In Memory of Claudio Ciborra 1951 - 2005

Tributes to Claudio Ciborra

index to tributes

Page 2

Kalle Lyytinen
Department of Information Systems, Case Western Reserve University, USA
Losing Claudio at an early age is a big loss for our community. I think, only he, with his impeccable Italian style, wits, and the unbearable lightness of his presentations (not lightness in substance) could work through so many contradictions in his work, be such l'enfant terrrible and yet be liked by all. He never let anybody act indifferently towards what he said, nor did he accept indifference but searched for controversy. I have two personal memories which characterize this. In one CSCW conference he insisted on a panel about the fundamental ambiguity of organizational action and strategy. After a long procrastination within a panel about ambiguity John King asked from Claudio what did he EXACTLY mean by ambiguity. Another occasion was when he showed me in the middle of some ICIS conference session a picture of a beautiful white leather sofa in one of the top design magazines, and said proudly that this was his sofa. No one else in the community could have done this with such grace. I miss him.

Gert Jan Hofstede
Wageningen University, Netherlands
For me as an occasional visitor to IS conferences and to LSE it is a great shock to hear that Claudio Ciborra has passed away. He was an original person, one who commanded respect through his thinking, and who made the IS field a credible intellectual enterprise. This is a great loss.

Mariano Errico and family
Naples
Thank you Claudio for continuously pursuing the truth in your job, as in your life, without compromises.

You represent a model for IT and other field researchers.

Your contribution to IT was great because it was conjugated with Social Science and focused on Social life.

Alison Adam
Information Systems Institute, University of Salford, UK
On behalf of my colleagues at the Information Systems Institute at Salford I would like to extend our sincere condolences to Claudio's family and colleagues. It is tragic to lose such a creative colleague as Claudio in the prime of his intellectual powers. He is a great loss to academic life in the UK and internationally.

Chris Sauer
Templeton College, Oxford
I am deeply upset to hear the tragic news of Claudio’s death. I had known him as a colleague for some ten years, first as a co-contributor to a conference panel session, then when he contributed a chapter to a book I edited, and since I became an external examiner for the London School of Economics we have seen each other twice yearly for examination boards. I always looked forward to meeting Claudio for two reasons – because he was always interesting to talk to about the arts – opera, design, fine art - and because he exuded a sense of fun and mischief which resulted in delightfully controversial stances as an academic. I shall miss him especially for his writings. He was the only author in our field whose work I always, always looked forward to reading. My sympathies to all his family and friends.

Justine Johnstone
London Metropolitan University
I am so very sorry to hear about Claudio. That is terribly sad news; he will be very deeply missed.

Omiros D Sarikas
ADMIS Sudent 2000/2001
The news that Claudio is gone left many speechless and in great sorrow. One of the greatest men I had the honour to meet in person is gone.

Claudio's aura, books and rhetoric inspired many. His lectures at LSE were remarkable. So was his strict tone and personality and charisma. A true genious. A demanding leader. A model to aspire to. I still cannot believe that Claudio is gone. It is tragic.

My most sincere sympathies to the department, his colleagues, students and family.

Maha Shaikh
Department of Information Systems, LSE
Claudio was a brilliant man, he was eccentric, interesting, dynamic and very charismatic. He could hold an audience captive and I remember the lectures he gave for Interpretations of Information in a way that I can remember no other. His passion for research and a drive to push IS forward was felt by all that read his work or had the pleasure of meeting him. It seems so strange to think that we will never see him stride in to i-Studio 5 again, hear his laugh, or hear and try to follow his conversation in Italian to Antonio through the walls separating their offices! I had the pleasure of working with him recently and this was such a learning experience. His dedication to his work is reflected in the fact that he was writing papers up to the very last few days of his life. I hope that we get to see his last few unfinished papers because he inspires all with his work and will never be forgotten, both as a wonderful man and a fantastic academic. We miss you Claudio….

Licinio Roque
University of Coimbra, Portugal
It is with immediate nostalgia that we hear of the departure of Claudio Ciborra. Reading his texts frequently marks a turning point for many of us. In tribute, we acknowledge his profound influence and life on our own work.

Jerome Camus
Milan
In a world all too-often characterised by flimsy management education, Claudio's approach was one that gives his students robust mind-expansion.

Ci capiamo...

John Lindsay
Kingston University, UK
Indeed, what a shock. I hope his papers were in good order and someone is about to prepare the bibliography. I had intended to ask him to contribute to the IS Case.

Atta Badii
University of Reading, UK
I am deeply saddened to hear the news about Claudio. It was truly an inspiration for me any time I had the opportunity to hear Claudio talk about issues and challenges facing Information Systems Research. He was a remarkably visionary intellectual. I found him to be a warm and sincere mentor. I had been looking forward to hearing him speak in a forthcoming event.

He will be greatly missed. My thoughts are with his family. Thank you LSE for providing opportunities for UK IS researchers to benefit from his inspiring views first hand.

Benn Konsynski
Emory University
I am shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Claudio Ciborra. Our research community is diminished by the absence of his independent thinking and tenacity. We could always count on Claudio to bring forward an issue on the future of commerce to our discourse - and persist with passion until the issue was addressed. A most unfortuanate loss of a bright and stimulating colleague.

We will miss him.

Chris Westrup
Manchester Business School
Though I knew that Claudio was gravely ill it still comes a a surprise to hear of his death at such an early age. Claudio has made an important contribution to the understanding of information systems where his breadth of learning, his enthusiasm and intellectual rigour, as well as his productivity, leave a legacy that is very important. He is one of a select few who have developed the understanding of IS to include mainstream social science thinking and his example has encouraged many of us to do likewise.

In all my dealings with Claudio I found him sympathetic, interested, and intellectually challenging. I know his death has left a large gap in the teaching and understanding of IS but, more positively, Claudio's constant work with others means that developments drawing on his work and contributions will continue for many years to come.

Jos Aarts
Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Claudio not only inspired IS people but also people working in health care IT. I well remember him giving his keynote lecture at the first International Conference on IT in Health Care, Sociotechnical Approaches in Rotterdam in 2001. At the time he was working on his book 'Labyrinths of Information' and I liked his playing with pictures while talking about 'Krisis', 'Bricolage', 'Gestell', etc. I was a bit disappointed when I did not find back the pictures in the book. I also liked very much his sense of culture and civilization.

Gianna Porciani
Ci sono tante parole ma poche appropriate per scrivere di...Claudio mio grande amico dal 1977 forse nessuno come lui ha saputo perfezionare la sua grande lucidità mentale con la genialità e lo studio trasformando il suo corpo di intellettuale in una capacità sportiva che l'ha portato a attraversare a livelli di primato lo stretto fra Stromboli, isola da lui molto amata, e Strombolicchio. l'ho visto tuffarsi in novembre nel mare del nord con un'energia contagiosa, abbiamo condiviso l'amore anche per l'Olanda e la Norvegia.

Il ricordo del suo humour mi impedisce di essere retorica, ma con poche persone come con lui ho sentito la curiosità delle scoperte della mente e la dolcezza di amicizie condivise, la continuità, non sbandierando mai i suoi successi. Ha viaggiato moltissimo ma alla fine aveva scelto di tornare a Milano per un pò quando nonostante la sua forza ha dovuto perdere un'unica battaglia
in questo momento è difficile immaginare perchè non sia successo un miracolo ma comunque la vita e la presenza di Claudio sono state miracolose

addio grande amico di sempre

PrimaVera Research Group
University of Amsterdam
Claudio Ciborra was also associated with the University of Amsterdam, where he was a regular guest as visiting professor. We will remember him as an unconventional thinker who inspired all of us. We will miss him.

Robert Howard and Leslie Schneider
Newton, Massachusetts
Claudio was a dear friend of our family. Leslie was a colleague of Claudio's in Norway in the early 1980s and a frequent collaborator with him. Bob taught occasionally in Claudio's program at the Theseus Institute and also worked with him on a few projects. But we will remember Claudio mainly for the many vacations we took with him over nearly 20 years: on Cape Cod and on Mount Desert in Maine; at Sea Ranch in California; in the Dolomites, Tuscany, Naples, Sicily, and, of course, his beloved Stromboli, which held a special place in his heart. He knew our children from their birth; they called him "Zio Claudio." At times, Claudio could be stubborn, willful, and difficult. But he knew how to have fun. He had a remarkable (indeed, enviable) sense of freedom. And he shared his passions with extraordinary generosity. At this very sad time, we remember the lines of Montale: "Cerca una maglia rotta nelle rete/che ci stringe, tu balza fuori, fuggi!" ("Look for a flaw in the net that binds us/tight, burst through, break free!")

Liam Bannon
Department of Computer Science & Information Systems, University of Limerick, Ireland.
I first met Claudio almost 20 years ago and while our our paths have crossed only intermittently since then, I have always enjoyed listening to him, reading his articles, and at times arguing with him. He was an original, controversial, and charming man. I particularly remember the stir he created in the audience with a critique of mainstream IS methods in his keynote talk at the ECIS'97 conference in Cork, Ireland. His attire for that occasion, as I recall, was also very striking, a black, collarless suit that made him look a bit like a Jesuit missionary! Certainly, he showed passion and zeal in his words and deeds, and enjoyed attacking conventional " wisdom" in the information systems field. He brought colour, humour, and intellectual depth to the IS community. He will be sadly missed.

Marco Bandini
former student University of Bologna
Ho appreso quasi per caso della scomparsa del prof. Ciborra. Nel 1996 ho avuto il priviliegio di averlo come relatore per la mia tesi, fatta, grazie al suo aiuto, all'interno di FIAT AUTO SPA. Le sue lezioni all'università, alle 8 di mattina, erano una scoperta continua e il suo contributo alla mia crescita, anche professionale, è stato importantissimo.

Un grazie, di nuovo, anche se tardivo. Ci mancherete.

Alessandra Franzini
Thanks to your teaching, many ways were opened in my future.
When we met in London, I was very proud to talk with you about my projects.
Thank you for the chance you gave me.
I will never forget it.

Thomas Serruques
ADMIS student 2000/2001
I remember very well the aura that Professor Claudia Ciborra had about him. As a Professor and head of the IS department but most importantly as a man, he had this natural authority that turned noisy students into quiet and attentive ones. This aura even seemed to affect the other teachers.

On the few occasions I had to meet him in private, he seemed both intimidating and warm. Students I knew respected him. It's impossible to forget the way he spoke in English, with this unmistakable Italian accent. Also, his lecture on "Armani Glasses" also known as "Transaction Cost theory" was a captivating one.

It is a sad thing that he left so soon.

Massimo Signorelli
Italy
Claudio and I were schoolmates from the first elementary school up to the University and our homes were in the same road. I was not surprised when I learned of his wonderful academic career. He was always pushing hard for his goals and had multi-faceted interests, which is not very usual for a "standard" engineer. I last saw him personally about ten years ago, but we exchanged some e-mails last year. So I am really astonished knowing of his sudden death and I want to pay a tribute to him and make my condolances to his brothers, Bruno and Claudio.

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Page last updated 14 December, 2005