HEC Paris Announces Major Gift from the ION Foundation to Fund the ION Management Science Lab, an Academic Research Lab Focusing on Mentorship's Role in Startups

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.

"I am pleased to support the creation of the ION Management Science Lab at HEC Paris, an initiative dedicated to exploring mentorship’s transformative impact”, says Pignataro, founder and CEO of ION Group and ION Foundation. “HEC Paris is a European leader in entrepreneurship consistently ranked among top business schools for innovation and entrepreneurship. Mentorship is everywhere—driving learning and growth in startups, universities, and businesses of all sizes—and its relevance only intensifies in an age of rapid AI-driven transformation. Through data-driven experimentation and theoretical modeling, we hope to foster the partnerships between academia and industry to propel innovation”.

Eloic Peyrache, Dean of HEC Paris, adds: “At HEC Paris, we believe that mentorship is a cornerstone for the growth of any organization. We are proud to partner with Andrea Pignataro and the ION Foundation in launching the ION Management Science Lab to advance research on the economics of mentorship. This initiative aligns with our commitment to empower individuals through cutting-edge insights that drive impactful change.”

“The generous gift from Andrea Pignataro and ION Foundation to establish the ION Management Science Lab marks a pivotal moment, positioning HEC Paris to become a global leader in the economics of mentorship,” explains Prof. Carlos Serrano, Scientific Director of the Lab. “In an era of rapid AI-driven transformation, we will bridge practice with academic insights to unlock mentorship’s potential in fostering learning and driving growth in startups, corporations, and universities.”

The Lab will closely collaborate with the existing ION Management Science Lab at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy and at University of Utah in Salt Lake City, United States.