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Francesco Castellano, Management Consulting Expert in Milan, Italy
Francesco Castellano

Management Consulting Expert in Milan, Italy

Member since January 4, 2017
Francesco has almost twenty years of experience in finance, consulting, business management, and sustainability. Throughout these years, he has worked on more than 20 projects as a consultant at Bain & Company and launched Uber operations in Turin, Italy. Additionally, he has founded Tondo, an organization spreading circular economy concepts, and Tondo lab, a company driving the implementation of clean and circular innovations. Francesco is passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship.
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Career Highlights

Education

Case studies

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Industry Expertise

  • Business Services
  • Management Consulting
  • Custom Software & IT Services
  • Education
  • Energy, Utilities & Waste
  • Electricity, Oil & Gas
  • Finance
  • Venture Capital & Private Equity

Other Expertise

Employment

  • Co-founder | Managing Director

    2019 - PRESENT
    Tondo lab
    • Assessed a significant mobility player in the Middle East to identify and design the main organizational and technological elements of a new operating model.
    • Supported a utility company to test and launch a new technology for collecting data on water consumption in collaboration with a startup.
    • Served as the temporary business development director for an international professional service firm, managing the sales plan definition and reorganizing sales activities.
    • Developed the financial plan for a new automotive designer player launching in Europe, including profit and loss, cash flow, and balance sheet for five entities.
    • Provided support to a major multi-utility company in testing and validating the inspection of hydropower plants using an autonomous rover in collaboration with an R&D lab.
    • Assisted a major Asian energy company in the creation of its venture-building factory, focusing on the partnership model and investment strategy.
    • Assessed the most relevant sustainable tech trends in the US and Europe for a major real estate company to identify their potential market value.
    • Developed the financial plan for a startup working as a trading platform in the fish industry, collecting €20 million in series A.
    • Analyzed a potential investment in a wastewater treatment plant for an Italian SME.
    • Designed the investor pitch for a startup offering a smart tech device.
    Focus areas: Project Management, Fundraising, Project Management Operations, Finance, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Energy Utilities, Internet of Things (IoT), Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Strategy, Fundraising Strategy, Leadership Strategy, Project Leadership

  • Founder | President

    2018 - PRESENT
    Tondo
    • Designed and coordinated seven significant innovation and circular economy events in Milan and Genoa, involving major Italian companies, startups, and research institutes.
    • Managed the research activities on a study evaluating the sustainability and circularity of the fashion and textile industry in collaboration with other research institutes and associations.
    • Conducted market research on startups implementing circular business models in the Italian market.
    • Offered classes and workshops to corporates and educational institutes on circular economy and innovation.
    • Designed and managed an online national hackathon on circular cities involving eight corporates and more than twenty universities.
    • Launched a platform to drive the implementation of circular economy projects, leveraging different tools to measure the level of circularity.
    Focus areas: Circular Economy, Innovation, Fundraising Strategy, Leadership Strategy, Project Leadership

  • Strategy, Finance and Innovation Manager

    2016 - 2018
    Independent Work
    • Developed the strategic plan for a large Singaporean educational institute entering the European market, including market analysis, competitive landscape, company position, and business plan.
    • Created a go-to-market strategy for a North American carpooling platform entering a new country, assessed main marketing channels, approach per channel, segments, and main messages.
    • Set up the operations–including defining the operational processes, KPIs, and the action plan–and the go-to-market strategy for a personal services platform, launching operations in the Italian market.
    • Supported the implementation of strategic partnerships, including company presentation, identification of possible targets, and main synergies for an e-grocery platform scaling-up operations in Italy.
    • Analyzed the market and the competitive landscape for an IT outsourcing company operating in the US and Africa, backed by Google Ventures.
    • Evaluated a potential target in the Italian market for a large global private equity firm.
    • Identified the most disrupting innovations that could impact a major beauty player.
    • Implemented, as a project manager, the launch in Italy of a new product for an international mobility player.
    • Built the financial model and the investor decks to support the financing from a major bank and the fundraising from investors for a robotics startup.
    Focus areas: Project Management Operations, Education, Energy, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, Market Research, Market Opportunity Analysis, Strategy, Innovation, Fundraising, Go-to-market Plans, Strategic Partnerships, Investor Relations, Investor Presentations, Project Management, Revenue & Expense Projections, Strategic Planning

  • Managing Director

    2015 - 2016
    Home Professional Services Marketplace
    • Fleshed out the business development strategy, including significant partnerships to develop, main categories to focus on, and new cities to launch, along with the financial plan.
    • Updated, periodically, investors and shareholders on main KPIs, such as cost per user acquisition, cost per request, and revenue growth and strategy implementation.
    • Defined the marketing strategy, including marketing channels and budget allocated per channel, and monitored acquisition performance per channel.
    • Defined operational KPIs, operating processes like acquisition and training, and principal focus areas.
    • Fundraised the initial seed capital from angel investors and implemented two strategic partnerships with main industry leaders.
    Focus areas: Strategic Planning & Execution, Operational Finance, Pitch Decks, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Fundraising

  • Supply Growth and Operations Manager

    2014 - 2015
    Uber Technologies
    • Launched Uber in a new city, Turin, in the Italian market, achieving 15 weeks of continuous double-digit growth, and awarded as one of Uber's fastest-growing cities in Europe.
    • Led the supply growth, including marketing and acquisition process for Italy, coordinating efforts for all five cities: Milan, Rome, Turin, Genoa, and Padua.
    • Identified channels for driver acquisition like Google AdWords, Facebook, job boards, and radio; defined the channel strategy and monitored the acquisition performance.
    • Built up the metrics to monitor the onboarding process for driver acquisition; created the procedures for each process step, and improved the training material.
    • Led the business development for Italy, assessing potential new products (e.g., UberEATS) to launch in the Italian market.
    • Managed the operations and monitored the overall supply performance for Turin; identified and negotiated main strategic partnerships to support business development.
    Focus areas: Growth, Operations Management, Business Development

  • Associate | Senior Associate | Consultant

    2010 - 2014
    Bain & Company
    • Defined the business plan for an international manufacturing player operating in the automotive industry.
    • Identified addressable markets, built a business model, and created a growth strategy for a mid-sized energy service player.
    • Wrote the business plan to help an infrastructure and public services player raise financing from a major bank.
    • Optimized the cost structure and working capital for two major energy players.
    • Developed more than five strategic, business, and commercial due diligence plans for several retail, industrial, and energy players.
    • Implemented post-merger integration processes for two major energy players as the project manager.
    • Built a credit risk model and dashboard for a major multinational energy player.
    Focus areas: Project Management Operations, Financial Modeling, Change Management, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Performance Improvement, Strategic Planning & Execution

  • Associate Financial Analyst

    2008 - 2010
    General Electric
    • Identified key areas for sales linearity improvement (e.g., planning, sourcing quality, and manufacturing processes).
    • Defined the detailed quarterly sales plans for manufacturing and sourcing and developed a root cause analysis for variances.
    • Developed a monthly dashboard on the manufacturing metrics (e.g., cost per material inputs, labor cost per hour).
    • Created, during a Six Sigma project, a detailed forecast on material input to improve the budgeting process.
    • Supported the global supply chain management with a specific financial analysis during the quarterly FP&A update.
    Focus areas: Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)

  • Financial Analyst

    2008 - 2008
    Lazuli Solutions
    • Developed financial models to evaluate investment projects in the energy sector for major investment banks in London.
    • Created a financial model for a major offshore wind farm in the UK.
    • Built a financial model for a major solar plant in Africa.
    • Was trained in financial modeling development using the F1F9 methodology in New Dehli.
    Focus areas: Financial Modeling

Other Experience

  • A Deep Dive into the Future of Mobility (Publication)
    https://www.toptal.com/finance/industry/future-of-mobility
    The paradigm of what a car is and how we use it is changing. Energy innovation, artificial intelligence advances, societal tastes, and environmental concerns are all affecting how we get around in the future.
  • Feeding the Future: An Overview of Agrifood Technology (Publication)
    https://www.toptal.com/finance/market-research-analysts/agrifood-technology
    As environmental, social, and demographic factors increasingly put pressure on traditional food production, investors and entrepreneurs are turning to innovation. Many promising startups are emerging, all with a focus on producing food in a more efficient and sustainable way.
  • Feeding the Future: An Overview of the Agrifood Industry (Publication)
    https://www.toptal.com/finance/market-research-analysts/agrifood-industry
    The amount of money pouring into Agrifood tech has increased more than sixfold since 2012: from $3 billion to almost $18 billion. In the first part of this series, we examine the three changing conditions making this field ripe for innovation and analyze emerging technologies.
  • The Impending Commercial Robot Revolution (Publication)
    https://www.toptal.com/finance/market-research-analysts/robot-revolution
    The field of robotics has seen incredible strides forward in recent years. As a result of improvements in computer vision, dexterity and also overall economics, use of robots has increased in a variety of different fields. However, most of the growth in robotics so far has happened in industrial applications, and thus hidden from the view of the general public. But is this about to change? In this article, Toptal Finance Expert Francesco Castellano focuses on the commercial robotics market. Thanks to recent breakthroughs in the fields of AI, mechatronics, sensors, and batteries, service and commercial robots are likely to see tremendous growth and adoption, likely heralding a new robotics revolution that could transform our daily lives in countless ways.
  • Commercial Drones Are Revolutionizing Business Operations (Publication)
    https://www.toptal.com/finance/market-research-analysts/drone-market
    When most hear “drone,” they think expensive military aircrafts or small consumer toys. However, the future of drones will actually be shaped by practical commercial applications, due to their ability to drive efficiency and data analytics. This article defines drones and their total addressable market and highlights how their capabilities can be leveraged in commercial business operations. It also includes investment trends and predictions for the future of the industry.

Education

  • Executive Course in Circular Economy & Sustainability
    2022 - 2022
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Online
  • Executive Course in Disruptive Strategy
    2019 - 2019
    Harvard Business School - Online
  • Coursework Toward a PhD in Business Management
    2006 - 2007
    University of Bologna - Bologna, Italy
  • Master's Degree in Finance
    2004 - 2005
    Il Sole 24 Ore Business School - Milan, Italy
  • Bachelor's/Master's Combined Degree in Business Administration
    1998 - 2004
    University of Naples Federico II - Naples, Italy

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