SDA Bocconi School of Management has chosen to establish, within the academic sphere, a permanent focus on an issue that is reshaping public and private decision-making: the now structural intertwining of defense and security, economic policy, industry and value chains, finance, and geopolitics. With this ambition, SDA Bocconi has launched SHIELD – Strategic Hub for Integrated Education on Leadership & Defense, the first academic hub in the European Union dedicated to research and strategic analysis of these interconnections, with particular attention to the implications for the national system and for the European and international context.

The public presentation of SHIELD took place on Monday, January 19, 2026, under the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The global order is changing, and defense now means ensuring the continuity of essential services, with repercussions for every aspect of civic life, speakers emphasized during the morning session. Among them were Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who addressed the audience via video message, as did the Chief of Defense Staff, Luciano Antonio Portolano. Present in the room were Deputy Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Edoardo Rixi, the Italian Ambassador to NATO Alessandro Azzoni, Dean Stefano Caselli, SHIELD Director Carlo Altomonte, and Deputy Director Walter Rauti. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto sent a letter of support.

SHIELD was created to move beyond sector-based readings and to reconstruct “the framework” within which leaders and decision-makers now operate: a framework that is no longer a given, but must be rethought because the variables that matter today, such as geopolitical risk, technological vulnerabilities, logistics, energy and finance, mutually influence one another. In this perspective, the center views defense, industry, and financial markets as parts of a single ecosystem, in which industrial decisions and investment choices can rapidly become strategic risks or opportunities for the country and for Europe.

The research agenda takes shape around transformations that are redefining the global order: hybrid threats, the growing centrality of economic security, the fragility of strategic supply chains, the need to strengthen industrial resilience, and the role of finance (public and private) not only as a lever for efficiency, but also as a means of protecting critical assets.

The meeting continued in the afternoon with two panels, “Protection and defense against hybrid threats: finance, industry, and supply chains” and “The global turning point: risks, opportunities, and economic implications for Italy.” In addition to the morning speakers, participants included Wanda Ferro, Undersecretary at the Ministry of the Interior; Stefano Pontecorvo, Chairman of Leonardo; Claudio Cisilino, Executive Vice President of Operations at Fincantieri; Veronica Vecchi, SDA Bocconi; Alessandro Grassano, Italian Defense Staff; Alessandro Nardi, Security Policy Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Ottavio Ricchi, Director General of the Treasury Department at the Ministry of Economy and Finance; Paola Cillo, SDA Bocconi; and Carlo Favero, Bocconi University.

Carlo Altomonte, in particular, delivered a detailed analysis of how and why a model of global governance that had endured since 1989 is changing—a model based on financial markets, secure production inputs (especially energy), and security guaranteed by American power. “For the first time in history,” Altomonte said, “it is the hegemonic power, the architect of the global order, that is pulling back, and it is important to understand why.”

The debate accompanying the launch was brought together, in the closing remarks by Dean Stefano Caselli, around four key words that describe the center’s stance: protection (a concept broader than security), an evidence-based approach, an international dimension, and a holistic vision. In particular, the emphasis on evidence-based outputs work signals the intention to produce analytical tools that are useful for decision-making.

SDA Bocconi School of Management