Annual MBA Mid-Year Event

Davide Iannuzzi (EMBA 2015) is a physicist, entrepreneur, and educator, combining academic insight with practical entrepreneurial experience. He holds a chair in Experimental Physics at the Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam, where he previously served as Chief Impact Officer and currently serves as Vice Dean Research for the Faculty of Science. He has co-authored over 100 publications, secured more than €8 million in research funding, and received multiple awards, including the NWO Physics Valorization Prize.

His entrepreneurial path began in 2006, leading to the co-founding of Optics11 in 2011. This venture evolved into Optics11 (successfully exited) and Optics11Life, employing over 170 people. He also founded the Demonstrator Lab, mentoring over 300 academic entrepreneurs and supporting more than 100 projects that led to startup creation.

Davide actively supports startups and innovation-driven organizations as an advisor and board member. He teaches entrepreneurship based on his book Entrepreneurship for Physicists and is an ICF-certified coach, integrating behavioral science and Positive Intelligence. This interdisciplinary foundation allows him to provide an academically sound, results-oriented experience centered on agile leadership and mental fitness for leaders seeking to align professional impact with core values.

Amit Srivatsa Gorti (MBA 2024) is a senior content strategist and AI systems builder with over 10 years of experience at global enterprises including Adobe and NetApp.

After completing his MBA at TIAS, he joined Solid Optics and built the company's content and marketing function from scratch, introducing AI-assisted workflows that cut content production time in half. With the foundation in place, he made the decision to bet fully on his own venture.

He is the founder of Magic Wand Solutions, an AI and marketing consultancy helping SMEs build smarter content and marketing systems. He holds a Google AI Professional certification and is a registered Claude Partner, actively developing tools in the Google AI ecosystem and Cluade Code.

At the reunion, Amit will speak about founding a business while still studying, growing a role well beyond its original scope, and what the MBA actually teaches you once you are on the ground in the Netherlands.

Alyssa (MBA 2023) is a commercial professional who believes that a career is best built through curiosity and the courage to try new things. With 9 years of experience in sales and business development, she has successfully driven significant revenue growth and expanded business portfolios across various sales channels. Her career has been defined by a willingness to embrace change by successfully moving between different countries, cultures, and industries.

After working with global insurance leaders in the Philippines, Alyssa moved to the Netherlands in 2022 to pursue her MBA. Since then, she has embraced the challenge of reinventing her professional path, transitioning from Insurance into EdTech with Studyportals, and most recently into the global events sector with Informa Markets. For Alyssa, building a life in the Netherlands has been more than just a career change; it has been a process of true integration, from navigating a new corporate culture to becoming proficient in the Dutch language.

Outside of work, Alyssa is a firm believer in the value of community and helping others grow. As a former Toastmasters club President and a two-time champion in the ‘Tall Tales’ speaking competitions, she found her greatest fulfilment in using stories to connect with others and helping people build the confidence to tell their own stories.