Communications

Milan, 03.12.2007


"A quality event".
 
Quality. If one had to find a single word to sum up the Finmeccanica executive conference held in Milan on December 3, there's no doubt it would be quality.

To start with, the slogan itself More quality, more world, more future made clear reference to it. The event was introduced by young TV presenter, Giorgia Surina, followed by president-CEO Pier Francesco Guarguaglini who was the first to stress that, while fully aware of the market's compliments for our growth and success, the Group has no intention of resting on its laurels. While past history is important, the Group intends to concentrate on the future. His speech focused on a key subject, and he made the point clearly: "Quality," said Mr Guarguaglini, "is not one of our strong points." He spoke of it as a duty with no compromises. "We must improve", urging everyone "to do their utmost."

This improvement is perceived as being necessary by the managers who took part in the corporate survey which formed the backbone of the morning's work, together with company results. While showing that considerable efforts had been made, the survey made it clear that the goal has not yet been reached.

Most of the discussion dealt with how to make the step forward from good to excellent. The various speakers were coordinated by journalists Franco Di Mare and Nick Ross - an Anglo-Italian duo highlighting the event's two languages, like last year in Birmingham, showing how the Group is gaining ground and credibility in English-speaking countries.

General manager, Giorgio Zappa, made a strong plea for improved quality after stressing that "the marketplace is our guide". He pointed out the importance of listening to customers, while paying special attention to timing. "In an orchestra," said Mr Zappa, "a musician who plays out of time ruins the overall effect."

After Mr Zappa's speech, the discussion amongst company representatives focused on how to move forward - realistically and practically - from good to excellent.

This was the purpose of the three panel sessions, each one given over to a priority subject - time to market, customer support, innovation. Participants included top management and executives from the Group Companies.

A closer look at the key subjects came from the speeches by the co-general managers, Remo Pertica and Alessandro Pansa: the former spoke about the importance of moving from product support to customer support, highlighting the role of "through lifecycle management", while the latter, reasoning around the quality of innovation, stressed how this deals with the ability to meet shareholders' expectations, by channelling creative freedom into constructive and "virtuous" paths.

The morning session was brought to an end by the CEO who announced the setting up of a Customer Satisfaction Award involving all Group companies. At the same time, he challenged all his listeners to ask themselves - "Kennedy" style - what they could do to achieve excellence. "Take part and improve the situation," was Mr Guarguaglini's call for action.

After the lunch break, the task of welcoming the conference to Lombardy - not only to mark Agusta's centenary but also to highlight Finmeccanica's presence in the region - fell to the presidents of the Milan Province, Filippo Penati, and of the Lombardy Region, Roberto Formigoni. The former referred to how the Group's activities have contributed to the strategic development of the area, and he pointed to Finmeccanica's success as a beacon. "Your group is a fine example," said Mr Penati, "of how State shareholding is not an obstacle to success." Mr Formigoni, on the other hand, stressed the Group's strong roots in Lombardy, and drew a parallel between Finmeccanica and the Lombardy Regional authority. Both are caught up in "a transformation process involving complex challenges". He made it clear that human resources and Group identity are key factors for turning organisations into "multipliers of opportunities for the whole country system."

For the next hour or so, all 1,600 participants focused their attention on the conference's guest of honour, Britain's ex-prime minister Tony Blair, now the UN envoy for peace in the Middle East on behalf of the United Nations, the European Union, USA and Russia. His wide-ranging speech traced the outlines of the new scenario that businesses and governments are having to face in the current world situation. He pinpointed five key questions: the ability to adapt to change in terms of speed, scale and range of action; the shifting sands of security problems; the rise of China and India; mass migration of peoples; energy and environment policies. Tony Blair views these five points as being of crucial importance in a world which is changing so rapidly that individual countries are unable to face the challenge alone.

From universal questions to a particular case - the conference moved on to celebrate the centenary of AgustaWestland and its talented founder Giovanni Agusta. On the podium, AugustaWestland's CEO Giuseppe Orsi and chairman Amedeo Caporaletti were joined by two very different guests. One was Bruno Lovera, a retired engineer and designer whose work played an important part in the early history of helicopters. When asked what machine he was most proud of, he replied without hesitation: "the machine that makes helicopters", referring of course to people. The other guest was Giacomo Agostini, a legendary figure for motorcycle fans, and the only person to have won 15 world motorcycle titles, on MV-Agusta machines to be precise - the product of an industrial tradition that encompasses more than flying.

Quality the world over, in other words. Then the spotlight turned to the future when a group of young people stepped up to the podium - graduates who have just completed the latest edition of the FHINK master's course: 28 participants from 14 countries. After receiving their awards from Finmeccanica's HR manager, Roberto Maglione, they stood aside to make way for their colleagues on this year's course.

Tomorrow's world depends on our actions today. With this in mind, Finmeccanica's activities in the field of social responsibility and charitable initiatives were presented at the conference for the first time. In practical terms, special T-shirts were on sale to support the "Magica Cleme" foundation which helps young cancer patients.

In his closing speech, Mr Guarguaglini returned to communication as one of the top priorities: "Your task," he told the audience, " is to communicate today's main points to everyone. Listen to what your office staff and factory workers have to say." After all, spreading ideas and knowledge is the ultimate purpose of an event like this.