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Harvey Chaplin Chair in Distribution, Channel & Experience Management

Sandro Castaldo is a Full Professor and Director of the Department of Marketing at Bocconi University, as well as Liaison Officer for the Marketing Department at SDA Bocconi. He serves as President of the Italian Society of Management (SIMA) and President-Elect of the International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management (IFSAM).

He teaches at multiple levels, including graduate and master’s degree programs, post-graduate programs such as the MBA and Executive Masters at SDA Bocconi, as well as executive education programs.

His research interests include omnichannel strategy, e-commerce, trust and distrust, and privacy concerns. He also focuses on vertical relationships in distribution channels, retail management, and consumer purchasing behavior.

He earned a PhD in Business Administration from Bocconi University in 2001.

Sandro Castaldo Bocconi

Joint Purpose

From the partnership between Campari Group and Bocconi University, the Harvey Chaplin Chair in Distribution, Channel & Experience Management was established in 2025. This endowed chair is assigned to Sandro Castaldo, Full Professor in the Department of Marketing at Bocconi, and is named in memory of Harvey R. Chaplin, a pioneer of the U.S. wine and spirits distribution industry, who passed away in 2024.

The Chair aims to conduct research on distribution and partnerships between brands and distributors. It also promotes initiatives dedicated to students enrolled in graduate and master’s programs in marketing.

With the inauguration of the Harvey Chaplin Chair, Bocconi aspires to become a leading observatory on the evolution of distribution channels and consumer experience, in a time when trust is increasingly the true currency in global markets.

 

Core Activities

Research
The main research topics will focus on two key macro-areas within marketing:

  • Analysis of distribution and firms engaged in intermediation and channel management, with the aim of enhancing the customer experience in purchasing and consumption contexts;
  • Analysis of channel partnerships and areas of collaboration between brands and distributors, to be explored primarily through qualitative research approaches (multiple case studies), based on a perspective centered on building mutual trust between industry and distribution—also at the international level—and enhancing the shopper experience.

Students

The Chair will promote initiatives for students enrolled in the Trade Marketing Category Management and Channel Marketing courses within the Master of Science in Marketing Management, as well as in the Trade Marketing and Channel Management course of the MiMeC (Master in Marketing and Communication).

Communication and Dissemination

With the ambition of providing a high-level academic and institutional contribution, the research activities carried out by the Chair and their results will be disseminated and shared with the public, also through participation in seminars and conferences by the Chair holder.