Gian Luca Cattani

Business leader, Concerned citizen, Entrepreneur, Musician, Parent, Project manager, Scientist

I am a Business Leader with a passion for Mathematics and Music. I have been working in the software industry since 2001. Currently I am R&D Director and Board Member of MAPS S.p.A. where I work since 2008. At MAPS we are focussing our efforts in developing solutions to support the decision making process in business contexts. Technology-wise, this means devising solutions to automatically extract meaningful information from raw data and narrative text. Business-wise it requires profiling the software to best address the business questions at stake. Prior to join industry I was Research Associate at the Computer Laboratory of the University of Cambridge (UK). I read Mathematics at the University of Parma (Italy), and joined Cambridge upon completing a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Aarhus (Denmark). More recently I also completed an Executive Master in Technology and Innovation Management at the University of Bologna Business School. As a Software Practitioner and Business Leader, my endeavours are in understanding how, with my team, we can best support our Customers in solving their problems while taking into account all the constraints of their and our environments. As an Academic Researcher, I worked at general Mathematical Models of Concurrent and Interacting Processes. The results of my research have been presented at several International conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. I actively support and volunteer for the not-for-profit ‘Associazione Vagamonde’ that promotes the right of citizenship of migrant populations with a special attention to women conditions. I am very fond of music and an amateur classical guitar player. Popular science books and novels are my favourite readings. In this period of my life, the list of practised sports includes tennis, downhill skiing, and jogging. I also enjoy hiking and sailing, with friends and family. I am married and have two children.

Mathematics, Computer Science, Music, and Literature. I love doing outdoor activities of different sorts from sports to plain walking, or just resting gazing at mountains or the sea.

Business Leadership, Computer Science, Innovation Management, Mathematics

I am a person in continuous search for intellectual stimuli and challenges. This is as much a personal need and a professional one. I have never had the chance yet to participate in a TED conference, but have immensely enjoyed and often profited from watching recorded interventions. The diversity of topics, the scientific approach of speakers, the often unconventional way of looking at old issues or of presenting ideas have all brought to me inspiration, thoughtful thinking , and – why not -sheer intellectual entertainment. I cannot name a single talk or event that has had a recognisable deep impact in my life, or in my way of thinking of and living it, but I have in my mind a vivid collection of presentations that taught me something and asked to be shared with friends and colleagues. It was an amusing moment the day when my younger son, then 15 years old, whom I never talked of TED yet, came to me with his tablet to show me a TED talk addressing an interest of his and that he had just discovered; this one has been the first of a long list to come.

Cooking. I like cooking and I do it for my family whenever I can.