About me

Federica Pinelli holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and MBA from Columbia, an MSc in Economics from University of London, Birkbeck College, London, UK, and a bachelor’s degree in law from Universita’ Cattolica in Milan, Italy. Prior to her Ph.D. Federica started her career at Hewlett Packard in Milan where she trained as both a private and corporate lawyer before joining Goldman Sachs where she worked for thirteen years. During her tenure at Goldman Sachs, she held several positions both in London and New York and focused mainly on transaction services and people management. She led several strategic efforts to increase trades processing management and automation, and performance improvement. She was the Chief of Staff for Commodities and Currency Operations across US, Europe, and Asia at Goldman Sachs for three years before joining the Columbia Graduate School.

Federica’s research primarily centers on the concept of shared understanding and mutual agreement, studying the processes leading to its formation and examining the consequential impact for society and organizations. She has developed two intersecting streams of research. The first stream of research delves into the process of co-creating common understandings or shared reality. Here, she studies how active engagement, open communication, and collaborative problem-solving converge, even amidst conflict, to forge shared realities with others. Her research reveals how such a process leads to heightened psychological well-being and fosters higher quality relationships within both close circles and organizational structures. In her parallel line of research, Federica investigates the repercussions of such co-created understanding on individual perceptions of truth, specifically within the diversity, equity, and inclusion context. She explores the interaction between shared views, individuals’ pre-existing goals, and beliefs, thereby widening the understanding of the dynamics and efforts associated to this critical area.