Dear Friends and Members,
I was very pleased to accept the offer of our President Tom Noad to write this February BCCI Monthly News and present you the programme of the upcoming events.
By way of introduction, my name is Francesco Fantini and I’ve been a BCCI Councillor since 2018. I was born in Milan and I’ve been living here ever since, so I consider myself as a ‘Milanese’. I have a son, a younger daughter and a marvellous wife who is taking care of all of us.
Although I got a degree in Engineering, I’ve always been involved in banking activities. During the past few years, I’ve been running the Cash Management team at Barclays Italy covering Multinational Corporates.
Before moving to this month’s programme, I would like to remark on the success of our Brexit Event held on 4 February, hosted by our friends at Assolombarda in Milan and sponsored by KPMG. This event was developed in conjunction with the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for UK (ICCI), a principal BCCI partner. It was an excellent opportunity to hear from an outstanding panel of speakers including On. Ivano Scalfarotto, Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Massimo Gaudina, Head of the European Commission in Milan, Catriona Graham, HM Consul General in Milan, Alessandro Spada, Vice President of Assolombarda, Alessandro Belluzzo, President of the ICCI, as well as Massimo Fabio, Brexit lead at KPMG in Milan and many others. It provided a fascinating insight into possible scenarios, challenges and hopes for the future of trade relations between the UK and Italy.
Additionally, on 12 February we hosted an event in Rome at the offices of our Sponsoring Sustaining member Tonucci & Partners concerning shared UK-Italian values and interests and the opportunities for the future relationship between the UK and Italy. We had an extraordinary panel of speakers including Prof. Paolo Savona, President of CONSOB, Mr. Marcello Foa, President of RAI, Ambasciatore Sergio Vento (former Italian ambassador to the USA and to the UN), Senator Donatella Conzatti, HM Ambassador to Italy and San Marino, Jill Morris CMG as well as our councillor Avv. Bepi Pezzulli and our President, Tom Noad. Thank you especially to Tonucci and Bepi Pezzulli for organising this event. Watch out for more from us in Rome in the coming months.
If this was not enough for one month, on the morning of 27 February we will discuss the topic of diversity at our Gender Conference ‘The new paradigm includes men’ hosted by HSBC in Milan. The conference will address the shift in attitudes to the gender balance question and how men now form a vital part of the movement for equality. We are delighted that the event is sponsored by no fewer than SIX of our fantastic sustaining-category members: UPS, Colt, Aviva, HSBC, GI Group and ABC Productions. These companies are taking a lead in the Diversity challenge and we could not be prouder of them for championing such a fundamental British value. We will hear from representatives of all of them and others, including our partners Sky Television. Don’t miss it. Join the cutting edge of the debate!
Lastly, I must highlight the 14 May as a date for your diaries. This will be the evening of our Green Gala focussed on sustainability in the year of COP26 which, as you know, is co-hosted by the UK and Italy with the pre-COP in Milan at the end of September. This will be an unmissable evening. Thank you to all of you who have shown such an interest in supporting this event and for already having pledged contributions. If you would like to contribute as a sponsor and showcase your company’s credentials in, and support for, the sustainability mission, please do get in touch with us soon!
I am looking forward to meeting you during one of our next events. For more details, please don’t forget to visit our website which provides the most updated information.
Francesco Fantini
BCCI Councillor