Ferdinando Pennarola is Associate Professor of Organization and Management Information Systems at L. Bocconi University, Milano (Italy) and Senior Professor of the Leadership, Organization and Human Resource Management Knowledge Group, SDA Bocconi School of Management. He has earned his doctoral degree in Business Administration at Bocconi University in 1992.

He is currently the Director of the SDA Bocconi School of Management GEMBA (Global Executive MBA) and the Director of the SDA Bocconi Leadership HRM and Digital Technologies Area.

He teaches the following topics: change management and human resource management, management consulting, IT consulting, leadership, business process management and modeling, organization design in both graduate and undergraduate programs at Bocconi University and in several executive education initiatives.

His research appeared on top international journals like: Review of Managerial Science, Journal of Management Education, International Journal of Information Management, Information Systems and E-Business Management, and on books and chapters published by Pearson, Gower, Springer, Emerald.

Since 1987, his main research work is in the field of management information systems and organization studies in service, manufacturing industries and professional service firms where he has published books and articles both in Italy and internationally. 

Dr. Pennarola has been Visiting Assistant Professor at University of Florida Graduate Business School in 1989 (USA), Visiting Lecturer at Insead (France), at Institute d’Administration d’Enterprise (IAE) at University of Aix (France), at London Business School (UK), at HEC Jouy-en-Josas, Visiting Professor at Fudan University Shanghai, Keio University Tokyo and Stern School of Business at NYU.

He is also member of the permanent Faculty of SDA Bocconi Asia Center in Mumbai, India.

In 1993 he joined the Board of Directors of ISBM (International Schools of Business Management), based in London UK, an international consortium of 12 Business Schools that runs the ITP (International Teachers Programme) since 1970s, as a representative of SDA-Bocconi School of Management. From January 2005 to December 2016 Dr. Pennarola was Chairman of the Board of ISBM. He earned his ITP in 1987 from HEC-ISA, Jouy-en-Josas, France. 

He is member of the Editorial Board of Organization (1994 - 2009), and the Journal of E-Business Management (since 2008), leading scientific publication by Sage and Springer, respectively. Dr. Pennarola is affiliated with the US Academy of Management since 1989, the Association of Information Systems, the Italian Academy of Economia Aziendale and the Italian Academy of Organizzazione Aziendale and Member of IT Ais, the Italian Chapter of the Association of Information Systems.

Dr. Pennarola Co-Chaired the 2013 International Conference of Information Systems (ICIS) hosted at Bocconi University. He was member of the AIS Council (Association for Information Systems), from July 2014 to June 2015, the top leadership team that runs the professional association in the world.

He has been consultant to the Italian Government for the development of broadband telecommunication infrastructures and services in Italy, acting as a member of the first Broadband Task Force established in the fall of 2001.