Primo Ventures

Gianluca Dettori is founder and Chairman of Primo Capital and a General Partner for the firm's digital investment strategy, working on deal generation, portfolio management, and value creation. Active in the Italian internet sector since 1995, he held early roles at Olivetti and Lycos before co-founding Vitaminic in 1999, which he led to an IPO in 2000 as CEO. Since 2004 he has invested in more than sixty ICT and digital companies, founded the consultancy dPixel, and helped establish the Internet Advertising Bureau and Italian Tech Alliance; he is also a Kauffman Fellow.

Andrea Pavero is General Partner of Primo Ventures' Primo Health fund and a board member of Primo Capital, overseeing the firm's healthcare investment strategy. He holds a degree in Medicine and Surgery and an MBA from Bocconi University, and worked in the pharmaceutical industry at Boots PLC and Johnson Wax before joining McKinsey's European pharmaceutical practice and co-founding the consultancy ValuePartners. Since 2007 he has co-founded Medeor Associates, a healthcare M&A boutique, and since 2023 has helped design and launch the PrimoHealth fund.

Carlo Vanoli is an engineer and investment professional with over four decades of experience in the industrial and healthcare sectors, and serves as General Partner of the Primo Health fund. He began his career in engineering at Snia BPD and spent four years at McKinsey before returning to the Snia group to lead Corporate Development, where he directed the group's shift toward medical devices via Sorin Biomedica and served as CEO of Sorin Inc. in the US. In 2007 he co-founded Medeor Associates, a healthcare-focused M&A boutique, and holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano.

Emiliano Tonelli is General Partner of the Primo Health fund, where he works on consolidating and scaling Italian SMEs in the pharma, medical devices, service provider, and animal health segments. He started his career at Credit Suisse in London, worked in a family-led industrial machinery firm, and joined the Pan-European fund Argos Wityu in 2006, rising to Senior Investment Manager. He later served as Senior Manager at Green Arrow SGR and as an M&A consultant, and holds an Economics degree from Bocconi University and an Independent Director diploma from INSEAD.

Ezio Ravaccia has more than 25 years of experience in venture capital and sustainability, focusing on the energy transition and digital sectors. He serves as General Partner of Primo's climate tech strategy and sits on Primo Capital's Board of Directors, having previously held C-level roles including CFO at Solar Ventures, CIO at Solar Ventures Capital, and Director at Pino Ventures Partners, along with work as a senior equity analyst in London covering utilities and energy. He holds a degree in Economics from Bocconi University, a postgraduate certificate from INSEAD, is a Chartered Accountant, and has an ESG Investing certification from Politecnico di Milano.

Franco is General Partner for digital strategy at Primo Capital and a member of its Board of Directors, where he also handles AML procedures. He spends most of his time overseeing the firm's digital funds, supporting scouting, and managing the portfolio. Earlier in his career he co-founded the tech consultancy dPixel S.r.l., served as Promoter, Partner, and Seed Fund Key Manager at Digital Investments SCA SICAR (2010), and founded Vitaminic in 1999, leading it as CEO through its 2000 IPO, following prior roles at DMB&B and ISTUD.

Giorgio Minola is a General Partner leading Primo Capital's space economy strategy and sits on the Board of Directors of Primo Capital SGR. He has worked in venture capital for over 25 years, starting in 1998 at Pino Venture Partners as an advisor to the Kiwi funds, and previously worked as a consultant at Arthur D. Little in Milan. Since 2020 he has been General Partner of Primo Space 1, a European venture fund focused on space technology, and holds an Economics degree from Bocconi University.

Giusy Cannone is a General Partner at Primo Capital and Board Member at RARA Factory with over 15 years of experience in investment and startups. She has invested in early-stage climate technology companies and digital startups in the fashion and sustainability sectors across multiple regions, including the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Her background includes roles as an investment manager at Italian Angels for Growth, an innovation specialist at Intesa Sanpaolo Bank supporting high-tech startups, and research and program coordination positions at the Kauffman Foundation and Mind the Bridge Foundation in the United States.

Matteo Cascinari is General Partner at Primo Ventures, leading its space economy investment strategy, and has served as General Partner of Primo Space since 2020. He previously held leadership roles in media and entertainment focused on digital transformation at Il Sole 24 Ore and The Walt Disney Company, later founding his own startup and working as an active investor for over 20 years across startups, scale-ups, and SMEs in Italy and abroad. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University and teaches startups and venture capital in the Master AIFO program.

Niccolò is a software engineer and General Partner overseeing digital strategy at Primo Ventures, where he also serves as CTO and manages the digital funds' scouting and investment activities. He previously held leadership roles as Head of Dealflow and CTO at dPixel and worked as an Investment Manager on earlier funds, and coached the Barcamper seed-stage program. He holds an MBA from Saïd Business School (University of Oxford), an MEng in Computer Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and lectures on "Startup 101" at Politecnico di Milano.

Raffaele Mauro is General Partner of Primo Ventures' Primo Space fund, where he works with European space-tech companies. He was previously Managing Director of Endeavor Italy and has worked in venture capital and high-tech investment at United Ventures (formerly Annapurna Ventures) and P101, along with innovation initiatives at the Intesa Sanpaolo Group. He holds an MPA from Harvard University, a PhD from Bocconi University, and completed the Graduate Studies Program at Singularity University; he has authored works including "Hacking Finance" and "Quantum Computing."

Simone Molteni is a General Partner at Primo Ventures leading its climate tech investment strategy, where he shapes the fund's investment theses and oversees the investment cycle. He began his career as a researcher at EPFL and has over 25 years of experience in sustainability and innovation, specializing in decarbonization and energy systems, and previously held senior roles at the LifeGate Group including Scientific Director. He graduated in Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and holds two Master's degrees from EPFL, in Energy and in Architecture and Sustainable Development.

Ilaria Cavalleri is Investment Principal at Primo Ventures leading its space-economy strategy, where she manages dealflow and supports portfolio companies. She previously spent 2012–2024 at investment boutique Cenciarini & Co., rising from Associate to Head of Investments and Partner and serving as Partner of its space division TLI Space, with earlier experience in corporate finance and cross-border M&A in Australia. She holds a degree in Finance and Management from Bocconi University, teaches Entrepreneurship and Corporate Finance there as a Fellow, and created Scaleupitaly.com.