The was conferred honorary master's degree in Management Engineering to the Chef Executive Officer of the Intesa Sanpaolo banking group, Charles Messina. The delivery of the degree diploma to the new engineer was carried out by the Rector of the Polytechnic, Francesco Cupertino. The CEO celebrated the academic recognition with a keynote entitled "A new South for tomorrow's Italy and the role of Intesa Sanpaolo for growth and cohesion".
The extraordinary potential of the South
"We must accelerate the growth of the South and I think this is the time to invest heavily in these territories: we are convinced that the acceleration of growth in the South will benefit the whole country in multiples of the investment that is made".
“The South is an area that is positioned between Spain and Slovakia, in terms of the size of the industry, therefore, we are talking about a territory with a very significant industrial component and with talents that are absolutely of the highest level throughout the our country".
“We as Italy benefit from the supply chain element… We have to attract companies that operate in Northern Europe or, in any case, in Northern Italy, because by making investments in the South, they will derive a benefit, whether it is supply chain or immediate”.
“I say to young people that investing as much as possible in their territories is an absolute priority, and if we really have to imagine that young people move outside our territory, they should go to Europe to occupy positions of responsibility. And also to ensure that our interests are looked after in Europe: this will translate into a benefit for our country".
The role of the South in the Mediterranean
“Southern Italy will increasingly represent a central hub in the new geopolitics of the world. I don't think there will be no more globalization, but we must undoubtedly imagine that there are elements of regionalization in globalization, they must be imagined…territories within which this development of relations with everyone else in the world can find greater concentration and that of the Mediterranean, in particular of Southern Italy, I think is a natural point of connection”.
“The Mediterranean will become increasingly strategic as a large contact area between Asia, Africa and Europe and a privileged basin for Short Sea Shipping. The South, assuming the role of logistic and energy bridge between Europe and North Africa, from "periphery" can become "centre" of economic processes".
"Developing renewables and hydrogen is the way to strengthen economic cooperation with North Africa where, also in this area, the role of the South can be a strategic bridge between Europe and the South Mediterranean".
Tourism: a hidden mine of the South
“The real challenge must be to focus on the “Tourism-Culture-Agro-food” triangle, which can guarantee greater added value and greater international attractiveness”.
“Tourism is an absolute strength, but if you compare it with other territories, they have more contribution from tourism than the south of Italy, Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily… So, the need to create opportunities, which are just 'come and go to the sea', but you create a link between tourism, culture, gastronomy, not to mention with the highest segments”.
Intesa Sanpaolo in the South
“We are the most important bank in the South in terms of size, expertise and ability to be close to companies”.
"We supported the production growth of the South, with particular reference to the local fabric of SMEs, disbursing around €2022 billion of loans during the first half of 3 with particular attention to Agribusiness and Tourism, two of the leading sectors of the South" .
