Sara De Masi earned her Master Degree in Management and Business Administration at the University of Florence. In 2011 she got her Ph.D. in Economics, Markets and Institutions at IMT – Institute for Advanced Studies, one of the top post-graduated schools in Italy. Between 2010 and 2014 she joined New York University, Leonard Stern School of Business where she studied as a visiting Ph.D. student and a post-doc researcher. She is the author of numerous papers on strategic management and corporate governance. Her research interests include innovation, firm growth, academic spin-off, regulated companies, business and government relations, executive compensation, and board composition. Some of her papers are: Competitive strategies and innovation in academic spin-off (2014); Innovation and firm growth among different institutional frameworks and corporate governance systems (2013); Incentive compensation and incentive regulation: Empirical evidence (2014); and Independent directors: are they really effective or just a myth? (2014). Sara has worked as a strategic consultant for many institutions and business organizations. Currently, she teaches “International Business” and “Government and Business Relations” at Kent State University Florence and “Corporate Governance” at University of Florence.