Tourists flock to the region of Liguria in Italy for the area’s natural beauty. Nestled against the Mediterranean at the northern tip of the Italian boot, Liguria boasts the Cinque Terre, a string of five picturesque fishing towns connected by idyllic hiking trails.
But according to Marco Bucci, Liguria is rich in another resource: tech talent. Bucci, who is running for mayor of Liguria’s biggest city, Genova, joined Mike Montgomery and Jeff Capaccio, of counsel at Silicon Valley law firm Carr & Ferrell, a member of CALinnovates’* Advisory Board and the founder of the Silicon Valley Italian Executive Council to talk about the potential for the region.
Bucci believes that by reducing taxes, better marketing Liguria and utilizing best practices from Silicon Valley, he can help turn Genova into an Italian tech hub.
The region has home-grown potential with academic institutions as home to the Italian Institute of Technology and the University of Genova which has an excellent engineering program. The trick will be getting students from those schools to stay in the area and avoid the brain drain that has affected the area for far too long, according to Bucci. Bucci says that will be one of his top priorities if elected.
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*CALinnovates does not endorse candidates.