Energy boosts, record inflation and rate hikes: these are the elements that dominate the scene on the financial markets in this first part of the year marked by war in Ukraine. A 2022 that has brought back among investors thenightmare of the spread, a variable increasingly feared due to the risks to the national recovery. But behind the economic emergencies and the flight from risk that have weighed down the prices of even the large international digital giants, the market's attention to the most innovative companies, which look to the future, remains intact. But who are the most innovative CEOs of Borsa Italiana who have not only drawn competitive advantages in their business from the culture of innovation, but have made it a distinctive feature of growth by placing them more at the shelter from volatility of the Stock Exchanges?
To identify them, it is enough to cross-reference the answers from the price lists with the analyzes of the initiatives linked to innovation and the statistics on the digital presence with the coherent themes collected by operators such as Reputation Science. Let's see who they are.
Rizzante and Iervolino: between innovative consultancy and digital media
Starting from the sectors most linked to the world of technological innovation, we find Tatiana Rizzante, CEO Reply. The Turin-based company focused on IT systems is one of the stars of the Italian stock market with a performance of 121% from the lows of March 2020, which has now become the outpost of innovation also in areas such as robotics, blockchain and web 3.0.
Another emerging protagonist among the innovators, less known on the Stock Exchange but highly esteemed among investors, is Daniel Iervolino, founder of the tech company Multiversity which controls the Pegasus and Mercatorum telematic university, then sold to the private equity fund CVC for 1 billion euros before buying Salernitana football and the weekly magazine l'Espresso.
Venturini and Elkann: beyond tradition
The ability to diversify and the willingness to step outside the traditional rails are two common characteristics of the new innovative CEOs of Piazza Affari. Characteristics he has proven to have too Francesco Venturini, CEO of Enel X. Under his leadership, the Enel division has built innovation at 360 degrees, focusing for example on payments, mobility and business systems.
Same approach he's having too John Elkann in the complex transition path of the family colossus into a new business dimension that completely overcomes the dependence on the car. To do this, the Agnelli heir transformed Exor into a real pool of skills that also attracts talent in fields such as publishing, sport, luxury, health care and investments. The return of the market was not long in coming: since March 2020, Elkann's Exor has gained more than 60%.
Among the most innovative CEOs Mossa with Banca Generali
Innovation, however, also involves one of the more traditional sectors such as that of financial services. Here the eyes are focused on more recent fintech realities such as Satispay or Nexi in payments, or on new business models such as Corrado Passera's Illimity in corporate loans or more consolidated for years such as the Fineco for the digital banking. But also on Isybank, the new digital bank of Banca Intesa Sanpaolo by Carlo Messina. Alongside companies engaged in transactional activities, new frontier concepts of open banking are also emerging. This is the case of Banca Generali led by Gian Maria Mossa which he transformed the private banking business by making it leave the offices and making it a real hub of platforms and services capable of enhancing human capital. The subsidiary of Leone di Trieste has created a "open" model which combines digital skills for management, the wealth management, bitcoin or trading platforms. This activism has earned a recognition of 64% of Banca Generali stock since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 with a surge in profits that have brought an average return of 6% per year on coupons alone to shareholders' pockets.
