L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano C onsul General Sergio Strozzi's impactful tenure in San Francisco drew to a close, leaving behind a remarkable legacy defined by his dedica- tion to building bridges. His time in the Bay Area was ded- icated to creating connec- tions, uniting communities, and strengthening the bonds between Italy and this part of the US. We sat with Consul Strozzi for a final conversation before he headed back to Rome with his family. "Growing up in Alessan- dria, a town in Italy's Pied- mont region, the world of diplomacy and government service felt miles away. Our lives revolved around local concerns, and international relations were not part of our e v e r y d a y c o n v e r s a t i o n s . When I graduated from high school in classical studies and humanities, my ambition was to follow in my father's foot- steps and become a lawyer. This path led me to study law at the University of Turin." A pivotal experience during those years changed Consul Strozzi's life trajectory. He j o i n e d t h e E U E r a s m u s Project, spending a year at the School of Law at Kingston University in London. It was there, immersed in an inter- national environment, that he understood the significance of being an Italian abroad. "For me, it was all about represent- ing a country that values cul- ture, beauty, history, scientific research, and progress. That's where the shift from classical legal studies to a specializa- tion in international public and private law happened." It was at this time that Consul Strozzi committed himself to preparing for the rigorous Italian Foreign Service public exam. "I started working at my father's firm as a lawyer, then moved into the finance and banking sector, before I passed the exam and joined the diplomatic career in 2001. My first two postings were to Hungary and Albania, fol- l o w e d b y a t i m e i n R o m e before I was appointed Con- sul General in San Francisco in 2021." Uniting San Francisco's Italian communities has been at the core of Consul Strozzi's time in the Bay Area. "My attitude, both in my personal and professional life, is to connect with people and con- nect people. I truly agree with the statement Mayor Daniel Laurie made during t h e I t a l i a n N a t i o n a l D a y Reception - San Francisco wouldn't be San Francisco without the Italian Commu- n i t y ; " a l r e a d y u p o n h i s arrival, Consul Strozzi recog- n i z e d t h e t r u t h i n t h e s e words: "During the years, on top of the historical Italian A m e r i c a n c o m m u n i t y , a whole new type of Italian immigration enriched the local landscape: a new com- munity of engineers, tech experts, managers, entrepre- neurs, scientists, researchers. I found out these two souls of the Italian community didn't know nor talk to each other. I s t a r t e d w o r k i n g t o b r i n g them and their leaders Con- sulate General to meet, and organize events and launch initiatives that could allow them to work together." An example of it is the San Francisco Little Italy Honor Walk: the Consulate General worked with the main Italian historical and new organiza- t i o n s t o s e t a p a t h w a y o f bronze plaques dedicated to the greatest figures of Ital- ians who contributed to the city's growth in every field o v e r t h e y e a r s . T h e f i r s t plaque, installed in Washing- ton Square, was dedicated to f o r m e r M a y o r , G e o r g e Moscone. A m o n g t h e C o n s u l a t e General's tasks, the main one is to build stronger collabora- tions between Italy's innova- t i o n a n d t e c h e c o s y s t e m , including tech hubs of the jurisdictions such as Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Boise. When asked about his proud- est accomplishment from these past five years, Consul Strozzi had no hesitation to mention this very sector: "I am particularly proud of how big the network of the Silicon Valley players connected to the Italian Consulate General and to INNOVIT has been growing since 2021. We have a n o n g o i n g c o l l a b o r a t i o n with all the major US and Sil- icon Valley ICT companies like NVIDIA, Google, AWS, M i c r o s o f t , A p p l e , C i s c o , Meta, OpenAI, Anthropic, Salesforce, as well as with Universities like Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCSF, Santa Clara, and high-tech centers like NASA Ames and NASA SSERVI." And added: "Just to speak about some results, we got some American com- panies and startups based in the Bay Area to open their operational branches in Italy. For instance, SkyDeck – UC B e r k e l e y ' s a c c e l e r a t o r – o p e n e d i t s f i r s t a n d o n l y office in Europe in Milan; Plug&Play opened four hubs in Italy; and Apple is operat- i n g t h e A p p l e D e v e l o p e r Academy in Naples." To support these efforts, t h e C o n s u l a t e G e n e r a l o f Italy issued 24 investor visas to US investors who live in the jurisdiction from 2021 to the first semester of 2025. Another goal was widening and strengthening Italy's presence in the other states of the consular jurisdiction like Washington State, Ore- gon, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Hawaii, and Alaska, with an increase of trade, invest - ments, scientific and techno- logical collaborations, star- tups, culture, and Italian language promotion in the local education systems. A s h e l o o k e d b a c k , w e asked if there was anything Consul Strozzi wished was different. "The biggest chal- lenge I faced is double-sided: local investors and venture capital firms have so many o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r i n v e s t - m e n t s i n i n n o v a t i o n a n d highly technological startups in the Bay Area that they don't consider going abroad and searching for startups and companies outside the US. To tackle this issue and to overcome this stereotype, t h e I t a l i a n G o v e r n m e n t decided to launch its first Innovation and Culture Hub a b r o a d r i g h t h e r e i n S a n Francisco." He added: "To create actual collaboration and bonds, you need to dive deep into the relationship with the US partners and constantly and carefully fol- low up on these connections. This is where our Consulate General is making the differ- ence: our job is to open up new connections and make them work in favor of the Italian system, together with the Italian Embassy in DC." H i s f o u r y e a r s i n S a n F r a n c i s c o h a v e b e e n a n extraordinary experience for Consul Strozzi, not just pro- fessionally, but also personal- ly. "My family and I arrived in early summer 2021, step- ping into a city still largely under pandemic restrictions. Despite the quiet start, San Francisco quickly became home. My eldest daughter, Caterina, completed high school here and, in 2023, my husband and I welcomed our s e c o n d c h i l d , M a t t e o o r 'Memè' as he calls himself." Consul General's husband, S i m o n e , a n a r c h i t e c t a n d designer, started working for a US firm, while helping the C o n s u l a t e G e n e r a l , INNOVIT, and many Italian and Italian American organi- zations with new projects and events, like the San Francisco Little Italy Honor Walk, and the remodeling of the Con- sulate General. "Much of the g o a l s I a c h i e v e d i n t h e s e y e a r s h a v e b e e n p o s s i b l e thanks to Simone's major role as my spouse. He has been instrumental in bring- ing on so many projects and activities." Strozzi concluded: "When we talk about tech and busi- ness diplomacy, let's not for- get the role of diplomats' spouses in enhancing the col- l a b o r a t i o n w i t h t h e l o c a l communities and the promo- tion of the country's excel- lences. We are heading to Rome soon where I'll take the position as Head of the Unit for Technological Innovation and Startups at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We will go back to the unique Italian creative and socially vibrant environment, bringing an immense experience and net- work of relations we have built up in the Bay Area." SERENA PERFETTO Consul General Sergio Strozzi reflects on his Bay Area post through diplomacy and personal ties Consul General Sergio Strozzi during the Festa della Repubblica 2025 (Photo: Barak Shrama) SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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