Riccardo Cortese, born in Rome, raised in Campania, and living in Milan since 2001, with a brief stint in London, is an entrepreneur and marketing expert passionate about digital communication. He attended Public Relations and Advertising at IULM University. He is married, has three children, and is passionate about networking, ambitious challenges, cinema, basketball, Napoli football, and above all, food.He participated in the launch of Laundry, Temakinho, and Trita, before founding Foodation, one of the leading multi-brand food retailers in Italy. Foodation includes brands such as Mariù - Italian Gourmet Kebab, Polpa - Burger Trattoria, Macinata - Burger Tailors, Burbee - Artisanal Burger & Beer, and Briscola - Pizza Society, awarded the best pizza chain in Italy in 2019 and featured as a case study at Harvard Business School in 2020.He served as President of the youth group of CONFAPI (Confederation of SMEs) for the metropolitan city of Milan and was part of the national group for web marketing. He has also been an advisor for the IULM Innovation Lab and currently collaborates with the 24Ore Business School. He founded TDU Invest, a holding company specializing in investments in startups within the food sector and Digital Native Vertical Brands (DNVBs).Currently, he is a senior business developer at DILS, an international leader in real estate advisory, with a particular focus on food retail.Professional Experience: • Startup builder/advisor (Food Retail, Food, Digital Native Vertical Brands, Fashion, Online Media, Health) • Marketing strategist (Media planning, Social Media Marketing, Integrated Communication, Brand Identity Development) • Business developer (Real Estate, Food Retail)Goals: • Create value from his ideas • Build innovative projects across industries • Teach ethical values through entrepreneurial initiativesSpecialties: • Design and development of startups in various industries