Dr Alessandro Merendino joined the Centre for Business in Society as Research Assistant in January 2015. He completed his PhD in Business Economics and Management at the University of Ferrara (Italy) and his Master’s Degree (cum laude and honours) in Business and Management at the Faculty of Economics (University of Ferrara, Italy). Dr Merendino’s PhD thesis had a special focus on accounting and corporate governance and the purpose was to measure and quantify the relationship between the board of directors and performance of listed companies. He is also Chartered Accountant and Internal Auditor. He was teaching assistant for courses in ‘Operational Accounting’ and ‘Financial Accounting’ at the University of Ferrara (Italy) and he is Professor at USAC (United States Abroad Consortium), i.e. a consortium of US universities for courses in ‘Global Economics’, ‘Comparative Economic Systems’ and ‘Economic and Political Institutions of EU’. He was trainee accountant and trainee accountant auditor during which time he analysed financial statements, accounting and financial ratios, and corporate governance compliance. He has collaborated in an Italian consulting firm where he experience different kinds of roles (e.g. consulting, financial statement analysis, etc.). He is also visiting research fellow at Cass Business School City University London (UK).

Area of Expertise:

Corporate Governance, the Board of Directors, Top Management Team, Big Data, Listed Companies, Mega Yacht Sector, Accounting and Firm Performance

My research interests lie in the area of corporate governance, the board of directors, the mega yacht sector, CSR and corporate finance. In particular, I am interested to study how corporate governance, and the board of directors, its mechanisms and processes could affect firm performance and interactions among stakeholders. Corporate governance, including the board of directors, has become one of the central issues in the running of company, due to worldwide and rapid change in environmental conditions. I plan to expand research on corporate social responsibility in Europe. Furthermore, another of my research topics is the mega yacht sector and its ‘anti-cyclical nature’. Future research may deal with relations among luxury sectors (e.g. the jewellery one) and how board mechanisms perform on such niche markets.