High Impact Program (HIP), with immersion at the SDA Bocconi School of Management, in Milan, in the program “Beyond Borders: a transformative journey for executives in the global business scenario”.

May 6, 2026 Traveller Times

Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in Saint Paul Escola de Negócios ‘s High Impact Program (HIP), with immersion at the SDA Bocconi School of Management, in Milan, in the program “Beyond Borders: a transformative journey for executives in the global business scenario”.

A week with high-level professors, exploring corporate governance, global economic scenario, digital transformation, sustainability and leadership in complex environments, with a visit to the Fondazione Prada and an immersive decision-making simulation developed by Bocconi itself.

The big messages that stayed for me:

• Digital transformation starts with people and culture, not technology.

• Leading in complex environments requires repertoire, presence, systemic vision, and the courage to decide without all the answers at hand.

• As the Prada Group’s sustainability executive said: “sustainability is not philanthropy. It is an engine of risk mitigation and long-term innovation” and needs to be connected with results.

• Good governance is not about control, but real independence and the courage to question.

• The Italian economy brings valuable reflections: about 70% of companies are SMEs, family capitalism still predominates and governance challenges are many, while Europe follows behind the US and China in the race for AI and technological development

In addition to learning, the networking that is built in classrooms, lunches and hallway conversations has a value that does not fit in any slide.