Nicola is the Executive Director of Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Higher Colleges of Technology. He oversees the operations of the HCT’s incubators, the startup development activities and the institution’s applied research thrust.

Before joining HCT, at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, he established and led the KAUST Innovation Fund, the venture fund supporting the university’s pipeline of technology-based startup projects and investing in high-profile international technology companies.

For over a decade, Nicola co-led EonTech Ventures, an independent Luxembourg-based venture capital fund focused on European early-stage technology companies, as Founder and Managing Partner. He has also spent a substantial portion of his career as a management consultant at Arthur D. Little, in the Paris and Milan office, where he was a member of the Global TIME (Telecommunication, Information, Media & Electronics) practice. In 2011, as co-founder, he participated in the establishment of a venture capital fund in Russia.

Nicola holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Business Administration and Economics MS from Università L. Bocconi.

Nicola is a passionate equestrian, scuba diving instructor and FAA/EASA certified private pilot.