The 2014 edition of the Italian Busi- ness Summit was held in Rome and The Vatican City, 14 to 16 November 2014. It was hosted by GGI’s Rome-based mem- ber Solutions 4 Business (S4B) with Lucio Fumagalli, organised and led by GGI and S4B by Patricia Giannini, Stefania Turco and Ugo Girardi, CEO of S4B, from the GGI member firm with the same name.
On Friday 14 November, the programme commenced with a visit to the Vatican Secret Archives, an exclusive tour exclusively for guests of the Italian Business Summit, where the prefect of the Vatican allowed us to cross the threshold into the part of the Vatican which is generally private and not accessible to the public. Together with the other guests, Claudio Cocca, President of GGI, was therefore given the chance to wander through the archives, which cover a total length of 85 km and contain documents covering about 1,000 years of world history.
After the archive bunker that had captured the curiosity of the more than 60 guests, they turned their attention to the many frescoes that had been lying hidden away for hundreds of years on walls up to 5 meters high. These included those in the Room of the Winds. They then savoured the breathtaking view of Rome basking in the last rays of a spectacular golden sunset.
The practice groups once again lived up to expectations. The IDR PG, opened by Johan Lange- laar, took place at the Vatican School of Palaeography, where every member had his own personal HD computer workstation. This enabled them to follow the slide presentation of the history lesson on the “Roman Rota” by Dr Enrico Flaiani and the “Roman Rota Today” seminar given by Arlene Rochlin, American attorney, and Patrizia Giannini, S4B partner. The presentations impressed through their vitality and humour.
The ITPG was opened by Alan Rajah at the same secret archives. Then a young and energetic Marta Testi from the Italian Stock Exchange captivated the room for over 40 minutes. This was followed by Antonio Boccia of Baldi and Partners, a new member of GGI, with two interesting presentations on the ELITE project and the AIM segment of the Italian Stock Exchange, part of the London Stock Exchange. Emanuele Rizzardi ended the ITPG with a presentation on “Web Reputation” accompanied by a closing speech from the unequalled orator, Lucius Fumagalli, from S4B. To view the official reports, please visit http://www.IBSummit.it.
The evening ended with a simple but delicious Neapolitan meal of Caprese, during which new relationships were established, in keeping with the true forte of GGI members and events.
The Italian Business Summit 2014, held at Palazzo Baldassini on Saturday 15 November, started with the opening speech from GGI President Claudio Cocca. The many speakers were of considerable importance for the Italian Piazza. The Assocamerestero, the association of the Italian Chambers of Commerce outside the country, is calling on investments in not just the mainstream Italian markets, but also in niche sectors, that are less prominent but nonetheless pro- ductive and successful. These markets supply unsurpassed products, operating in line with the philosophy of “machinery made in Italy means design efficiency and quality”.
Following this was the presentation by Indra, the Spanish corporation and international giant in communications that told its own story of how it has strengthened investment in Italy for the next few years.
After a light lunch at the Zafferino restaurant, the afternoon session opened with presentations by new recruits, SaveTheCut and young Italian entrepreneurs who, despite the possibility of working abroad, decided instead to establish their headquarters in Italy. The theme was the changing communications market, with some hilarious examples. The whole audience was absorbed by the new information.
The Italian Business Summit ended with a talk by Valerio Capello, of Back- Rome, and Luigi Caracciolo, of Iventure Group, explaining the new dynamics of investment research, a different angle on business in Italy. The beautiful building from 1300 in which the dinner was held is worthy of mention, but so too is the fun had by approximately 50 professionals in a nightclub in the heart of Rome, where they danced to house remix music.
At 9:30 am on Sunday, 25 guests attended the teambuilding exercise, which was as unexpected as it was fun. In spring-like weather, the three teams went in search
of the Holy Grail, enthusiastically getting involved in the picturesque setting of Castel Sant’Angelo. Ultimately, the team of Clan Templar sol- diers, comprising a Swiss/ Mongol/Danish/Italian army, scored an unforgettable victory, beating their competitors to devour all the treats in the baskets, overcoming fountains and bridges, beating assassins and secret agents, trusting in mute Templars and even weird pizzas.
To conclude, Italian Busi- ness Summit 2014 was everything GGI expected.
A warm greeting also from Federico Grossi, who looks forward to welcoming many of you at the IBS 2015 in Florence.
GGI | Geneva Group International 