Pierluigi Zappacosta

Pierluigi Zappacosta
Zappacosta in 2008
Born (1950-07-02) July 2, 1950 (age 74)
Chieti, Italy
Alma materSapienza University of Rome (BSc.)
Stanford University (MSc.)
Occupation(s)Businessman, electrical engineer, investor
Known forbeing one of the three founders of Logitech
Children3, including Marco Zappacosta

Pierluigi Zappacosta (born Chieti, Italy, on July 2, 1950) is an Italian businessman, electrical engineer, and investor. He is the chairman of Faro Ventures.[1] He has co-founded, directed, and served on the boards of several prestigious companies, including Logitech and Sierra Sciences.

Career

In 1981, he co-founded the Swiss computer hardware manufacturer and software maker, Logitech[2] (Nasdaq: LOGI) together with Daniel Borel and Giacomo Marini, which went on to become the world's largest manufacturer of computer mice and other personal interface products.[3] Zappacosta served at Logitech for sixteen years, first as president and CEO and later as vice-chairman.[4] He was instrumental in taking the company public in Switzerland in 1988 and on NASDAQ in 1997, raising over $60 million. Whe he left Zappacosta in 1998, sales of Logitech had grown to over $400 million per year.

Zappacosta is also a venture partner with Noventi,[5] and served as CEO at Sierra Sciences,[6] and chairman at Digital Persona, Inc., a company offering software and hardware[7] for identification based on biometrics.[8] He is a member of the board of trustees of the Reason Foundation[9] and the Bruno Leoni Institute.

Education

He received his bachelor's degree (laurea in electrical engineering) from the University of Rome in Italy, graduating cum laude. He later earned his master's degree in computer science from Stanford in 1978.[10]

Personal life

Zappacosta's son, Marco Zappacosta, is a technology entrepreneur who is known as the co-founder and CEO of the unicorn company Thumbtack.[11][12]

Honors

On May 22, 2015, the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, appointed him Cavaliere del Lavoro.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Pierluigi Zappacosta". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  2. ^ "Leadership". CHM. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  3. ^ "UPDATE 1-Logitech shares surge on talk of Microsoft bid". Reuters. 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  4. ^ "pierluigi zappacosta". web.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  5. ^ http://www.noventivc.com/pierluigi_zappacosta.htm Archived 2013-10-13 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "SIERRA SCIENCES STAFF". Sierra Sciences. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  7. ^ "DigitalPersona Inc - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  8. ^ "Crossmatch is now HID Global". HID Global. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  9. ^ Reason Foundation - Frequently Asked Questions Archived 2008-01-31 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "The Hive Group - Operational Treemaps". www.hivegroup.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  11. ^ Townsend, Tess (2015-09-30). "The CEO of the Latest Unicorn Can't Stand the Term 'Unicorn'". Inc.com. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  12. ^ "Italy Has Found a New Young Hero in Silicon Valley: Marco Zappacosta". SAN FRANCISCO, ITALY. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  13. ^ "Zappacosta Cavaliere del lavoro - Regione - il Centro". ilcentro.gelocal.it. Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2024-08-28.


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