Masterclass by Carlo Messina at the University of Padua

The University of Padua has awarded Carlo Messina, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, an honorary degree in Economics and Finance.

At the award ceremony, Carlo Messina gave a masterclass entitled “The economic outlook for Italy and Veneto and the role of Intesa Sanpaolo”, touching the following main points:

• Intesa Sanpaolo today is not just a bank, but a full-fledged institution serving the country that allocates part of its profits to the community. All companies that can do so, should do so.
• Until the positive implications of the use of artificial intelligence become fully clear, we must take it upon ourselves to view the people working at our companies as a value to be protected and ensured a future. New solutions must be invented.
• The latest macroeconomic data depict an Italian economy that is decidedly stronger than the prevailing general opinion of our country.
• The excellent work done by companies during this period has placed Italy in a unique situation: it has the most solid companies in Europe.
• Companies in the Veneto region sharply accelerated their investments in technology and digitalisation, leading to higher productivity, lower costs and improvements in inventory management and innovation and safety processes.

The justification for the award of the academic degree states:

“He is considered one of Europe's leading bankers; the banking group he leads is Italy's largest and among the top five in the Eurozone, with around 94,000 employees in Italy and abroad, more than €430 billion in outstanding loans to companies and households, and €1.3 trillion in financial assets under management and administration. Under his leadership, the Group has expressed a strong ESG commitment, achieving a world-leading position for social impact and environmental focus. Intesa Sanpaolo has also always paid great attention to the university world by supporting research and supporting all students to foster the development of talent."

The honorary academic degree was awarded to Carlo Messina at the suggestion of the “Marco Fanno” Department of Economics and Business Sciences at the University of Padua, which is one of the oldest universities in the world.