Gianluca Desiderato

Engineering Director | Startup Mentor | AI, Tech & Innovation

Greater Milan Metropolitan Area

About

Digital industry executive with nearly 20 years of experience in driving large-scale digital transformation, innovation and technology strategies across diverse industries (financial, fashion, luxury, automotive, pharma, manufacturing, telco, retail, media, food & beverage). Proven expertise in managing multi-million-euro budgets, leading cross-functional teams of 100+ professionals and delivering high-impact digital solutions for top-tier clients. Actively engaged in the Italian tech ecosystem as a startup mentor, thought leader, columnist and community founder, with a passion for making technology accessible, ethical and impactful through education, outreach and initiatives.

Experience

  • Engineering Director, Web & Digital Platforms at Italiaonline
    May 2021 - Present · 5 yrs 2 mos

    * Team leadership: Led multidisciplinary teams in advertising, social media presence, websites and e-commerce, delivering high-impact solutions for hundreds of thousands of SME clients. * Budget management: Managed annual budgets ensuring strategic alignment and measurable business outcomes. * AI integration: Scouted, evaluated and integrated innovative AI technologies, enhancing the company’s digital ecosystem while ensuring compliance with ethical and compliance standards. * Process optimization: Optimized the industrialization process of digital product delivery, improving cost efficiency, value proposition and customer satisfaction. * Strategic planning: Defined and maintained the technical roadmap, aligning it with corporate strategy, market trends and stakeholder expectations.

  • Columnist at Codemotion
    Sep 2023 - Present · 2 yrs 10 mos

    Produced thought leadership content on technology, innovation and ethics; engaged the developer community through events and contributed to discussions on ethical AI and digital transformation.

  • Startup Mentor at Startup Geeks
    Sep 2021 - Present · 4 yrs 10 mos

    Advised startups on strategic vision, market opportunities, scalability and business planning; supported founders in decision-making and problem-solving for growth and innovation.

  • Founder at One More Tech Away
    Oct 2020 - Present · 5 yrs 9 mos

    Built & led a content platform to make technology and innovation accessible, developing partnerships, coordinating teams and promoting technology and innovation through educational initiatives.

  • WW Digital Senior Manager at Gucci
    Aug 2017 - Apr 2021 · 3 yrs 9 mos

    * Team management: Directed cross-functional teams to ensure operational excellence, project delivery and professional growth across digital channels. * Digital growth: Managed digital initiatives contributing to double-digit growth and 99.9% website uptime for gucci.com. * Roadmap execution: Defined and implemented development roadmaps aligned with business priorities and regional inputs. * Innovation partnerships: Partnered with startups to integrate innovative solutions that enhanced the customer experience. * Process improvement: Mentored internal teams on best practices in software development, significantly reducing time-to-market.