2025 Leadership Festival in Milan
A Memorable Day for a Changing Italy
On June 6, 2025, the Triennale di Milano hosted the 2025 edition of the Leadership Festival, an event conceived by the Adriano Olivetti Leadership Institute with the support of Fondazione Cariplo, under the patronage of the Municipality of Milan and AIDAF – the Italian Association of Family Businesses. The festival welcomed the enthusiastic participation of over 200 people, including professionals, teachers, young people, innovators, and curious minds, to generate reflections, experiences, and connections around the theme of collective leadership.
With the title “Change Leadership to Change the World,” the day stood out for the quality of the contributions, the variety of workshops, the energy of the participants, and the shared ambition to transform today’s challenges into concrete opportunities.
The Full Program
The day unfolded through a rich schedule, blending theory and practice with interactive moments, creating a fertile environment for shared learning.
10:00 – Welcome
Stefano Zordan · Cristina Toscano
10:15 – Keynote: Change Leadership, Change the World
Ronald Heifetz · Giorgia Serughetti · Andrea Granelli
A conversation on the evolution of leadership in the contemporary world, spanning ethics, complexity, and responsibility.
11:00 – Workshop: Leadership for Us
Francesco Gagliardi
A participatory session that explored leadership and authority as both personal and collective experiences.
11:50 – Leadership and Work: The Cost of Participation
Giovanna Gregori · Arrigo Berni · Rachele Sessa
A passionate debate on the value of commitment and how leadership can help renew the meaning of work.
12:30 – Workshop: Leadership as Provocation
Michael Johnstone · Maxime Fern
An immersive experience exploring how provocation can serve as a lever for change.
14:00 – New Generations: The Courage and Risk of Leadership
Andrea Vitullo · Dario Ianes · Enrica Sabatini · Marco Torre
A roundtable dedicated to the transformative potential of young people and the need to create spaces for their protagonism, also addressing the challenge of demographic aging with a forward-looking and constructive perspective.
14:45 – Workshop: Building the Future in an Aging Society
Francesco Gagliardi
A participatory session exploring the issues that intergenerational challenges compel us to rethink.
15:45 – Leadership Experiments: Mobilizing the Community
Alberto Zanobini · Roberto Battaglia · Andrea Crisci · Pietro Mensi
Real-life stories of active leadership in local communities, demonstrating how collective action can bring about change.
16:30 – The Italian Path to Leadership: How Italy Changes if We Change It Together
A concluding session to share visions and outline the future of leadership in Italy.
Thanks to the contributions of the speakers and the strong workshop-based approach, the Festival embodied the Olivettian spirit of human leadership, rooted in local communities and oriented toward the common good.
