Paolo Cuccia, the Alumnus Promoting the Italy of Cuisine and Art Around the World

THE CEO OF GAMBERO ROSSO AND PRESIDENT OF ARTRIBUNE TELLS HOW HE PROMOTES THE COUNTRY'S AREA OF EXCELLENCE

As chief executive, he got ACEA, the City of Rome's water and energy utility company, listed on the stock exchange. He then went back to work in finance, which he left just before the crisis because he saw its growing detachment from the real economy. In 2010, Paolo Cuccia became Chairman and CEO of Gambero Rosso and, almost at the same time, founded Artribune, of which he is President. 2007 Bocconi Alumnus of the Year, this manager has been active on many fronts and today he is Leader of the BAA Rome Chapter.
 
You were at ACEA between 1998 and 2003; what kind of experience was it as a civil servant?
 
A complex but beautiful experience. During the period I was at the helm, we turned it into a publicly-traded corporation and made it grow a lot. Above all, it was a first-hand experience of the relationship between politics and business. The task of the former should be to set the rules and control their enforcement, not do business. In the past the entrepreneurial state might have had its function, but today it is an insane concept. After ACEA I returned to finance, and became Corporate Executive Vice President of ABN AMRO and Vice President of Capitalia. After all, my career, thanks to my MBA from Bocconi SDA School of Managment, had started at Citicorp. The difference between the growth experienced managing utilities and that achieved in banks, primarily related to profit margins arising from trading in derivatives, prompted me to leave the finance at the dawn of the crisis. I had exhausted my interest, I wanted to try my hand at entrepreneurship.
 
Shortly after you acquired the Gambero Rosso restaurant guide. What is the brand like today?
 
It is a multimedia platform where publishing (classic food guides) is just 10% of total turnover. The remaining 90% comes from professional and managerial training activities (30%), promotion of rated companies operating in the wine, food and travel industry around the world (30%), selling of TV content, with our branded Sky channel 412, and digital revenues (30%). Today, we are producing television content showing Italian culinary excellence which is also aired in Switzerland and China.
 
And, almost in parallel, you launched Artribune, one of the most important online trade magazines for the art world. Are they two very different challenges or you found similarities from a managerial point of view?
 
Differences are self-evident. One is a long-standing brand (Gambero Rosso has a thirty-year history), the other was a startup. However, from a strategic point of view, the analogy is strong, because they are both ventures which inted to communicate and promote modern Italian culture and its points of excellence. Specifically, with regard to Italian cuisine, which is still 'traditional' in the collective mind, but in reality it has always evolved throughout its history, the great challenge is to ensure that the promotion of quality will turn into actual exports abroad of the great variety of products from our country. An example? The 400 indigenous varieties of grape and the 122 different varieties of tomatoes that are grown in Italy. All this to avoid that it will end up like it did with pizza: it is loved and made the world round, but it yields no return on Italian GDP.
 
For a few months now, you've been Leader of the Roman Chapter of the Bocconi Alumni Association (BAA). What's cooking in the capital?
 
Many things at once, because the potential of Rome is great. I am working in synergy with several other alumni including Emiliano Doveri, team coordinator. For instance, we are organizing a meeting with Fabio Gallia, CEO and General Manager of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.
 
 

by Andrea Celauro
Translated by Alex Foti