Marcello Palazzi, BSc MSc MBA, is by education an economist, international relations analyst and business manager; by profession, he is a developer of Strategic Enterprise Initiatives (SDIs) that advance public (collective) interests. His main vehicle for the last 17 years has been the Netherlands-based Progressio Foundation, which he founded with Dr Paul Kloppenborg in Rotterdam in 1989 (see www.progressio.org). Marcello has consistently been an innovator in the “civic enterprise” space, at the leading edge of key ideas and projects, such as public-private partnerships, business ethics, corporate social responsibility, the UN and private sector cooperation, private equity in developing countries, ethical globalization, values-led business, multi-stakeholders partnerships, venture philanthropy, enterprise strategy, creative Europe, and others.

He studied economics, international relations and business administration at the University of Buckingham, London School of Economics, London Business School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Rotterdam School of Management Erasmus University. Starting his career in 1981 at the age of 23, he launched an instrumentation company for environmental diagnostics (Marton Diagnostics) in London and sold it at age 34 in 1992, with sales in over 30 countries.

Marcello is a board member of the Tällberg Foundation in Sweden (www.tallbergfoundation.org); he is also a member of the following Advisory Boards: Business as an Agent of World Benefit at Case Weathered, USA; the Enterprise Foundation, Zürich; the Rabobank-Robeco Sustainability Fund of Funds, the Business in Development Challenge / NCDO, the Encounter of World Views Foundation, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in the Netherlands. During the last 15 years, he has been involved as executive and/or board member in the following organizations: Social Venture Network Europe / USA; State of the World Forum Europe / USA; Society for International Development, Rome; New Academy of Business, UK; Bremen Initiative for Sustainable Cities, Germany and others (see www.progressio.org for further information).