (April 2021)

Education and Post-doc Research Experience 

• Harvard  University  (USA):  Post-doc,  Department of Business Finance, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA (USA)

• Birkbeck  College      (UK):   Post-doc, Department of Finance, University of London (UK, London)

• Bologna  University (Italy):   Post-doc, Department of Management, Bologna (Italy)

• University of  Siena  (Italy):  Ph.D. in Economics of Financial Intermediaries with a focus in Law & Finance, Siena (Italy)

• University of London (UK):  Second-level Postgraduate Degree in Finance (PCF), with a specialization in Mathematical Finance, Birkbeck College London (UK)

• Bologna  University  (Italy):  First Degree in Economics, with a specialization in Economics & Law: 110/110 CUM LAUDE, Bologna (Italy)

International Research (Fellowship Positions) 

• York University (Toronto, Canada): Visiting Professor, Schulich Administrative Studies, Department of Economics

• York University (Toronto, Canada): Visiting Professor, Schulich School of Business, Department of Finance

• Leicester University (Leicester, UK), Visiting Professor, School of Management

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute  (NY, USA):  Research Fellowship, School of Management.

• University of London (UK): Birkbeck College Department of Finance,  London (UK)

• Ipag Buisness School (Paris, France)

--> For details see Research

International Teaching & Fellowship Positions --> For details see Research

• IPAG Business School (Paris & Nice): Visiting Professor, School of Finance

• European School of Economics (ESE Florence): Visiting Professor, School of Economics

• York University (Toronto, Canada): Visiting Professor, Research Fellowship, Schulich School of Business, Dept. of Finance

• York University (Toronto, Canada): Visiting Professor, Research Fellowship, School of Administrative Studies, Dept. of Economics

• Leicester University (Leicester, UK), Visiting Professor, School of Management

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute  (NY, USA): Visiting Professor, Research Fellowship, School of Management.

• Westminster University (London, UK): Visiting Professor, School of Business       

• Westminster University (London, UK): Visiting Professor, School of Law   

Recent Awards & Evaluations: 

• Canada-Italy Research "INNOVATION AWARD 2018", sponsored by Canadian Government

• Best Research Paper Awards 2017 (Due Diligence and Investee Performance), presented at the INCORME conference, Institute for Research in Management and Engineering, Brunel University (2017)

• Winner of the Italian Research Award (FFARB), 2017, sponsored by the Italian Government (MIUR)

• National Research Evaluation 2017 (VQR 2011-14):  Received "Excellent" for all the papers evaluated by the Committee

• Winner of two Faculty Research Awards (FRP), sponsored by the Government of Canada

• Best Teaching Performance (2020) - Department of Management, University of Bologna 

• Recent Student Opinions (2015-2020): 100% student satisfaction for various courses, e.g.: a) Merchant Banking & Private Equity b) Financial Analysis; 100% of satisfaction obtained for clarity of explanation in: Financial Analysis; Financial Institutions Management; Merchant Banking

• Alma Mater  Research Valuation 2015 (VRA 2015 - my ID  507): ALL MY PUBLICATION submitted  were valued as   CLASS  A  

• Recent Student Opinions (2015-2020): 100% student satisfaction and/or for clarity of explanation various courses, e.g.,: Private Equity and Due Diligence Lab;  Merchant Banking & Private Equity; Financial Analysis; Investments

Recent Relevant Articles, published in:

• • European Financial Management 2021 - forthcoming - CLASS A13 (SCI IF 2020= 1.803)

  • European Financial Management 2017 - CLASS A13 (SCI IF 2017 = 1.515)

  • Local Government Studies --> Class A14 (SCI  IF 2016 = 1.365)

  • International Journal of Management Reviews 2014 - CLASS A (IF 2014= 3.857); (SCI IF 2014: 7.479) by British Academy of Management 

  • Journal of Banking and Finance 2013 - CLASS A13 (IF 2013 = 1.36); (SCI IF 2013: 2.151) 

  • Journal of Banking and Finance 2010 - CLASS A13 (IF 2010 = 2.73); (SCI IF 2010: 3.438)

  • Oxford University Press  2012 (CLASS A -VRA 2015 Unibo)

-->  For details on the most recent articles see Publications ; details for SCI  IF of Scientific Journals;  details for ASN CLASS A  Journals (2021-23)

Referee for Class A Journals: 

• • Referee for Finance Research Letters (Class: A Journal)

  • Referee for Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice (Class: A Journal)

  • Referee for International Journal of Management Review (Class: A Journal)

  • Referee for Journal of International Business Studies     (Class: A* Journal)

  • Referee for Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal (Class: A Journal)

  • Referee for  Journal of Business Venturing  (Class: A* Journal)

  • Referee for Journal of  Economic Behavior & Organization (Class: A Journal)

  • Ad-hoc Referee for Journal of Corporate Finance (Class: A Journal) special issue in PRIVATE EQUITY, LBOs, AND GOVERNANCE (2006)

  • Program Committee "Entrepreneurial Finance & Venture Capital Symposium", European Fin. Management,  2010, April 15, Montreal, Canada. 

Referee for other international Journals: 

• • Referee for European Journal of Finance 

  • Referee for Studies in Economics and Finance

  • Referee for Finance Research Letters

Research Interest

• • Neuro Finance; Gender Diversity; Women Empowerment; 

  • Venture Capital & Private Equity; Buyouts; 

  • Business Ethics & Venture Philanthropy; 

  • Governance and Regulation; Crowdfunding

--> For details see Research

--> Finance your research with CF

Previous Roles (before joining University of Florence)

• Associate Professor (Area Financial Markets, Secs. P/11), University of Bologna, specialized in Venture Capital (Nov 2010-Feb 2021)

• ANVUR REVIEWER for VQR (2011-2014) evaluation of the Quality of  ITALIAN RESEARCH

• MIUR REVIEWER FOR THE QUALITY OF ITALIAN RESEARCH PROJECTS (PRIN 2016)

• Responsible for Forli Campus Internationalization 

• Responsible for International Exchange Agreements with Leicester University (Leicester, UK); Westminster University (London UK), IPAG Business School (Paris), and other Universities in Germany and Austria

• Responsible for the Forli Business Unit (RUOS) Forli Campus - Management Department (2012 - 2014).

Selected Publications related to my recent research interests