HEC Paris Creates a New Research Lab on Mentorship's Role in Startups With the Support of ION Foundation

On January 08, 2025, HEC Paris Business School and the HEC Foundation have announced a 10 million Euro gift from ION Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Italian entrepreneur Andrea Pignataro, to establish the ION Management Science Lab within the Deep Tech Center at the HEC Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute.

The Academic Research Lab will focus on mentorship's role in startups, mid-sized firms, large enterprises, universities, and NGOs while studying selection, matching, interaction methods, and incentives. It will collect and analyze data to understand mentorship's impact on performance and innovation, bridging academia, industry, and non-profits while disseminating actionable insights.

Thomas Astebro and Carlos Serrano, both Professors of Entrepreneurship at HEC Paris, will serve respectively as Executive Director and Scientific Director of the Lab.

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