Founder and President of the Scientific Committee and Labcom, Edoardo Teodoro Brioschi was a Professor of Corporate Communication Economics and Techniques at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. Since 1965, he collaborated with Professor Mario Apollonio, founder of the Higher School of Social Communications, and began teaching the Doctrine and Techniques of Advertising in 1971/72. Starting in 1980, he held Italy’s first university chair in Advertising Economics and Techniques, a discipline he pioneered. He extended his teaching to the university’s Piacenza campus in 1993/94, adding courses in Milan later. In 2005, he was honored with the ‘Charles H. Sandage Award for Teaching Excellence’ from the American Academy of Advertising.

Rossella Gambetti is Professor of Branding and Consumer Culture at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan (Italy) where she is also Director of the International Postgraduate Master in Corporate Communication & Branding. Rossella is an interpretive scholar and an expert in netnography whose research and teaching tackle topics such as influencer and creator culture, technocultural branding and technocultural consumption, and evolving consumer collectives in the era of internet participatory culture. Rossella has been conducting several netnographic explorations in the social media worlds of amateurial chefs, virtual and pet influencers, brand activism and brand hijack, consumer counter-cultures and consumer resistance. Rossella is also a Research Fellow of the Jayne and Hans Hufschmid Chair of Strategic Public Relations and Business Communication at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and serves as the secretary of the Association for Netnographic Research. Rossella has authored and co-authored several methodological essays on netnography and her research has been published in journals such as Marketing Theory, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Management, California Management Review, Futures, Culture and Organization.

Silvia Biraghi, Ph.D. is Associate Professor at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and Research Associate at Labcom, where she explores the intersections of consumer culture, communication, branding, and technosociality. Her academic journey has taken her to Boston University Department of Mass Communication, Advertising and PR, as well as the Medill School at Northwestern University, where she was a visiting scholar. A specialist in qualitative and interpretive research methodologies, she has a deep expertise in netnography, consumer collectives, and consumer-brand interactions. As an educator, Silvia teaches Corporate Communication & Branding, Brand Management & Innovation, and Omnichannel Management, and she also coordinates postgraduate programs in Markets & Corporate Strategies and Corporate Communication & Branding. Her work has been published in leading academic journals, including Marketing Theory, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Product & Brand Management, and Futures, where she has explored topics ranging from brand activism, digital consumer cultures, and technosocial dynamics.

Angela A. Beccanulli, PhD, is a Post-doc Researcher and Adjunct Professor of consumer culture and branding at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan), as well as a Labcom research fellow since 2018. With prior experience in international and national communication agencies, her work focuses on object-consumer relationships, technology, tourism, and cultural branding. A former visiting scholar at USI – Università della Svizzera Italiana, she contributes to UNESCO projects. At Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, she teaches courses in consumer behavior, brand communication, and management in art and tourism, and serves as a tutor for the International Postgraduate Master in Corporate Communication.

Stefania Micaela Vitulli is a creative consultant, journalist, drama critic, and playwright. An adjunct professor at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, she teaches Corporate Communication & Branding, Sustainability Communication, Personal Branding, and Advertising Management. A Labcom research fellow and Senior Tutor at the Master in Corporate Communication & Branding, she co-authored CEO Branding nella Reputation Economy (Egea, 2021) and has published on green communication, sustainability, and reputation. She also holds a diploma in Buddhist Philosophy from the Dalai Lama Nalanda University, New Delhi. Branding.

Alessandro Martello is an Adjunct Professor of Brand Management and a Scientific Committee Board Member for the International Master’s in Corporate Communication & Branding at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan. After starting his career at an Italian bank in Munich, he became International Marketing and Export Director at a German FMCG firm in Düsseldorf. In 2014, he founded Italian Brand Factory, a startup accelerator specializing in open innovation.

André Luiz Vieira Soares, PhD, is a Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, and a member of Labcom. He has held visiting roles at universities in Spain and Portugal. His research focuses on sustainable technology adoption, marketing, branding, reputation, organizational behavior, and tourism management, with an emphasis on consumption and virtual platforms.