Giacomo Bagarella

Director

Giacomo advises governments, businesses, and non-profits on creating thriving places, cities, and economies through technology and innovation.

As part of his work in HR&A’s Urban Technology and Innovation practice, Giacomo has tested, iterated, and deployed a financial technology solution to help gig workers access unemployment benefits, including supporting the client’s Congressional testimony on this topic; assessed an urban tech accelerator’s influence on the global urban tech ecosystem and its economic, social, and environmental impacts to inform how the program should continue to evolve; supported a regional, cross-sector partnership in winning a $63 million federal grant for a regional robotics and artificial intelligence cluster in Western Pennsylvania;  and developed a strategy to partner with real estate owners and developers for a leading mobility technology company.

Giacomo has also advised clients through real estate market and development analyses, developing and deploying workforce programs and technologies, and proposing financially sustainable models for both retail and commercial public banks. His clients span universities, foundations, government entities, and nonprofits throughout the United States and the world.

Before joining HR&A, Giacomo crafted and implemented technology strategies at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security. There, he led a project to reimagine the Commonwealth’s delivery of unemployment benefits and workforce services. At EOTSS, he also worked closely with Massachusetts’s Chief Digital Officer to scale the Digital Service team and to launch the new state website Mass.gov. Previously, Giacomo served as an Urban Fellow in the New York City government and was a member of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Emerging Technology Policy Network.

Giacomo has a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University and a Master of Public Administration – Master in Public Policy dual degree with distinction from the London School of Economics (U.K.) and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (Singapore). His work has been published in academic journals, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Foreign Policy, and an Italian newspaper. He also regularly writes about policy, technology, and international affairs on his Medium blog, The Envoy.