Corporate Finance & M&A
Royal Bank of Canada, COFILP – Banca Popolare di Novara, SOFIPA – Mediocredito Centrale and Banco Santander. Experience in corporate banking, acquisitions, divestments, privatisations and international transactions.
DGD Consultants · Personal advisory brand
Davide G. Dalbon
Corporate Development
Cross-Border Business Experience, including Middle East/Africa
I work with entrepreneurs when they are considering a strategic move and want an independent and experienced perspective before deciding what to do.
I work with entrepreneurs to assess the original idea, explore the alternatives and decide which route makes the most sense for the chosen goal.
Once the direction is clear, I work to transform the chosen option into a concrete project and take it through to execution.
When to involve me
Before a major commitment becomes a fixed route.
When you are considering an acquisition, but have not yet decided whether buying is the right route.
When you want to enter a new market and need to assess whether to build, acquire or partner.
When you are evaluating a new venture or investment before committing significant resources.
When an opportunity has emerged, but you are not yet sure whether it is worth pursuing or how to approach it.
How I work
The objective comes before the original idea.
A project often starts with an idea: acquire a competitor, enter a new market, find a partner or develop a new business.
The first question is not how to execute that idea. It is whether that is the best way to achieve the underlying business objective.
I work with the entrepreneur and management team to assess the original idea, understand the relevant variables and explore realistic alternatives.
If the idea stands up to the analysis, we develop it. If it does not, we look for another route. Sometimes the right conclusion is not to proceed.
Once the direction is clear, the decision is transformed into a concrete process and taken through execution.
I do not replace management or specialist advisers. Management knows the business better than I do, while legal, tax, financial and technical expertise is brought into the project when required.
My job is not to be right. It is to make sure the right questions have been asked before a decision is made.
Perspective
Experience from both sides of the table.
I have spent most of my career working on decisions and projects that sit outside a company's ordinary course of business.
My background includes corporate banking, M&A and privatisations, greenfield project development, renewable energy, investor and partner search, company management and entrepreneurship.
I have worked as a banker and adviser, but also as a project developer, General Manager, CEO, shareholder and entrepreneur.
That means I have experienced decisions from both sides of the table: the side of the person providing advice and the side of the person who has to decide — and then manage the consequences.
My cross-border experience developed initially across Europe and, more recently, has expanded to the Middle East and Africa.
Selected experience
A career across advisory, development and management.
Building Projects & Businesses
Development of greenfield wind and hydroelectric projects in Italy, including project development, permitting, partner search and subsequent disposals to industrial operators.
Management & Entrepreneurship
Operational start-up and management of Campus Certosa, followed by the development of the project that led to In-Domus. Co-founder, shareholder and CEO of In-Domus, managing Campus Certosa and the launch of Campus Monneret.
Recent Cross-Border Activity
Since 2023, advisory work involving technology and media ventures, African mining projects, investor searches and cross-border precious-metals transactions involving Africa, the Middle East and international counterparties.
Working together
Defined first phase. Clear decision. Execution only when it makes sense.
An engagement would normally start with a defined assessment phase: understanding the company, the entrepreneur's objective, the project, the market and the available alternatives.
The objective is to reach a decision that is sufficiently structured to be executed.
If the decision is to proceed, the project moves into an execution phase, with scope and remuneration agreed according to the nature of the assignment.
Contact
A conversation usually comes first.
Before documents, models and presentations, I prefer to understand the entrepreneur, the company and what they are trying to achieve.
An hour of conversation can often provide more useful information than a hundred pages of material.
Davide G. Dalbon
Corporate Development