Way2Global — part of the entrepreneurial excellence of Genio&Impresa

Milan, 8 July 2019 – On 8 July the futuristic setting of Palazzo della Regione hosted the inaugural gala dinner of the multimedia exhibition Genio & Impresa, a project created by Assolombarda in collaboration with the Lombardy region and the Municipality of Milan for the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo Da Vinci.

Guests and protagonists of 30 successful, innovative business stories in the region were selected for video installations in the immersive exhibition. They included our very own Claudio Negri and Laura Gori, the brilliant mind and the unstoppable businesswoman who created the soul, brand and reputation of Way2Global.

“Genio e Impresa” aims to promote the Metropolitan City of Milan as a hotbed of talent, ideas and abilities, the central hub of Made in Italy Lombardy know-how, a cultural and creative production system that acts as a driver of our economy, generating richness and innovation.

Mindful of this purpose, in March Assolombarda launched a call to which 130 companies responded, indicative of the region’s productive fabric. All applications were assessed and selected by the Polytechnic University of Milan, as scientific partners of the project, resulting in the shortlisting of the innovation 30 stories involved in the exhibition. All were created by the meeting of enlightened minds and brave entrepreneurs.

The initiative was inspired by the friendship between Leonardo Da Vinci and Ludovico il Moro, a metaphor of the magical formula that underpins innovation: the perfect blend of brilliant inventiveness and business acumen. The 30 genio&imprenditore contemporary pairs demonstrate how “from the times of Leonardo and Ludovico, the bond between talent and business acumen has never stopped nourishing Milan’s and Lombardy’s vocation for innovation, a distinctive characteristic of our business history,” said Carlo Bonomi, President of Assolombarda

Open to the public from 9 July to 15 September in Palazzo Lombardia, the exhibition develops around an immersive path of interactive installations that opens with an imaginary interview with Leonardo and Ludovico, followed by a fascinating narration of wonderful stories of innovation in our times, including those of Bracco Group, thanks to the partnership between Ernst Felder and Fulvio Bracco, Pirelli, with Maurizio Boiocchi and Marco Tronchetti Provera, as well as those of STMicroelectronics, with Bruno Murari and Benedetto Vigna. The list continues, with illustrious companies symbolising the very business fabric of Lombardy, including Montecatini, Olivetti and Illy Caffè, not to mention a myriad of less well-known but equally innovative start-ups like Way2Global – a roster of excellence we were honoured and privileged to be a part of.

An honour and a privilege, but also renewed confirmation of the effectiveness and uniqueness of our native business digital start-up model, dedicated to technological innovation with a social twist.

Way2Global was founded in 2017 as a precursor and example of the new, more responsible and sustainable role that companies of today must embrace through the strength of business, as they face an alarming rise in economic and social inequalities, the crisis of traditional capitalism and a planet in trouble.

Our vision of business as an agent of sustainable change makes identity our keynote, where in addition to profit, the measure of corporate success also includes a capacity to generate economic, technological, social and environmental value to respond to the great challenges of humanity, as stated in the UN 2030 Agenda.

Way2Global is grounded in a unique, innovative business model. One developed by the successful duo Laura Gori and Claudio Negri: intuition, courage, determination and an appetite for risk, blending the former’s 30 years of experience with the latter’s creative approach, sometimes unconventional and indomitable by the other. As Innovation Manager, Claudio introduces a touch of anarchy and healthy folly into our “permanent laboratory of continuous experimentation”, enabling us to stand out from all the rest. He generates a drive that enables us to move beyond our comfort zone, inspiring us to explore uncharted territories and igniting the spark of innovation.

Thus the roles of the “genius” and the businesswoman sometimes intersect, attenuate each other and mingle, in the self-sustaining pursuit of a vision, of innovative project development, in an attempt to imagine the future and make it real, which in the case of our business idea, is considerably broader than mere economic objectives.

“To be included in the elite of Italy’s historic entrepreneurship, seemingly unobtainable role models for all businessmen, and to see our names and our story rub shoulders with such legends in an exhibition about innovation is a dream come true for Claudio and me. Technological as well as social innovation are the engines of Way2Global, its programmatic, constitutive and identifying vocation. Firmly believing in our bizarre idea and investing passion, resources and years of work was the right choice.”
Laura Gori, Founder & CEO of Way2Global Srl SB

“I am honoured to have been selected among the outstanding business minds of Lombardy. To be perfectly honest, I would never have thought so highly of myself and I’m proud of my role in the creation of Way2Global and its growth, guided by the conviction that creativity will save the world!”
Claudio Negri, Marketing & Innovation Manager of Way2Global Srl SB