Pierluigi Zappacosta (born

Chieti Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. ...

, Italy, on July 2, 1950) is an Italian businessman and chairman of Faro Ventures. He has co-founded, directed, and served on the boards of several prestigious companies, including

Logitech Logitech International S.A. ( ; often shortened to Logi) is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of computer peripherals and software, with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Newark, California. The company has offices throughout Europe, ...

and

Sierra Sciences Sierra Sciences, LLC is a biotechnology company founded by William H. Andrews, former director of molecular biology at Geron Corporation. Andrews founded Sierra Sciences in 1999 in Reno, Nevada with the goal of preventing and/or reversing cellu ...

Career

In 1981, he co-founded

(Nasdaq: LOGI) together with

Daniel Borel Daniel Borel (born 14 February 1950) is a Swiss businessman and co-founder of technology firm Logitech. Education In 1973, Daniel Borel earned an engineering degree in Physics from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, ...

and Giacomo Marini, which went on to become the world's largest manufacturer of

computer mice A computer mouse (plural mice, sometimes mouses) is a hand-held pointing device that detects two-dimensional space, two-dimensional motion relative to a surface. This motion is typically translated into the motion of a pointer (user interface ...

and other personal interface products. Zappacosta served at Logitech for sixteen years, first as president and CEO and later as vice-chairman. He was instrumental in taking the company public in Switzerland in 1988 and on NASDAQ in 1997, raising over $60 million. By the time Zappacosta left in 1998, sales of Logitech had risen to over $400 million per year. Zappacosta is also a venture partner with

Noventi Noventi Ventures is a venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that h ...

, and served as CEO at

., and chairman at Digital Persona, Inc., a company offering software and hardware for identification based on biometrics. He also sits on the board of trustees of the

Reason Foundation The Reason Foundation is an American libertarian think tank that was founded in 1978. The foundation publishes the magazine ''Reason''. Based in Los Angeles, California, it is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. According to its web site, the f ...

and of the

Bruno Leoni Institute The Bruno Leoni Institute, named after philosopher and scholar Bruno Leoni, is an Italian libertarian think-tank promoting classical liberal ideas in Italy and in Europe. It was founded in 2003 by three libertarian scholars Carlo Lottieri, A ...

Education

He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

(''

laurea In Italy, the ''laurea'' is the main post-secondary academic degree. The name originally referred literally to the laurel wreath, since ancient times a sign of honor and now worn by Italian students right after their official graduation ceremony ...

'' in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

) from the University of Rome in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, graduating ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

''. He earned his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in computer science from Stanford in 1978.

Personal life

Zappacosta's son, Marco Zappacosta, is the co-founder and CEO of the unicorn company

Thumbtack A drawing pin (in British English) or thumb tack (in North American English) is a short nail or pin used to fasten items to a wall or board for display and intended to be inserted by hand, usually using the thumb. A variety of names is used ...

References

1950 births Living people People from Chieti American computer businesspeople Italian businesspeople American chief executives of manufacturing companies Venture capitalists 20th-century American businesspeople {{italy-business-bio-stub