The tour of Italy of the Forbes Excellences, which started in March from Florence and will touch ten Italian regions throughout 2024, made a stop in Emilia-Romagna. The initiative aims to talk about Italian excellences which are not only food, wine and typical products but also other Italian excellences ranging from technology to energy, from healthcare to welfare, from industry to professions. The event was held in the spectacular Ruote da Sogno showroom in Reggio Emilia, an evocative and multifunctional environment, enriched by the display of over 500 racing motorbikes and 200 cars from the most prestigious brands.
“Telling the excellence of this country and emphasizing Italian pride” announces the director of Forbes, Alessandro Mauro Rossi, who kicked off the event by calling the CEO of BFC Media, Nicola, on stage for institutional greetings. Formichella, who wanted to reiterate that the aim of the project is to “Reward the people who make Italian companies great but also highlight when this happens in institutions. Networking”; the President of Unindustria of Reggio Emilia, Roberta Anceschi, wanted to affirm the strength of the territory “From this land starts a model of responsible business that aims at the well-being of the territory and at creating important value in textiles, plastics and mechatronics”; the President of the Emilia Chamber of Commerce, Stefano Landi, who underlined the importance of local businesses “with Parma and Piacenza there are 130 thousand registered businesses and 500 thousand employees. A turnover that is the second in terms of volume in Italy.”
The Mayor of Reggio Emilia, Luca Vecchi, also took part in the meeting and underlined the enormous importance that quality events like this one organized by Forbes represent not only for the city but for the whole country.
In the first panel, “Motor excellence”, Andrea Pontremoli, CEO of Dallara, spoke and evoked touching memories of the great historical protagonists with whom he worked: from Enzo Ferrari who introduced him to the world of sports cars to Lamborghini up to the ‘chassis of Penelope’ on which the 60 women of Dallara worked; Francesca Paola, CEO Dino Paoli, the first woman to lead a Formula One company which is the backbone of global Made in Italy motoring.
The meeting continued with the speech of Ivano Ferrarini, CEO of Conad Centro Nord who highlighted the numbers that make Conad great “but also a policy of attention to people, which interprets technological innovation in the name of quality”.
With Forbes journalist Enzo Argante, therefore, I travel among the protagonists of the circular economy. From the energy industry (with Annalisa Stupenengo, CEO of Landi Renzo, who spoke about the role of energy players) to the recovery of materials and the assets of the Circular Economy Competence Center with the Emilia Romagna Region which Andrea Grillenzoni, President of Garc, spoke about also of the BLab Foundation which brings together and supports Italian BCorp companies.
The last “Focus Startup” panel, coordinated by Enzo Argante, opened with the testimony of Ledi Halilaj, Unità Start Cup Art-Er Emilia Romagna, dedicated to startups and aspiring entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas on the regional scenario followed by speech by Fausto Mazzali, president of the Rei Foundation (which manages Tecnopolo di Reggio Emilia; Tech-Up Accelerator; Digital Automation Lab, digitalization and process automation) who presented some startups that revolve around the platform: Refuel Solutions with Marco Di Mola, Co– founder and COO, biodiesel for heavy vehicles; Proteso with Stefano Toxiri, CEO, deep-tech specialized in motorized exoskeletons that reduce fatigue and pain in workers; SIEve with Yuri Serra, ceo and cto who develops modular filters for the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater; Protein Italy with Giovanni Turchetti, Head of R&D who breeds soldier flies for the production of organic pet food. Alessandro Annovi, Strategy and innovation manager and head of Cirfood District (research and innovation center that designs and tests new solutions in the field of nutrition and food service) presented: Hector with Riccardo Busetto ceo and founder, collaborative robot that supports the staff of cooking in carrying out operations; Krill Design with Martina Lamperti ceo and co-founder, a solution that gives life back to organic by-products of the food industry; CargoFul with Filippo Tamburini CEO and co-founder, smart logistics software solution that helps optimize operations.
Closing the proceedings was the speech by Andrea Notari, Corporate Venture Capital & Open Innovation Manager Credem who spoke about the role of the Bank in innovation processes and Officine Credem, the new headquarters of the Credem Group in the Innovation Park of Reggio Emilia.
At the end, the usual networking cocktail moment to exchange ideas and create relationships.
Next stop of Forbes Italian Excellence on June 5th in Bergamo.
