As ETL GLOBAL marks 10 years of empowering SMEs, attention now turns to the leaders strengthening the network’s presence beyond its original core markets. Riccardo Benussi, Partner at Dezan Shira & Associates, represents that outward reach, with a career that has taken him from Germany and Italy to Shanghai, working directly with companies operating across different legal systems and economic realities, and building bridges between Europe and Asia in day-to-day advisory work.
An Early International Outlook
Riccardo was born in Munich, where he lived until the age of eight, when part of his family then relocated to Italy. From an early age, regular travel and exposure to different cultures formed part of his life, experiences that later informed both his outlook and the direction he chose for himself. “Growing up I remember very frequent trips to see close family members whether in Italy or the US,” he explains. “This packing-traveling-unpacking routine influenced how I came to appreciate the variety the world has to offer. At home several languages were spoken and pictures on the wall and books lying around all hinted at far and near places, experiences and stories.” His father being a patent attorney and his mother with background in biology, made a stimulating environment at home.
When he enrolled at the University of Bologna to study law, that inclination was already guiding his choices. During his studies, he spent a year at the University of Vienna, where he focused on EU law, international law and environmental law. He later continued his academic path at the University of Strasbourg, concentrating on comparative private law. Moving between countries was as significant as the subjects themselves, reinforcing both his interest in different legal systems and his comfort stepping beyond a single national framework. “My cocktail mix of a bloodline says 6 parts Italian, 3 Lithuanian and 1 Spanish because of my ancestry and everyone in the family maybe subconsciously tends to incorporate more cultures and roam the world by default,” he notes.
“But why did Asia become such a predominant trait? First and foremost I owe this to my father: we were discussing my ecstatic experience after spending time with Asians on a summer camp and I challenged him that I would pick up Mandarin as a new language.” So alongside his law degree he started taking classes: “It instantly created a shift, stimulated my brain like nothing else had and it became like a separate track on which I would pour my energy in. Without knowing it would soon take me to the other side of the world in 2005,” he explains.
That growing commitment led him to get involved in study groups on Chinese Law, take on internships on the subject and continue his studies in Mandarin. In 2012 he received a scholarship for a postgraduate course in intellectual property law with a focus on China at Tongji University in Shanghai, where case studies and factory visits connected legal principles to the practical realities of industrial production. “To be able to talk and implement my profession’s skills to a company that is running machines, making things and providing services day in day out, was to me more exciting than the prospects I was seeing around me during my earlier studies,” he says.
Early Professional Experience
His early professional experience unfolded between Europe and China, beginning in Beijing at the Delegation of the European Union to China and later within the EU-China IPR2 programme, where he worked on intellectual property matters at institutional level. That exposure was followed by a deliberate move into private practice. “After a string of internships some of which at G2G institutions like the European Commission’s Outpost for China and Mongolia in Beijing, I switched to the private sector and started at an Italian IP law firm that was really hands on so I was immediately involved in practicalities of counterfeiting and preparing roadmaps for SMEs who were dealing with trademark issues,” he explains.
From Italy he returned to China, first in Beijing and then in Shanghai, gradually expanding from intellectual property into foreign investment advisory. In those early years, he developed a methodical way of handling legal questions that still guides him today. “The field of law requires a structured approach before you can have any fun with it using your creativity, so I believe that is how I approach every inquiry I receive, by destructuring it carefully and seeping it through what can and cannot be done first, and then I add variable approaches. My education, however, was also influenced by cross-country learnings and comparative approaches, so that is what signals in me early on when accepting to tackle a client’s needs.”
As his work placed him consistently in contact with companies operating between Europe and Asia, that structured and comparative mindset remained constant. Larger mandates, more complex coordination and closer interaction with business decision-makers gradually defined his daily practice, creating the professional context in which the next phase of his career would unfold.
Riccardo Benussi during his professional years in Shanghai
Building at Dezan Shira and partnering with ETL GLOBAL
Riccardo Benussi joined Dezan Shira & Associates in 2014 while based in Shanghai. “I was lucky enough to have a very good friend who noticed some of my work-ethics, characteristics and inclinations and he pointed out a vacancy where the job description seemed to be tailored for me and three weeks later, I was in the firm,” he remembers.
Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia professional services firm advising foreign investors on corporate structuring, tax, compliance and international business operations. Since 2015, Dezan Shira has partnered with ETL GLOBAL to deepen the connection between Europe and Asia and enhance the practical handling of mandates involving both markets. Over the years, the firm has become a strong partner within the network, providing on-the-ground expertise across Asian jurisdictions and working closely with ETL GLOBAL’s European member firms on matters requiring cross-border coordination.
Riccardo began as Senior Associate and Italian Desk co-head in Shanghai, working with European companies active in China as well as Chinese businesses engaging with European markets. The responsibilities expanded over time, moving into a managerial role within the International Business Advisory team for the DACH region and the Italian Desk, later becoming Deputy Regional Manager for Business Advisory. In 2020, he relocated to Munich to assume the role of Head of European Business Development, maintaining the same cross-border perspective from a European base. “My role at Dezan Shira & Associates reflects several traits of my career path: knowledge of how to deal with project management, ever-changing regulatory landscapes, exposure to not only professional services but also involvement in industrial ecosystems and dealing every day with multi-cultural and cross-jurisdictional clients and colleagues,” he explains.
As his responsibilities increasingly centred on Europe, the partnership between Dezan Shira & Associates and ETL GLOBAL became even more significant in his daily work. In 2022, that involvement took a more defined form when he joined the Global Board of ETL GLOBAL, the representative body of all network members. In that capacity, he contributes to supporting the work of the Executive Director and participates in discussions on strategic matters within the organisation, bringing practical experience from cross-jurisdictional advisory into conversations where the activities of both structures intersect.
When asked what initially drew him to ETL GLOBAL, he recalls: “The very friendly atmosphere and openness of its members; the geographical coverage and the genuine interest in making connections that last, despite everyone’s tight schedules and pressing commitments.” For Riccardo, maintaining that connection requires constant dialogue, clarity in execution and shared standards. In his role, he works to preserve that alignment, ensuring that collaboration remains practical and engaging rather than merely formal.
Riccardo Benussi at the 2024 ETL GLOBAL Conference in Rome
Looking Ahead
When asked how he sees the industry today and in the years to come, he points first to technology. “I see more technology every day via waves of digitisation in public and private fields, heaps of AI-driven initiatives and tools which connect us to our clients like never before, bringing advantages and challenges.” This acceleration, he notes, is changing how advisory teams operate internally and how decisions are taken across jurisdictions. “Artificial intelligence will continue to affect productivity and workflows,” he says, “but professional judgment and the human traits like empathy and touch will remain central. Unfortunately it is also giving us a very clear sign of how meritocracy is giving way to mediocrity with very liberal use of AI in the workspace.”
Against that backdrop, he is clear about where his own focus lies: “At this stage of my career I need to double down on two major tracks: staying close to our clients and improving data analysis to make fast and sound decisions for my team and myself.” Strengthening analytical capabilities and decision-making processes is part of preparing his team for a more data-driven environment. At the same time, he sees growth beyond his immediate structure. “My other goal would be to have more colleagues in Europe that can keep educating business partners and clients about doing business with Asia.”
Alongside his advisory responsibilities, he remains engaged in teaching, delivering specialised modules on taxation, mobility and regulatory matters related to China within the Master in Global Management for China, and serving as Guest Lecturer at Università Bocconi, where he addresses legal and business aspects of operating in and with Asia. “It is always stimulating to discuss practical issues in an academic setting,” he remarks, particularly when discussions move from theory to real scenarios encountered in practice.
That commitment to sharing practical experience connects directly with his advice to younger professionals. “Never stop learning and travel as much as possible to get contaminated in real-time with what practice looks like after theory.” Exposure to different environments, he believes, sharpens judgment in ways that formal learning alone cannot.
That same openness to learning and exchange is also what he hopes will continue to define ETL GLOBAL’s development. “The sky is the limit as long as the values I’ve witnessed so far in ETL GLOBAL stay the same: speed, thoroughness, candor and a good mood.”
