Position at IIB, other positions and academic career

Ilaria Gallegati is an Assistant Professor at the Chair of SME Internationalization of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Florian B. Zapkau as of October 2025. She joined the Chair in September 2021 as a Research and Teaching Associate while pursuing her doctoral degree. She defended her doctoral thesis in May 2025 and then graduated in September 2025.

Ilaria Gallegati completed her M.Sc. CEMS MIM degree at the University of Cologne (Germany) with specialization in corporate development. Before, she obtained her B.Sc. in Economics and Management at the University of Trento (Italy). During her studies, she also gained international academic experience in both Turkey (Istanbul University) and Canada (Ivey Business School). Prior to her position at WU, Ilaria Gallegati worked for almost three years as a management consultant in Germany and the UK.

Research interest

Ilaria Gallegati’s doctoral dissertation dealt with the role of institutions in the internationalization of firms with unique corporate governance mechanisms, i.e., small and medium-sized enterprises and family firms. Her research aims to provide a better theoretical and practical understanding of these firms' internationalization decisions. Ilaria Gallegati focuses on quantitative methods, mostly using a multilevel approach.