Before Columbia, before McKinsey, before ENI, my education in business began at my family’s flower shop in Genoa. I was a teenager, wrapping bouquets and managing invoices, but I was also learning something deeper: the rhythms of commerce, the reality of supply and demand, the importance of margins and inventory.
That flower stand, as modest as it was, taught me the essentials of running a business: from customer service to accounting to supply chain management. It also sparked a lifelong instinct for value, discipline, and importantly, ownership.
Alongside commerce, I discovered a passion for finance early on. As a teenager, I began managing our family’s investment portfolio. First modestly, then with more structure. Over the years, I navigated the dot-com bubble, the Global Financial Crisis, and the COVID crash. Each time emerging with more funds, but also deeper lessons and stronger conviction in the principles of long-term, value-oriented investing.
Professionally, I joined McKinsey & Company as a strategy consultant, working with global clients on solving complex business problems. The firm later sponsored my MBA at Columbia Business School, where I chose to specialize in finance and Value Investing. For me, it was like stepping into a laboratory of ideas, one where I could blend theory with practice and test everything I believed about investing.
At Columbia, I immersed myself in the thinking of Buffett, Munger, Klarman, and others. I wasn’t just reading; I was building real portfolios, experimenting with real capital, and eventually attending the Berkshire Hathaway meetings in Omaha. One year, Buffett referred to my question from the floor as “I really liked the question by the italian fellow”.
It was an unforgettable affirmation that I belonged in the arena.
After business school, I joined ENI, Italy’s largest energy company, as Head of Business Development and Special Initiatives for its global trading business in London. This led to my appointment as Head of ENI Trading for the Asia-Pacific region, based in Singapore. It was a high-impact role at the intersection of commodities, macroeconomics, and geopolitics. Life in Singapore was rich, professionally dynamic and personally fulfilling. I met Lynn, now my wife. We were building a life.
But as I advanced in my career, my discomfort with traditional wealth management grew. Despite my exposure to institutional finance, I remained deeply skeptical of how wealth was handled by banks, brokers, and advisors. High fees. Low transparency. Conflicts of interest. A transactional relationship masquerading as advice.
The more I spoke with peers, being fellow MBAs, colleagues, successful professionals, the more I realized this wasn’t a personal frustration. It was systemic.
In 2019, I was offered a promotion back to London: a bigger role, more prestige, a fast track to the executive suite. On paper, it was everything a traditional career aspires to.
But it didn’t feel like progress. It felt like a return to something I was ready to leave behind.
My wife and I had chosen Singapore. More importantly, I had chosen a different vision: to create an investment platform that aligned interests, respected capital, and focused on long-term value, without the bureaucracy, opacity, and sales-driven model of traditional finance.
And so, I walked away
I launched Enhanced Value Fund with my own capital, over 80% of my net worth, alongside the support of friends, mentors, and family. These weren’t just investors. They were co-builders. Their backing made it possible to structure EVF in a way that stayed true to its founding values:
And just as importantly: transparency and accessibility. Investors get real-time insight into strategy and positioning. I remain just a message away.
What began at a flower stand has evolved into a fund that serves business owners, financial professionals, and families with significant wealth—people who value alignment, performance, and principle.
I built EVF because I couldn’t find anything like it. If that resonates with you, let’s talk.
