DATE
19 June 2026
4:00 – 6:00 pm
VENUE
MIB Trieste School of Management
FORMAT
In person.
In Italian.
AI, complex geopolitical scenarios, industrial competitiveness and growth prospects for Italy and Europe were at the centre of the Stakeholder Meeting of MIB Trieste School of Management, held at Palazzo Ferdinandeo.
The event is a traditional opportunity for dialogue between the School’s governance and its community, aimed at strengthening relations with members, partners and stakeholders, sharing perspectives, and gathering valuable insights to help guide the future strategic choices of the business school.
The meeting was opened by Vladimir Nanut, CEO of MIB Trieste School of Management, who recalled the value of the initiative as “a moment of meeting and discussion on economic and managerial issues of key interest” and an opportunity for dialogue with members and stakeholders.
The guest speaker was Enrico Tomaso Cucchiani, former Chairman and CEO of Allianz S.p.A., Board Member of Allianz SE, former CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo and former President of MIB Trieste School of Management. He is currently Chairman of Open Fiber and serves on several Boards of Directors in the academic and industrial sectors.
In his talk, titled “Strategic choices in times of AI and complex global scenarios”, Cucchiani analysed the profound shift taking place in international balances, focusing on the transition from a context based on stability and multilateralism to one increasingly marked by uncertainty, power relations and technological competition.
“We have moved from risk to uncertainty, from stability to instability,” Cucchiani noted, “from multilateralism to bilateralism, and from the rule of law to the force that now shapes everything.”
This scenario poses new challenges for Europe, which is facing the loss of some key economic and geopolitical reference points, as well as the evolving role of China in the global industrial and technological landscape.
“In this global context, Europe has lost fundamental certainties such as the American defence umbrella, low-cost Russian gas and the Chinese export market, with China having turned from a partner into an industrial and technological giant capable of threatening our industries.”
A central part of the talk focused on Italy and on the levers needed to relaunch its growth: the adoption of artificial intelligence in companies, increased investment in research and development, lower energy costs, the mobilisation of private savings towards infrastructure and domestic enterprises, and the removal of bureaucratic barriers that slow down investment and development.
“Italy, in particular, is facing a growth deficit compared to the European average. If we do not want to make our deindustrialisation irreversible, we must use precise levers to grow: we must fully embrace artificial intelligence and new technologies, reduce the cost of energy by decoupling it from gas, mobilise our ‘oil’ - that is, the large pool of private savings - to finance internal development, and remove the brake of bureaucracy. As has always been the case throughout history, progress is not something to reject: it must be embraced, and we must ride it before others do.”
The issues raised were subsequently explored in a discussion session with Andrea Tracogna, Dean of MIB Trieste School of Management, and Francesco Venier, Dean for Executive Education of the School, who joined as discussants.
The meeting concluded with a Q&A session with the audience, confirming the value of this appointment as a space for dialogue between the School and its stakeholder community.
