About Us

Who we are

The Team

When deciding to open my own agency, I brought on board some of the best people I’d met along the way, people who shared his same passion and commitment, who enjoyed their work, and who demonstrated the highest level of talent and competency in their roles as team members and thorough professionals.

Advisors

The outstanding features of our advisors—some of the most respected persons in their fields—are their long proven skills, their knowledge and their personal attitudes. They happen to share a common characteristic with us at our agency: a passionate joy and zeal for the work they do.

Curriculum Vitae

Education: University of Parma, Law Master Degree, 1973

MARKETING, PROMOTION & COMMUNICATION
1986 〉Marketing & P.R., Marathon of Venice
1993 〉European Consultant, NBA 3-on-3
1987-93 〉European BB Marketing and Promotion Manager, Converse Europe, London, UK

I was in charge of European promotion of basketball shoes, the core business of the Company. My tasks were to renew the image of the Company in the basketball world, to tie the Company to the top International organizations, events and teams, to identify new area of sales and markets, as well as to work on communication and public relations. I started with five digits budget and when I left the budget had seven digits. Here the list of the results: sponsorship of FIBA, the International Federation, FIBA referees, and all the top European finals for Clubs and National teams, sponsorship of Split Team, three time European Champion and twice runner-up of the McDonald’s NBA Open Tournament, sponsorship of WABC, the World Basketball Coaches Association, coaches clinics all over the Europe, and also in China and Argentina, the 3-on-3 Tour in Italy, Spain and France, and NBA Official Camps and Clinics all over the Europe. I am extremely well connected with every level of basketball, particularly in Europe and USA, but also in the rest of the world, and I developed a great sport marketing promotion and events’ organization experience.

1993-95 〉Giorgio Gandolfi & Associates, Sport Marketing Co.
1995-1998 〉Teams Sport Director, Media Sport & Arts, Leading Italian Sport Marketing Company (among the clients, Juventus F.C. Soccer, Division I Basketball League, top Companies such as Nestlè, Luxottica, Henkel)
1998-2001 〉Consultant – Marketing & Communication, Italian Ice Sports Federation – Marketing & Promotion, Italian Basketball Federation, Rome
1999-2001 〉Lecturer of Sport Marketing at the European Schools of Economics, Bologna and Rome
2002-2005 〉Project Director of 4 International Sport Marketing and Event Management Seminars with Prof. William Sutton, South Florida University
2007-2009 〉Special Contributor sport marketing book: Contemporary Sport Management”, Human Kinetics, Champaign IL, USA
2008-2010 〉Consultant of the President of the Armani Jeans-Olimpia Milan, the Giorgio Armani team, and special projects coordinator
2010-2011 〉Marketing Consultant for Italy for the Madison Square Garden, New York, USA
2011 〉to present Founder & Principal Giorgio Gandolfi, Sport Marketing, Events & Communication Agency
2012 〉Special Contributor sport marketing book: “Sport Marketing”, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, USA

INTERNATIONAL SPORT MARKETING SEMINARS
2004 〉Organizer “Giganti del Basket” International Sport Marketing Seminar at Italian Final Eight, Forlì, Italy (with Romy Gai, Juventus FC; Maurizio Gherardini, Benetton; Maurizio Bezzecchi, Italian Basketball League)
2005 〉Organizer “Giganti del Basket” International Sport Marketing Seminar at Italian Final Eight, Forlì, Italy (with Jeff Slack, Inter Milan FC; William Sutton, NBA V.President; Massimo Righi, Italian Volleyball League)
2009 〉Organizer Seminars at University of Brescia, Cremona, and Bari, Italy (with Prof. William Sutton, University of Central Florida)
2010 〉Organizer Seminar at Armani Jeans team Milan, Italy, (with Prof. William Sutton, University of Central Florida)
2014 〉Organizer Seminar University of Bologna Business School, Bologna, Italy, (with Chris D’Orso, NBA Orlando Magic; Maurizio Mazzieri, Toyota; Pietro Basciano Italian Basketball League, Giorgio Prodi, University of Bologna)
2015 〉Organizer Seminar University of Bologna Business School, Bologna, Italy (with William Sutton, University of South Florida; Massimo Righi Italian Volleyball League, and Flavio Portaluppi, Armani Milan team)
2016 〉Organizer Seminar University of Bologna Business School, Bologna, Italy, (Lou de Paoli, NY Mets, Stew Mison,
Microsoft Sports; Michele Romano, Sport TV Producer, Eduard Scott, Euroleague; Gianluca Baiesi, Fiorentina AC)

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
2014 & 2016 〉International Sport Convention: Organizer International Basketball Conference, Geneva, Switzerland

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY INTERNATIONAL EVENT
2015 〉Promoter and organizer of the International event for the European Community Sport Week, Pesaro, Italy. We were one of the only 5 events selected and funded (out of 78 proposals from all over the Europe) by the European Community: a social, educational, and sport event with teams and seminars’ speakers from 8 European countries.

INTERNATIONAL CAMPS & GAMES
1979 〉Promoter “USA All Star Basketball Camp”, Cremona (Italy) Coordinator “NBA All Star Game,” Milan & Bologna
1980 〉Director “NBA Basketball Camp,” Cremona (first ever NBA camp in the world) Coordinator “NBA All Star Game,” Milan & Naples
1981 〉Coordinator “NBA Selection Game,” Milan (a team with Julius “Doc. J” Erving, and Moses Malone)
1982-86 〉European Consultant NBA Coaches Association for camps & clinics
1987-93 〉Organizer Converse NBA & WABC camps & clinics in Germany, Spain, Italy, France,  Hungary, China, Argentina
2006〉Promoter and Director “Vanoli Camp”, Cremona, Italy (with Kevin Sutton, Montverde Academy High School & NIKE Skills Academy Instructor)
Promoter “Carloforte Camp”, Carloforte, Italy (with Raphael Chillious, assistant coach Waghington University & NIKE Skills Academy Instructor)
2007 〉Promoter FIVE-STAR Camp S.Margherita Ligure, Italy, (with Kevin Sutton, Montverde Academy, 2007 N.1 High School in the USA & NIKE Skills Academy Instructor)
Promoter FIVE-STAR Camp Carloforte, Italy (with Dave Adkins, assistant coach DeMatha High School)
2008 〉Promoter FIVE-STAR Camp S.Margherita Ligure, Italy, (with David Brown, Instructor Five-Star Camps)
Promoter FIVE-STAR Camp Carloforte, Italy (with John Pigatti,head coach, Suburban College, Chicago, and Five-Star Camps Instructor)
2009-10 〉Promoter FIVE-STAR Camp Carloforte, Italy, (with Kevin Sutton, head coach Montverde Academy, and assistant coach USA National team Under 17 World Champion)

INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL CLINICS

2008 〉Organizer and Director International Coaches Clinic Giganti del Basket, Lodi, Italy (with Pat Sullivan, NBA Detroit Pistons, & Rich Dalatri, NBA New Jersey Nets)
2010 〉Organizer and Director, Sardinia International Coaches Clinic, Cagliari, Italy (with Ettore Messina, Real Madrid; Rich Dalatri, NBA N.J.Nets, & Kevin Sutton, Montverde Academy, and Assistant Coach USA U17 National team World Champion)
2011 〉Organizer and Director, with the Italian BB Federation, of the International Coaches Clinic, Pesaro, Italy (450 coaches from abroad – USA, Australia, Spain, Ireland, UK, Israel, France, Germany, Serbia, Russia, Lebanon, Kuwait – with Lionel Hollins, NBA Memphis Grizzlies; Ettore Messina, NBA Los Angeles Lakers; Don Showalter, USA National team U17  World Champion; Sergio Scariolo, Spanish National team, and Emporio Armani Milan, Dirk Bauermann, German National team)
2012 〉Organizer and Director, with the Italian BB Federation, of the International Youth Level Coaches Clinic, Cremona, Italy (260 coaches, with Aito, one of the top five European and Spanish coach, and Ganon Baker, one of the top USA skills coach); Organizer and Director with the Italian BB Federation, of the International  Coaches Clinic, Rimini, Italy (over 400 coaches from Italy and abroad – with Ettore Messina, CSKA Moscow; Xavi Pascual, Barcelona; Steve Robinson, University of North Carolina; Kevin Boyle, Montverde Academy, 2011 N. 1 High Scool in the USA)
2013 〉 Organizer and Director with the Italian BB Federation of two International Youth Level Coaches Clinics in Milan and Rome, (over 500 coaches from Italy and abroad), and one international Coaches Clinic in Pesaro (400 Italian and foreign coaches  with Omer Ugurata U16 Turkish national team European Champion, Borja Comenge, Barcelona, Jasmin Repesa, Croatian National team, Lawrence Frank, NJ Nets NBA,  Mike Dunlap, NBA coach, and Italian  National teams coaches)
2014 〉 Organizer and Director of Euroleague Final Four International Clinic, Milan, Italy (with Simone Pianigiani, Head Coach of Italian National Team; Brian Hill, former NBA; Juan Antonio Orenga, Head Coach Spanish National Team, Jasmin Repesa, Croatian National Team Head Coach)
2015 〉 Organizer and Director of Euroleague Final Four International Clinic, Madrid, Spain (with Igor Kokoskov, NBA Utah Jazz, Sito Alonso, Bilbao; Luca Banchi, Armani Milan,  Terry Porter, former NBA, Fotis Katzikaris, Greek National Team)
2016 〉 Organizer and Director of Euroleague Final Four International  Clinic, Berlin, Germany (with Sergio Scariolo, Spanish National Team; Mike Brown, NBA Golden State Warriors, John Patrick, Ludwisburg); Organizer Euroleague China Tour International Clinic, Chengdu, (with Lionel Hollins,  former NBA, Luca Banchi, former Armani Milan, and Xavi Pascual, former Barcelona)
2017 〉 Organizer Euroleague China International Coaches Clinic in Xiamen (with Frank Vitucci, former Fiat Turin; Juan Antonio Orenga, former Spanish National team, and Dejian Radonjic, former Red Star Belgrade)

INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT
2014 〉“Euro Hoop Tournament”, Pesaro, Italy, (with Barcelona, CSKA Moscow, Bologna and Pesaro)

FEDERATIONS CONSULTANT & ADVISOR
2014 〉Kuwait and Oman Basketball Federations overall improvement plan consultant & advisor

JOURNALISM
1976-1986 〉Senior writer “Giganti del Basket”, Milan
I was in charge of American and international basketball, travelling, above all, in the USA, and also in Europe. I covered many collegiate and NBA games, All Star Games and finals.
1981-1983 〉Editor technical magazine “Coach”, Milan (Italy)
1983-1984 〉Special guest sport newspapers “Il Corriere dello Sport”, Rome (Italy) – “La Gazzetta dello Sport”, Milan (Italy)
1984-1987 〉Special guest magazine “Maxi Basket”, Le Mans (France)
1983-1985 〉Collaborator magazine “International Basketball”, Budapest (Hungary)
1984 〉Editor “Converse International Yearbook”, Wilmington,  MA, USA – Consultant magazine “Sports Illustrated”, New York (USA), Olympic Games special issue
1986-1988 〉Collaborator magazine “Superbasket”, Milan (Italy)
2000-2010 〉Director, Giganti del Basket magazine, and Events Coordinator, Bologna (Italy)
2002-2010 〉Editor–in-Chief, FIBA Assist Magazine, the Official Technical Publication of the International Basketball Federation, Geneve (Switzerland)
2007-2008 〉Collaborator newspaper Il Sole 24 ore Sport, Milan (Italy)

PUBBLICATIONS
1980 〉“I grandi del basket”, Sperling & Kupfer, Milan, Italy
1983 〉“Il mondo dei pro”, Forte Editore, Milan
1984 〉“American football”, Forte Editore, Milan “Gli dei del basket”, Sperling & Kupfer, Milan “Manuale di football americano”, Forte Editore, Milan
1985 〉“NBA Official Guide”, Forte Editore, Milan “Basketball Encyclopedia”, Rizzoli Editore, Milan
1986 〉“NBA Coaches Handbook”, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (USA) “Kareem-Abdul Jabbar”, Forte Editore, Milan
1987 〉 “Hoops” with NBA Players Association, McGraw-Hill Co., New York, NY (USA) – two editions
2008 〉“NBA Coaches Playbook” with the NBA, and the NBA Coaches Association, Human Kinetics,  IL (USA)
2009 〉“The Complete Book of Offensive Basketball Drills”, McGraw-Hill Co., New York, NY (USA)

TELEVISION and RADIO
1977-1981 〉Collaborator Swiss TV, Lugano (Switzerland)
1977-1981 〉Producer TV  sport program “Sottocanestro,” Telenova, Milan (Italy)
1983-1985 〉Special guest radio program “USA Basketball”, Pesaro (Italy)

COACHING
1974 〉Registered Coach, Italian Basketball Federation
1974-1977 〉Coach Youth Level and Division V Coach, Cremona (Italy)
1978-1984 〉Assistant Coach Division III team, Cremona (Italy)
1984-1985 〉Assistant Coach Div. A2 basketball, Cremona (Italy)
1985-1986 〉Head Coach Div. IV Champion basketball team, Quinzano, Italy
1978-1984 〉President  Cremona Coaches Committee, Italian Basketball Federation