I'm Luca. I call the San Francisco Bay Area home.

I like to design software, build things with my hands and make music.

I call myself a product leader, though that's really just an umbrella term for the mix of design, engineering, and business work I've done over the years. I started as a designer who could code, which turned out to be useful — I've spent most of my career being the person who translates between what customers need, what the business wants, and what's actually buildable.

I've worked at Google, Meta, and LinkedIn on platforms that touch billions in revenue, and before that I helped build a handful of analytics startups, three of which got acquired. These days I'm focused on AI — specifically, helping companies figure out how to turn "we need AI" into something that actually works and makes money.

How I got here

I grew up in northern Italy — Torino first, then a small town called Casale Monferrato, where we make wine and rice. My mom ran a high-end deli with fierce discipline; my dad was an accountant with ADHD. I got his scattered mind and her drive.

I studied computer science but found it too theoretical. On the last day to apply for study abroad, I decided to try for Sweden on a whim. Came in fifth for four spots, so I ended up in Madrid instead. Spain changed everything — I loved the practical approach so much I went back before graduating. Took a two-week gig as a graphic designer, showed them I could code, and got pushed into leadership before I really knew what that meant.

I met my wife in a Madrid bar during a soccer match. She was American, one week into her year abroad. We started talking and never stopped. Marriage was our path to California — I landed in 2007.

While waiting for my green card, I discovered product management through Ken Norton's famous essay. That was the job I'd been looking for without knowing it existed. I cut my teeth at agencies, then startups — Sencha, Metamarkets (where I have some patents), DataPad, Treasure Data. Three acquisitions later, I moved into bigger roles: VP at FarmLogs, then LinkedIn, Meta, and Google Cloud.

When I first landed in the Bay Area, I didn't know anyone. So I started UX Eye, a design community that grew to about 2,500 members — my way of building the network I didn't have.

Outside of work

Dad. Coach the robotics team at my kids' school, the coolest job I've ever had. I make the occasional side project when something interests me enough.