Urbano Cairo Is Bocconi Alumnus of the Year 2019
THE BOCCONI ALUMNI COMMUNITY HONORS THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF RCS MEDIAGROUPUrbano Cairo, Chairman of Cairo Communication and RCS MediaGroup (where he is also Chief Executive Officer), has been named Bocconi Alumnus of the Year 2019 by the Bocconi Alumni Community. The large community of Bocconi alumni around the world, with about 120,000 people divided into 46 Chapters abroad and 24 in Italy, has honored an alumnus or alumna who has distinguished him/herself each year since 1988. The award will be conferred by the President of the Community Riccardo Monti on 11 October.
“Urbano Cairo embodies features that are rarely found in one person: creativity combined with discipline, courage, energy, a deep sense of logic, the ability to dream and pragmatism,” says Riccardo Monti. “His uniqueness lies in his ability to transform his passions into companies, an idea that he summarizes as follows: ‘Nothing happens if you don’t first dream of it.’ Now we can say that, since his time at Bocconi, he has been able to build the right skills and aptitudes to make his dreams come true.”
“It is a great pleasure to receive this award,” says Urbano Cairo. “My mother was a teacher and the role and values of education have always been a part of my life. In an interconnected world like ours, Bocconi University plays a crucial role in shaping and helping future managers and entrepreneurs to realize their dreams and compete internationally. Dreaming ambitious goals must continue to be how we Bocconians think.”
Urbano Cairo graduated from Bocconi in 1981 with a degree in Business Economics and a thesis on “The Financial Strategy of Expanding Industrial Medium-Sized Companies.” He held several senior positions in the Fininvest group, where, as Managing Director of Mondadori Pubblicità, he achieved an increase in turnover from 390 to 500 billion lire. Then, in 1995, he pursued his dream of starting his own business, laying the foundation for what would become Cairo Communication. In 1999, Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori S.p.A. was acquired, marking Cairo group’s entry into the publishing sector.
2000 was the year of the stock exchange listing, then in 2003, Cairo Editore S.p.A. was founded, which soon became a leader in the weekly magazines market. In 2013, the La7 channel was purchased from Telecom Italia, and its balance sheet was reorganized. Since 3 August 2016, he has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of RCS MediaGroup. He has also been the owner of the Torino Football Club since 2005.
Past winners:
Francesca Bellettini, 2018
Luca de Meo, 2017
Stefano Sassi, 2016
Giuseppe Sala, 2015
Federico Marchetti, 2014
Joerg Asmussen, 2013
Giovanni Ciserani, 2012
Fabrizio Saccomanni, 2011
Diego Piacentini e Laura Cioli, 2010
Nouriel Roubini e Giovanni Castellucci, 2009
Alberto Cribiore e Gaetano Micciché, 2008
Paolo Cuccia, 2007
Enrico Cucchiani, 2006
Vittorio Grilli, 2005
Claudio Costamagna, 2004
Vittorio Colao, 2003
Paolo Scaroni, 2002
Marco Drago, 2001
Corrado Passera, 2000
Renato Soru, 1999
Emma Bonino, 1998
Alessandro Profumo, 1997
Emma Marcegaglia, 1996
Isabella Ventura, 1995
Carlo Scognamiglio, 1994
Marco Tronchetti Provera, 1993
Giovanni Giudici, 1992
Lucio Stanca, 1991
Jody Vender, 1990
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, 1989
Giordano Zucchi, 1988
Roberto Mazzotta, 1987
by Andrea Celauro
Translated by Jenna Walker
