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Grassi Laura

Associate Professor

Laura Grassi is Associate Professor at the Politecnico di Milano, where she specializes in Banking and Fintech, and the Director of the Fintech & Insurtech Observatory. She also serves as the Director of the Executive MBA Evening Program at the Graduate School of Management and acts as the Scientific Director of multiple digital finance master’s programs, collaborating with several financial institutions. Recently, she has joined the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) Banking Stakeholder Group (BSG).

Laura’s research and professional interests lie at the intersection of digital innovation and financial services, focusing on areas such as Fintech, Banking, and Corporate Governance. She plays an active role in fostering the growth of Fintech and Insurtech startups and leads several applied research initiatives. She currently coordinates RISE-IN, a Horizon Europe project aimed at promoting sustainable investments for climate adaptation and urban resilience, and is part o PIISA, a Horizon Europe project on insurability and adaptation to climate change. Throughout her career, Laura has been dedicated to advancing digital transformation in finance, both through her academic leadership and impactful research.

She strongly encourages her students to participate in international competitions, such as the CFA Institute Research Challenge, where they have reached the world finals on numerous occasions (among the five top universities worldwide out of 1,100 participants).

Holding a PhD, MSc, and BSc in Management Engineering, all with honors from the Politecnico di Milano, Laura has published extensively on cutting-edge topics like open finance, decentralized finance (DeFi), and the role of technology in transforming the financial sector.

Career

PHD, cum laude: Management Engineering, Politecnico di Milano.

Master of Science, cum laude: Management Engineering - Finance, Politecnico di Milano.

Bachelor, cum laude: Management Engineering, Politecnico di Milano.

Research

Her main research interest is in innovation and digitalization of the financial industry (Fintech and Insurtech), with a strong focus on strategical implications, business models and valuation, implementing both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Selected Publications

Garitta, C., & Grassi, L. (2025). Predicting break-even in FinTech startups as a signal for success. Finance Research Letters, 74, 106735.


Grassi, Laura (2024). In a world of Open Finance, are customers willing to share data? An analysis of the data-driven insurance business. EURASIAN BUSINESS REVIEW, vol. 1, p. 1-27, ISSN: 1309-4297, doi: 10.1007/s40821-024-00263-w


Fantaccini, Simone, Grassi, Laura, Rampoldi, Andrea (2024). The potential of DAOs for funding and collaborative development in the life sciences. NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY , vol. 42, p. 555-562, ISSN: 1087-0156, doi: 10.1038/s41587-024-02189-0


Grassi L., Lanfranchi D., Faes A., Renga F. M. (2022). Do we still need financial intermediation? The case of decentralized finance – DeFi. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN ACCOUNTING & MANAGEMENT, vol. 19, p. 323-347, ISSN: 1176-6093, doi: 10.1108/QRAM-03-2021-0051


Lanfranchi, Davide, Grassi, Laura (2022). Examining insurance companies’ use of technology for innovation. GENEV A PAPERS ON RISK AND

INSURANCE-ISSUES AND PRACTICE, vol. 47 (3), p. 520-537, ISSN: 1018- 5895, doi: 10.1057/s41288-021-00258-y


Grassi, L, Figini, N, Fedeli, L (2022). How does a data strategy enable customer value? The case of FinTechs and traditional banks under the open finance framework. FINANCIAL INNOV ATION, vol. 8, p. 1-35, ISSN: 2199-4730, doi: 10.1186/s40854-022-00378-x


Grassi, Laura, Fantaccini, Simone (2022). An overview of Fintech applications to solve the puzzle of health care funding: state-of-the-art in medical crowdfunding. FINANCIAL INNOV ATION, vol. 8, p. 1-28, ISSN: 2199-4730, doi: 10.1186/s40854-022-00388-9


Giudici, Giancarlo, Grassi, Laura, Momtaz, Paul P. (2022). SCALING UP THE FINTECH BUSINESS: COMPETITION, REGULATION & DATA

MANAGEMENT. JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS, vol. 121, p. 1-5, ISSN: 0148-6195, doi: 10.1016/j.jeconbus.2022.106085


Grassi, L, Lanfranchi, D (2022). RegTech in public and private sectors: the nexus between data, technology and regulation. ECONOMIA E POLITICA INDUSTRIALE, vol. 49, p. 441-479, ISSN: 0391-2078, doi: 10.1007/s40812- 022-00226-0


Lanfranchi, Davide, Grassi, Laura (2021). Translating technological innovation into efficiency: the case of US public P&C insurance companies. EURASIAN BUSINESS REVIEW, vol. 11, p. 565-585, ISSN: 1309-4297, doi: 10.1007/s40821-021-00189-7


Moretto A., Grassi L., Caniato F., Giorgino M., Ronchi S. (2019). Supply chain finance: From traditional to supply chain credit rating. JOURNAL OF

PURCHASING AND SUPPLY MANAGEMENT, vol. 25, p. 197-217, ISSN: 1478-4092, doi: 10.1016/j.pursup.2018.06.004


F. M. Renga, L. Grassi, N. Snouno (2019). The fintech ecosystem: an Italian perspective. In: (a cura di): N. Bilotta S. Romano, The rise of tech giants - A game changer in global finance and politics. p. 95-106, PETER LANG, ISBN: 9783034338486


Santandrea, Martina, Sironi, Andrea, GRASSI, LAURA, GIORGINO, MARCO (2017). Concentration risk and internal rate of return: Evidence from the infrastructure equity market. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT, vol. 35, p. 241-251, ISSN: 0263-7863, doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.10.011


Community service

  • Director - Executive MBA Evening

Research projects