Who is Alberto Grando, Incoming Dean for Strategy Implementation?

CURRENT DEAN FOR ALUMNI AND DEVELOPMENT AND DEAN OF SDA BOCCONI FROM 2006 TO 2012, HE IS PROFESSOR OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Bocconi came knocking at Alberto Grando’s door at the end of his high school program. “A few young scholars came to Liceo Classico Beccaria in Milan to introduce us to the university. One of them was Angelo Cardani, who is now the President of Agcom. I was fascinated and decided with some friends to enroll in Business Administration”.

Grando, who from November 1 takes on the role of Dean for Strategy Implementation, part of the team of new Rector Gianmario Verona, was interested in production and operations management because of his father, a mechanical engineer. “I’ve always been attracted by the extreme pragmatism of this research area, where you can promptly verify theories”. Soon after graduation he was about to sign a contract with Pirelli when he was contacted by his supervisor Rino Ferrata: SDA Bocconi had just launched an operations and technology department. “I was one of the few graduates that had a research interest in operations, supply and logistics management. I was sent straight to a classroom to teach. It was like being thrown into water: you either learn to swim or drown”.

Grando has quickly learned to swim. He says that promoting students’ growth and paying attention to their needs is an essential part of his job. He uses the word symbiosis when he describes the relationship between teaching, especially at SDA, and working in a company. “The latter offers the chance to test studies, it enriches teaching and it offers invaluable opportunities for applied research. I’m interacting with various people and diverse expectations: students, teachers, managers and, when working in operations, even factory personnel. I’ve learned something from all of them”.

Grando is Professor of Production and Operations Management. He was Dean for Alumni and Development and Dean of the SDA Bocconi School of Management from 2006 to 2012. He has witnessed the university’s growth and internationalization. “When I started teaching here, Bocconi was 100% Italian. Today it is a fully-fledged international university that welcomes teachers and students from all over the world and allows you to work in a challenging environment. My job is still interesting and stimulating after so many years”.
 

 

by Claudio Todesco