Italy’s Entrepreneurial Families Need Governance

Ideas for Growth by SDA Bocconi - La Repubblica

General Management & Leadership Strategy & Entrepreneurship

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Italy's family businesses are on the brink of the most significant generational transition ever experienced, and the succession will only succeed if supported by adequate managerialization, said Alessandro Minichilli, Director of the Corporate Governance Lab at SDA Bocconi School of Management, during the second debate of the Ideas for Growth series, organized in collaboration with La Repubblica Affari&Finanza, which tackled the managerial transition topic.

However, managerialization does not simply mean hiring external managers but building governance that allows managers to operate with the right delegation and appropriate control by the shareholders.

Managers are crucial for three aspects, clarified Minichilli: “The method, as they manage to introduce processes that are not natural, accountability, and the variety of experience. Capital alone does not drive growth; ideas are needed, and these come either from entrepreneurs or the managerial class.”

It is not even necessary for managers to be external. “Good governance also helps clarify the potential of family managers: if selected for their competence, family managers turn out to be even better because they combine the motivation of ownership with professional skills.”

In the dialogue with the director of Affari&Finanza, Walter Galbiati, Marica Campilongo, Head of Large Corporates at Unicredit, expressed the conviction, supported by research data, that “the best governance is one that includes a board of directors rather than a single CEO. There is a need for age diversification and the presence of women.”

“While the presence of women on Italian boards of directors is now satisfactory,” clarified Professor Minichilli, “unfortunately, the same cannot yet be said for executive committees and senior management.”

Carlo Luzzatto, CEO and General Manager of RINA, emphasized the importance of knowledge and purpose: “There is no sustainable business growth without the growth of the people who work there. In the workplace, five generations coexist, and today the youngest immediately ask us what our mission is.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE DEBATE (in Italian)

SDA Bocconi School of Management

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24 October 2025