CCi — About

About CCi International Consulting

I've spent 20+ years
inside the Italian
healthcare industry.

Not as a consultant advising from outside. As the person in the room — negotiating with procurement, building KOL networks, running sales teams, making country-level decisions.

I know where the deals are made and where they fall apart. I founded CCi in 2019 because I kept seeing the same pattern: international companies with excellent products, losing time and money in Italy because they didn't have the right guide.

Let's talk Explore solutions

Clodio Caiola — Founder, CCi International Consulting

Clodio Caiola Founder & Managing Director

MBA Bocconi Ex Bolton Medical Ex Microport

The story

Built from the inside out.

I started my career on the ground — managing hospital accounts, training sales reps, attending procedures with surgeons. I understood early that in Italian healthcare, trust is built face to face, and relationships take years to develop properly.

After more than a decade as Sales Director and Country Manager at Bolton Medical and Microport, I had seen what worked and what didn't. International companies with technically superior products were failing not because of regulation or price — but because they underestimated the depth of local knowledge required.

"The Italian market rewards those who arrive prepared. Most companies learn this the hard way. You don't have to."

In 2018 I completed my MBA at Bocconi and confirmed what I already knew: there was a gap in the market for a boutique consultancy that combined strategic depth with real field execution. In 2019, CCi International Consulting was born.

Today CCi works with a select number of international companies at a time — by design. Every engagement gets direct attention, field presence, and accountability to results.

Career path

20+ years. Built relationship by relationship.

Early career

Sales Representative — Italian Healthcare

Ground-level experience across hospital accounts, operating theatres and procurement. Built the foundation of a network that still matters today.

2000s

Sales Director — Medical Device

Built and managed national sales teams across Italy. Developed distribution networks in cardiovascular, vascular and high-tech healthcare.

2010–2018

Country Manager & Global Sales Director

Led Italian operations for Bolton Medical and Microport. Opened new geographies. Built direct relationships with leading KOLs in cardiovascular and vascular surgery across Italy's major IRCCS.

2018

MBA — Bocconi University, Milan

Strategic and financial management. Confirmed the decision to go independent and build a consultancy that operates differently.

2019 — Today

Founder — CCi International Consulting

Helping international MedTech companies navigate the Italian market. Strategy, execution, and hands-on results — with a small, carefully selected client roster.

The method

Four phases. Clear accountability. You own the result.

Assess

Deep market and product analysis. We identify the real obstacles — regulatory, commercial, relational — before you invest a single euro in field execution.

Design

A tailored entry strategy: distribution model, KOL mapping, procurement pathways, reimbursement route, realistic timeline and milestones.

Execute

We go in the field. Meetings, negotiations, sales team support, tender preparation, distributor management. Full accountability to agreed targets.

Transfer

Documented relationships, processes and playbooks transferred to your permanent team. You own the market — not just the first contracts.

Why CCi

What makes this different from every other consultancy.

A network built over 20 years — not a database

Direct relationships with vascular surgeons, procurement directors, hospital administrators and KOLs across Italy's leading IRCCS and regional medical centers. These are not contacts — they are relationships built procedure by procedure, meeting by meeting.

Covering: cardiovascular, vascular, orthopaedics, diagnostics and more

Execution, not just strategy

CCi doesn't hand you a roadmap and step back. We stay in the field — attending clinical demonstrations, joining distributor calls, sitting in on tender preparation. If there is work to be done, we do it with you.

Field presence from day one of every engagement

Boutique by design

We work with a deliberately small number of clients at a time. That means your project gets Clodio's direct personal attention — not a junior analyst's report with his name on the cover.

Limited client roster · Direct founder involvement

Deep regulatory and procurement knowledge

BDNM registration, CND product codes, SSN gare, LEA tariffs, EUDAMED, MDR compliance timelines — we navigate Italy's procurement system from the inside, with the same fluency we bring to the clinical side.

From CE marking to first SSN contract

International perspective, local execution

Having worked with companies from the USA, Netherlands, France, Japan, Israel, Brazil and Switzerland, CCi understands both sides of the table — the expectations of international headquarters and the realities of the Italian market.

10+ countries of origin across CCi clients

New: Market Entry Funding

From 2025, CCi offers access to dedicated financial solutions through a leading international partner — integrating strategy, execution and financing at the same table for companies where budget is part of the challenge.

Strategy + execution + finance — one engagement

References

From colleagues and clients

"Clodio is both a great General Manager and a great person. He has a strong vision about the High Tech and Life Saving Medical Healthcare field derived from more than twenty years old working experience. He has a strong track record for building the business in new geographies and creating development opportunities for the employees that report to him. It has been a pleasure to work with him."

Enrico Giubertoni Senior Executive · Bolton Medical

"Clodio is a very pro active manager who it has been a pleasure to work with over recent years. His approach to job situations has been to listen and then act. This is so important when dealing with companies with differing needs in different countries. Clodio is a great team builder with a special focus on objectives and goals. Fianly is very important says that Clodio is a reliable person/manager."

Vittorio Quagliotti Executive · International MedTech

Ready to start?

If you're planning to enter Italy, let's talk before you make the first move.

Most companies reach out after realizing Italy is more complex than expected. An exploratory call commits no one — but it might save you 6 months and considerable budget.

Schedule a free 30-min call

I've spent 20+ yearsinside the Italianhealthcare industry.