Back at Bocconi

NEWLY APPOINTED MANAGING DIRECTOR RICCARDO TARANTO REFLECTS ON THE BOCCONI METHOD, ON GIVING BACK WHAT YOU RECEIVE, SPAGHETTI CARBONARA, AND ON THE IMPORTANCE OF TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

Riccardo Taranto is an elegant man, one of the few who knows how to sport a pair of green socks that pick up the subtle tones of his suit’s fabric. But he is, above all, one of those men who interprets elegance from an ethical point of view, combining numbers with virtues, decision-making with courage and empathy. Riccardo Taranto, a 1981 Bocconi graduate, is the newly appointed Managing Director of the Milan-based university. His intention, in this role, is to give back to Bocconi a part of what he has received.

➜ What did you get from Bocconi?
Bocconi was a good lesson for life, but also a place for friendships and fun. I received excellent professional skills, a wealth of values and a code of ethics similar to fair play in sports.

➜ Why did you choose Bocconi?
I had finished “liceo classico” high school and, not having a favorite subject, I looked to the future. Many Bocconi graduates I knew had built outstanding careers and I thought that this university could offer fine prospects. Today, even if the world of work is more complicated, Bocconi continues to have an excellent placement capacity.

➜ What do you remember about your classmates?
Soccer matches. A trip to Cergy-Pontoise was memorable: we had learned that ESSEC in Paris had organized a soccer tournament for economics universities, and we did not let the  opportunity go unmissed.

➜ And how did it go?
We won the first match against Tunisia; then, with Barcelona we drew and we lost against the Berlin team. In the end we did not qualify, but those days were great fun and cemented our friendships. Our team also included Alberto Grando, who later became a professor and dean at Bocconi.

➜ Who were your professors?
Carlo Scognamiglio, Enrico Valdani, Luigi Guatri, Alberto Martinelli. And then Franco Amigoni, Giorgio Brunetti, Elio Borgonovi, Vittorio Coda and Stefano Podestà, who was also my thesis supervisor. I had extraordinary teachers: today when I go into Bocconi and go up the stairs that lead to my office I feel moved when I see the portraits of some of my professors in a row, including Claudio Dematté and Carlo Masini and then Giorgio Pivato, Ariberto Mignoli and Aldo De Maddalena.

➜ What was the first course you attended as a student?
Coming from high school where we studied humanities classics, I did not have a great deal of confidence with math so I chose to start with sociology, specifically with Martinelli, because it seemed to me the most practical way.

➜ Do you recognize a Bocconi grad in the business world?
Yes, because they exude the same air they breathed during their time at university: commitment and initiative in achieving concrete objectives. My first job was at Honeywell Information Systems, where I met Bruno Pavesi, a fellow alumnus, who filled the role of CFO and then became CEO. Bocconi alumni were also the heads of some areas of the company: I found a family ecosystem, which made it very easy to adjust.

➜ Is there such a thing as the Bocconi method?
I think so. The history of this university is based on a style of life, that of its founder. Ferdinando Bocconi was a great entrepreneur and decided to allocate important resources to give a concrete future to young people. At Bocconi, in fact, you learn to contribute to the results of the community of which you are part. I have always worked with this spirit and in my new role I will continue to do so: this too is part of that desire to give back.

➜ Are we talking about a collective spirit that goes beyond individualism?
That's right, it's like that, we're all part of something. Lately as I walked around the university and I felt a great spirit of sharing that in some cases is even stronger than in my day. In the library, I saw many study groups and the atmosphere was exciting. I was positively impressed with what has happened in just over thirty years.

➜ But the lions are still there ...
Yes, indeed. I stopped to observe the comings and goings at the entrance, and still today nobody dares to interrupt the tradition. Sometimes even graduates tend to think that it is better not to cross them. I only did it once.

➜ In your life there are five children and four grandchildren. Have values changed from one generation to the next?
I believe that everyday behavior changes, but not the underlying values. Today, for example, in a family less importance is given to table manners, but it is balanced by giving importance to affection and mutual support: unity is strength. We must continue to convey the value of autonomy to young people, teach them to recognize what is true, encourage them to give it all they’ve got and to venture into new challenges.

➜ You mentioned fair play and challenges. Is this striving for improvement inspired by sport?
Absolutely yes. Sport teaches the value of healthy competition and for this reason it is a model for life. I played tennis for many years and I'm a keen skier. Skiing gives me a certain satisfaction because it is skill and emotion: even today when I come down the San Pietro wall of the Stelvio run in Bormio, which is considered one of the most spectacular of the Skiing World Cup, I feel a certain thrill.

➜ Are you a fan of any team?
I'm a big fan of AC Milan and soccer in general. I was lucky enough to be able to watch live three very important victories: Milan, in the Champions League in Manchester in 2003 and in Athens in 2007, and also Italy in Berlin for the 2006 World Cup.

➜ You have also been involved in sports for your work...
As a CFO and president of RCS Sport, I contributed to the organization of the Giro d'Italia. I believe it is the only event capable of truly uniting Italy and awakening a certain spirit of collaboration among people. Every locality involved in the Giro must make its own contribution. So, this event is a beautiful metaphor that shows how much can be done when there is sharing and participation.

➜ Is Italy a happy country?
Not really, if you read the statistics. In my opinion, Italy is a beautiful country with an important history and traditions to preserve, but it cannot isolate itself. Being Italian is a plus, but being only Italian is a minus.

➜ When you were at the university, did you imagine what you would become?
No, I was thinking about marketing, but then it went differently, and maybe it was better that way. In any case, during my career I have always tried to project myself over the following five years to try to understand if the company I was in allowed me to raise the bar of challenges. The first goal was to become a manager before the age of thirty and I achieved that: at the time it was a bit simpler than today. The secret is in creating the right balance between aspirations and real skills.

➜ What was your biggest challenge?
It's always the next one. Every challenge I have faced has cost me a lot and has given me back the same.

➜ As a child, who was your hero?
Gianni Rivera.

➜ And your current one?
Today sport has many champions, but the real heroes are those people who work every day with great professionalism and commitment: those who try to give their best even in the face of difficulties.

➜ Is there a place that captures your heart?
The sea because it has a distant horizon, but reachable.

➜ Your favorite dish?
It is hard to single out one. I’ll choose one I know how to cook: spaghetti carbonara.

➜ Your favorite film and book?
The film is definitely “Amici Miei,” a beautiful mix of friendship and witty Italianness. With my friends I had fun imitating those gags: we liked being "gypsies" like the actors in the film. My favorite book is “Memoirs of Hadrian” by Marguerite Yourcenar: it is the story of great power exerted in a positive way.

➜ Your dream come true?
It was to be able to undertake a good professional career and be recognized as a reliable person, worthy of the results achieved. The proof of this came in the sincere words of the many messages I received during the days following to my appointment in Bocconi.

➜ A dream yet to be reached?
To travel the world, and this is linked to my great passion: photography. Probably, if I could have done something different in life, I would have become a photographer.

➜ What is your favorite color?
Green, like the socks I’m wearing today. This shade has always given me a sense of well-being because it recalls nature.

➜ What is the quality you value most in people?
Frankness: I appreciate people who tell it like it is, even when it is difficult.

➜ Do we always have to tell it like it is?
I think so. We can postpone the moment of truth but at some point it is necessary to express it. What makes the difference is the way in which it is communicated.

➜ Is there a component of courage in this?
In a certain sense, yes, to say something unwelcome, but constructive. It is actually an opportunity.

➜ What is your best quality?
Desire and enthusiasm. From my father I learned determination and from my mother, passion.

➜ Are men and women equal?
No, women are better! I have to say that, otherwise I’ll be in for family trouble: among all the children and grandchildren, only two are boys.

➜ Is there value in diversity?
Absolutely, especially today when diversity is objectively real and present, even if sometimes we do not like it. At work, for example, women are fundamental. Talented women must be valued at the same level as talented men. It is not a question of gender, but of people, because we are all individually different.

➜ Do you have a motto?
My grandfather used to often say: “Step into my shoes for a moment, dear sir!” This expression has always made me smile and I completely share it. Judging from the outside is easy, and not very edifying.


Riccardo Taranto
A 1981 Bocconi graduate with a degree in Economics of Industrial Companies, over the past five years Riccardo Taranto has worked as Group CFO of RCS Mediagroup, for which he also held positions as RCS Sport chairman and served in the Board of other group companies. His career began in Honeywell Information Systems with positions in accounting and planning and control; afterwards he worked as a controller in Motta-Alemagna, Roche, Pirelli Cables and Systems, Cisco System and Telecom Italia, where he was then Chief Accounting Officer and finally Group Compliance Officer. Before joining RCS, he was CFO of the Prelios Group.

by Ilaria De Bartolomeis