Two Italian chief executives have been voted number one in the European financial sector. The results were decided by 1,765 investment professionals from 820 companies. Carlo Messina of Intesa Sanpaolo came first in the Extel survey of best chief executives in banking, while Philippe Donnet of Assicurazioni Generali was ranked best chief executive in insurance.

The two Italian companies were among 19 that clinched first place in their sector in the combined rankings in five or more of the seven voting areas. The seven voting areas comprise best chief executive, best chief financial officer, best investor relations professional, best investor relations practice, best analyst or investor event, best ESG metrics and best company board. Across Europe, 1,006 companies and 2,206 individuals were nominated across 31 sectors.

Carlo Messina celebrated record results at Intesa Sanpaolo. However, he cautioned that high interest rates and soaring profits in banking, alongside the promise of share buybacks, have led analysts and investors to focus too much on rewards at the expense of sound business decisions. Intesa Sanpaolo achieved net income of €4.8bn in the first half of 2024, the best six months of the last 17 years, pushing up full-year profit guidance to above €8.5bn for this financial year and next. Shareholders will be rewarded with a total distribution of €7.4bn in 2024 and a dividend yield of more than 10%.

The rewards have been so great, Messina said, it’s been hard to focus attention on strategy and investment: “It’s really important to remember that the bank you build today will determine if you’re a winner tomorrow.”

Nonetheless, Messina said Intesa Sanpaolo was on firm footing thanks to a combination of long-term planning and investment. In 2022, the bank laid down a three-year strategy, setting out business initiatives and investments in transformative technology. This culminated in the 2023 launch of isybank, which will see the group’s core banking systems move to the cloud in the long term. “This is what it takes to build a bank that continues to succeed over the next decade. Sustainable profitability and capital strength need a rock-solid industrial plan,” Messina said.

Philippe Donnet is chief executive of Assicurazioni Generali, Italy’s largest insurance company, based in Trieste. He said the company is transitioning between three-year strategies, when it must deliver on key targets while preparing the next three-year plan. “Both on an economic and geopolitical level, the world has changed significantly since we presented our current strategy, but we have been consistently achieving excellent results nonetheless,” he said.

AI will play a key part in the forward-planning of both institutions, according to their chief executives. “[AI] is absolutely going to transform banking,” Messina said. Intesa Sanpaolo has around 170 dedicated AI specialists and plans to grow the team to 300 by next year. But Messina highlighted that responsible adoption is at the heart of his policies. “As CEO, I want to make one thing very clear: no one in Intesa Sanpaolo is going to lose their job because of AI.”

The company has shifted people at risk of losing their jobs because of the new technology into a social impact team. So far, the team has 1,000 employees driving the bank’s programs to help communities and fight social inequality.

In other sectors, Europe’s top chief executives remain bullish on AI, especially in retail and leisure, where some executives are already seeing their businesses transformed. Dana Dunne, who came first in the leisure and hospitality sector, said his company eDreams ODIGEO in Spain has been working towards an AI-first strategy for over a decade. “Our AI initiatives have reshaped how we operate, from enhancing customer experiences through highly personalized travel plans, notably for our subscribers, to optimizing our operations for greater efficiency and scalability,” he said.

Frans Muller of Royal Ahold Delhaize in the Netherlands – who came joint first in the food retailing sector alongside Pedro Soares dos Santos of Jerónimo Martins in Portugal – said that the potential of AI will depend on the creativity and clear-sightedness of the user. In one example, Royal Ahold Delhaize’s local brand in Holland, Albert Heijn, implemented AI-supported dynamic markdown pricing. “This means that products that are about to expire are made more attractive to our customers by giving these items an increasing markdown during the day,” Muller said.

Tim Höttges of Deutsche Telekom said it was difficult to overstate the transformative potential of the technology. “Even if there is a lot of hype surrounding AI, its implementation in companies and value chains is not. AI is in our network, in our network security, in buildout planning and everywhere in the company,” he said.

Carlo Messina, Intesa Sanpaolo, first place banks

1. What was your greatest professional moment of the last year?

I’m really proud of the results our people are delivering: financially, operationally and in terms of social impact. Our top-line growth in the first half of the year was the highest in Europe among banking-sector peers. Intesa Sanpaolo has built a well-diversified and resilient business model that is very profitable in any interest rate environment. Our unique wealth management, protection and advisory model enables us to take advantage of a rebound in wealth management when interest rates decline. As the market knows well, I have always made it a priority to ensure that Intesa Sanpaolo remains a ‘cash dividend machine’ for our shareholders, while maintaining our rock-solid capital position. At the same time, our strong performance has allowed us to maintain a strong focus on ESG and pursue a world-class position in social impact – to which we have committed €1.5bn – while investing strongly in technology. This is all about building a sustainable and profitable bank that can continue to be a leader in the future, while delivering strong results in the short term.

2.      What has been challenging this year?

Last year, in record time of less than 12 months, we launched isybank, our state-of-the-art digital bank that has a unique approach coupling digital with the human touch. By next year, we will have invested €5bn in our digital transformation. And the success of isytech means we can accelerate our migration of the group’s core banking systems to the cloud, opening up even more opportunities.

3.      Where do you stand on AI: transformative or overhyped? Why?

Deploying artificial intelligence is a major priority for Intesa Sanpaolo. We are prioritizing the use cases that can unlock new business opportunities for the bank, increase efficiency and better manage risks. Right now, we have around 170 dedicated AI specialists and that team will grow to 300 by next year. We are committed to pursuing the benefits of AI while staying focused on responsible and ethical adoption. And as a CEO, I want to make one thing very clear: no one in Intesa Sanpaolo is going to lose their job because of AI.

Philippe Donnet, Assicurazioni Generali, first place insurance

1.      What was your greatest professional moment of the last year?

I would highlight 31 December 2023, when we closed the year with one of the best total shareholder returns in the insurance sector – testament to our effective teamwork and the strong progress we are achieving under our current strategic plan.

2.      What has been challenging this year?

2024 is a very important year for Generali as it is the last year of our ‘Lifetime Partner 24: Driving Growth’ strategic plan, and it is essential for us to fully deliver on all of our key targets on behalf of all of our stakeholders. At the same time, we are working to prepare the new three-year strategic plan: while exciting and engaging, doing these two jobs at the same time can be challenging, but we are confident we have everything it takes to succeed.

3.      Where do you stand on AI: transformative or overhyped? Why?

I think that AI is not only transformative, but it is also going to be a key tool to help unlock a huge amount of hidden value still present in the insurance sector. The more I work on AI with my team, the more I am amazed by its applications and excited by its potential for positive impact. AI will be critical to consistently improve customer experience, enhance our underwriting, and make our operating machine constantly more efficient. I think that any strategy that does not consider AI and its potential applications over the next five to seven years is most likely going to be the wrong strategy.

Frans Muller, Royal Ahold Delhaize, joint first place food retailing

1.      What was your greatest professional moment of the last year?

As a grocer, we have an important role to play in society. All of us together, local brands and our central support teams, interact daily with customers and communities, in good times and in bad. Innovating within the food chain with our partners and peers is also a crucial element for the sustainability of our planet. Bringing people together to work on these big issues is a passion of mine and experiencing how much we can learn from each other gives me a lot of optimism for the future.

2.      What has been challenging this year?

We had to make some tough decisions including changing our operating model in Belgium and accelerating the recovery plan for our ‘Stop & Shop’ brand. This has an impact on our people and on the communities we serve. At the same time, it was needed to prepare Ahold Delhaize for future success. With these steps taken and the work we have done as part of our ‘Growing Together’ strategy, I am confident about our future where we plan to grow faster than the market, while maintaining our financial strength. We will do this by investing in our winning customer value propositions, densifying and growing markets, innovating for growth and efficiency and leveraging and lowering our cost base.

3.      Where do you stand on AI: transformative or overhyped? Why?

How transformative AI can be will ultimately be determined by its application and that requires human creativity, business experience and a clear perspective on the problem you are trying to solve. We are already well on the AI journey and are encouraged by what we see. Alongside technical solutions, we have been working extensively with AI to improve our customer experiences and optimize operations. One example – of many – is how our Dutch local brand Albert Heijn implemented AI-supported dynamic markdown. This means that products that are about to expire are made more attractive to our customers by giving these items an increasing markdown during the day.

Tim Höttges, Deutsche Telekom, first place telecommunications services

1.      What was your greatest professional moment of the last year?

We celebrate many good moments every year. I was very pleased that we made it into the top 10 most valuable brands in the Brand Finance Global 500, for example. But I am most pleased about our very consistent customer growth, which is driving our equally consistent multi-year growth in earnings.

2.      What has been challenging this year?

Unusually high unit cost inflation has been a headwind in the last couple of years, but fortunately we have been able to mitigate the impact through a variety of measures.

3.      Where do you stand on AI: transformative or overhyped? Why?

We have been working on this for a long time and with great focus. GenAI opens up even more opportunities.

Dana Dunne, eDreams ODIGEO, first place leisure and hotels

1.      What was your greatest professional moment of the last year?

Reflecting on this year, I’m immensely proud of how we’ve delivered on the vision outlined in our long-term strategic roadmap, which we launched in 2021. Our innovative travel subscription model – an industry first, revolutionizing our sector much like Netflix did for streaming and Spotify did for music – is set to grow our profitability by +48% year-on-year by the end of this fiscal year, something few can claim. For me, leadership is about more than just setting goals, it’s about guiding the organization through each step toward achieving them. This year has shown that our long-term targets are now within reach, which is incredibly fulfilling.

2.      What has been challenging this year?

This year, external factors such as macroeconomic uncertainties, inflation, and geopolitical tensions have created a complex environment that demands constant adaptation. I am proud that we have not only weathered these headwinds, thanks to the resilience of our business model, but also delivered uninterrupted growth. Moreover, maintaining our competitive advantage amidst the rapid pace of technological change, particularly in AI, remains an ongoing challenge, yet one we view as a significant opportunity. This drives us to continuously invest in and scale our AI capabilities, ensuring we stay ahead of the curve.

3.      Where do you stand on AI: transformative or overhyped? Why?

AI is absolutely transformative and our experience at eDreams ODIGEO is a tangible example of its great impact. We have developed and deployed advanced AI models that analyze vast amounts of data, enabling us to anticipate and meet our customers' needs with unprecedented precision. This has not only improved our service offerings and by extension our customer satisfaction rates, but also given us a significant competitive edge in an increasingly dynamic market. The true transformative power of AI lies in its ability to continuously evolve and adapt, driving innovation across every aspect of our business. AI is not just a tool, it's a strategic cornerstone that will shape the future of our business and the experiences we offer.

Tony Smurfit, CEO and President of Smurfit Westrock, first place paper and packaging

1. Do you remember one great professional moment in the last year?

The completion of the Smurfit Kappa and WestRock combination on July 5, 2024, and Smurfit Westrock making its debut on the New York Stock Exchange July 8.

2. What has been challenging this year?

The level of demand which has not rebounded as highly as we would like due to interest rates not having fallen at the expected speed.

3. Where do you stand on AI: transformative or overhyped? Why?

AI has a role to play but I believe we are still at the very early stages of adoption in a significant way, particularly generative AI. We do use AI for some processing work, simple customer resolution through our website and, on a more advanced level, in some areas of production. It still feels, though, as if we have barely scraped the surface.

You've discovered a premium feature!

Register

Login

Login to continue