Italian business leaders urge collaboration to boost innovation

John Elkann, CEO of Exor, has called for a more collaborative innovation ecosystem in Italy. Speaking at the Wave event in Turin, Elkann emphasized that while Italy possesses significant talent and entrepreneurial drive, the country must recreate the successful model of industrial districts where competition and collaboration coexist to drive growth.

Elkann highlighted the need for Italian businesses to adopt an international perspective from their inception, treating the world as a single playing field. He identified Turin as a potential hub for sectors such as space, robotics, and health. Vento, Exor’s venture capital fund, aims to accelerate this process, with a goal of supporting 1,000 companies over the next decade.

In a separate effort to bolster national competitiveness, a position paper was presented at the Italian Senate involving 60 major companies. The document outlines five priorities for the upcoming budget law, including improving regulatory quality, administrative capacity, and skill development. The initiative, which involved the American Chamber of Commerce, seeks to attract investment by simplifying bureaucracy and fostering dialogue between businesses and institutions in strategic sectors like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and healthcare.