Mid-August, my holiday I don't know you. Long highway lines, crowded beaches and mountains are not for everyone and not just for economic reasons. There are worlds that never disconnect, such as that of finance and the markets, not to mention hospitals and basic public services. And then there's the Internet which today keeps us all always interconnected: even on August XNUMXth. But in other times, in the second half of the last century, there were also those who made work in the heart of summer one of their distinctive traits: the most famous was certainly Enrico Cuccia, legendary president of Mediobanca, which never took off, not even under August XNUMXth. The reasons for his taste for work even on the hottest days of the year are explained in this interview with FIRSTonline by one of his closest collaborators, Fulvio Coltorti, director of the prestigious Mediobanca research office for many years.
FIRSTonline – The image of the king of Italian finance of the late twentieth century, Enrico Cuccia, who even in August, in a deserted and sunny Milan, crossed Piazza della Scala in perfect solitude and a little bent over to go to his office in Mediobanca even when the Italy was by the sea or in the mountains is now a legend, but why did Cuccia love to work even in mid-August?
COLTORTI – Passion moved him. Enrico Cuccia was a great worker and infinitely loved his job and his Mediobanca. For him, working was not a chore but a pleasure and for him August was a month like any other. That's why he never took off. As in the rest of the year, also in August he arrived on foot very early in Mediobanca, then went to mass in the Duomo or San Babila and around eight he returned to his sober office in via Filodrammatici to stay there the whole day. In the evening Vincenzo Maranghi, his most precious collaborator and his successor, drove him home.
FIRSTonline – But did Cuccia never go on holiday?
COLTORTI – Real holidays Cuccia didn't do any. At the weekend he went with his family to his home in Meina on Lake Maggiore or, more rarely, to Tuscany with friends. He had frequented the sea as a boy in Fano in the Marche region, but then I think he has never been there again. Sometimes, but rarely in the summer, he would go to Paris or London for a couple of days, where he liked to look for rare and old books, which were another of his passions, even as a tribute to his friends. Unlike many university professors, he never even went to the many prestigious international conferences to which he was invited especially in the summer. His world consisted only of home, family, mass, work and Mediobanca.
FIRSTonline – Many of Cuccia's financial projects (from Montedison to Supergemina to Bi-Invest) were conceived right in the heart of summer: beyond the habits of life, mid-August and the surrounding area was also the most suitable moment for Cuccia to embark on new financial transactions and catch everyone off guard?
COLTORTI – Yes, it was certainly no coincidence that many of his projects were born around August XNUMXth. For at least three reasons. Firstly because there were fewer people in the city and in the offices and fewer phone calls and it was easier for Cuccia to concentrate on the projects that were closest to his heart. Secondly, because, necessarily having to involve entrepreneurs and financial directors, in the summer there was still a small audience of people who somehow learned of his plans and therefore the risk of insider trading, which at the time was not regulated by law was reduced and it was easier to defend confidentiality. Thirdly, the summer also played in favor of the surprise effect both with regard to business competition and the market and journalists, to shelter from whom in Cuccia's time curious expedients and even a secret tunnel were used in Mediobanca.
FIRSTonline – A secret tunnel?
COLTORTI – Yes. Designed to safely transfer valuables between two bank buildings, it was also a way to secure the bank from prying eyes and ears. There was restricted access to the building in Piazza Paolo Ferrari, home to the Accademia dei Filodrammatici and some subsidiary companies of Mediobanca. It led to the building in via Filodrammatici without resorting to the main entrance. But Cuccia's confidential interlocutors were also let in from Piazzetta Bossi, at the back of Mediobanca, so as not to attract attention. For Cuccia, confidentiality was an absolute must in business and life in Mediobanca was monastic. Even going out to the bar to have a coffee was sipped.
FIRSTonline – Did Cuccia work alone in mid-August or did he demand that his closest collaborators assist him as well?
COLTORTI – Mediobanca's general staff was all delivered even in the heart of summer. There wasn't an August without Maranghi and the main executives of that time around Cuccia, Silvio Salteri, Sandro Lentati, Diego Galletta, Giovanni Ameli and a few others. At most they took a few days off, but it happened that they were urgently called back to work. Anyone who had thought of going on vacation in August was as if he put himself out of the game and gave up on a career. In Cuccia's time, Mediobanca was much more than a job, it was an absolute commitment and the families of top executives got over it.
FIRSTonline – At the time you were the director of the legendary Mediobanca research office wanted by Cuccia: in August could you go on vacation or did you also stay alongside Cuccia?
COLTORTI – I stayed, I stayed. Also because the research office was busy preparing the materials for the Mediobanca shareholders' meeting: the preparation of the financial statements of the main Italian companies and the notes and insights that Cuccia asked me to write the report to the shareholders' meeting. This was held on 28 October (date maintained to this day, except that it occurs on a Sunday), also because the bank closed its balance sheet on 30 June, unique among the Italian institutions which instead had to close on 31 December. At the meeting, then, Cuccia always wanted to distribute to the shareholders some publications that were real working tools for those who worked in the world of finance (eg Indices and data and the Calepino, still very popular today).
FIRSTonline – So, no holidays in August?
COLTORTI – I was taking a few days in September. I understand that today it may seem like a bizarre situation, but back then none of us led a social life and giving up holidays in August didn't seem like a great sacrifice compared to the prestige of working in the temple of Italian capitalism alongside an incomparable character like Enrico Cuccia.
FIRSTonline – Doctor Coltorti, can you tell us some anecdotes from Cuccia's August?
COLTORTI – Above all, one impressed me that made everyone suffer a bit: Cuccia didn't feel the heat and didn't want air conditioning, the best he allowed himself was a half-open window in his office and none of us had the courage to ask for a little refreshment. I let you imagine what it meant for him to work in a suit and tie without air conditioning, even in mid-August.
FIRSTonline – After Cuccia, has Mediobanca kept up the habit of working even during mid-August?
COLTORTI – No, after Cuccia and Maranghi everything changed. Unless special situations arise, holidays are freely available and anyone who is present in the Mediobanca offices these days will benefit from the air conditioning. But no one will ever stop regretting Enrico Cuccia.
