L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano T h e l e g a c y b e t w e e n Genoa and San Fran- cisco is now stronger than ever. Two years a f t e r t h e v i s i t s o f some other Genovese represen- tatives, Italian Americans in the bay welcomed Marco Bucci, c u r r e n t l y s e r v i n g a s G e n o a Mayor since his election in June 2017. Mr Bucci and his team had a week full of events and meet- ings, aiming to strengthen the relationships between people, companies, and institutions. In fact, not only do the cities of San Francisco and Genoa share the historical background as maritime centers, but they have also seen a great contribution of immigrants from the Ligurian capital to the entire Bay Area. The Giannini family is only one of the examples of this lively relation, given that nowadays many professionals from Genoa live and work in the Bay Area, where they moved decades ago. During his speeches around t h e B a y A r e a , M a y o r B u c c i stressed that he is not entirely new to America and San Fran- cisco: he worked as Tech Ser- vice and Laboratory Manager at 3 M – I m a t i o n i n M i n n e s o t a , before he got top managerial roles for Eastman Kodak Com- pany in Rochester, New York, followed by the Vice Presidency at SGS and Presidency of Med- ical X-Ray & Printing Solutions at Carestream Health Inc. in Rochester, New York. Right before he was elected as Mayor, he became Chair of the Board and CEO of Liguria Digitale SpA, a company responsible of the design, the construction, and the maintenance of Liguria's digital infrastructure. We had a chance to sit down with Mayor Bucci at the end of his visit to understand what this experience represents in the pre- sent and learn about the plans for the future. Mr Bucci, your visit fol- l o w e d f o r m e r M a y o r a n d Director Cappato's visit to San Francisco late in 2016. What has changed in these two years in the relations between San Francisco and Genoa? I think that the main differ- ence is in vision. My predeces- sor started his five years duty during a time of decline for our city and he had to address that at first. Today, it's important that Genoa grows in order to become t h e t o p c i t y i n t h e M e d i t e r - ranean. We are in a growing mode, as the numbers prove. On the other hand, while the senti- ment in the city itself has also changed, we identified three areas in which the city can really SERENA PERFETTO Genoa and San Francisco look at their past to move forward, together, in the future interest I mentioned before, I'd like to be in touch with compa- nies that are good in those areas and can use Genoa as a point to be even more successful. We also need to work on marketing p l a n s , a l i g n e d t o o u r v a l u e proposition: "in Genoa you get arts as in Florence; beautiful beaches as on the Amalfi Coast; the water along the city like in Venice; and lots of history like in Rome." What did surprise you in S a n F r a n c i s c o a n d w h a t ' s your biggest takeaway? Th e ab ility to lo o k at th e future impressed me. Everybody should understand how quality of life is relevant when it comes to achieving business goals. The reason why we have Silicon Valley here and nowhere else is t h e u n c o n v e n t i o n a l w a y o f doing relationship and business. I am not a businessman any- more, but would like to find new, unconventional ways to manage the public sector, that's why my team is now to take a first step being committed to this mission. The world is not only Liguria. Yet, I believe it - sooner or later - will get pesto and focaccia every single day! u p r i s e : p o r t a n d l o g i s t i c s , tourism and tech. Genoa can surely take a leadership position in all these industries. While he is fully aware of the value of the historical roots between Genoa and San Fran- cisco, Mayor Bucci cannot help but remember the similarities of the two cities: the climate, for i n s t a n c e , i s p r e t t y m u c h t h e same, so is the quality of life, that is very important when it comes to decide where to settle down. Genoa and the Bay Area shared more than what it may look like at first sight. W h y d o y o u t h i n k S a n Francisco is so unique and special? People here really believe they can change the world. And that's actually true. There are some leading hedge activities that you don't find anywhere e l s e . I t w a s l i k e t h a t a t t h e beginning of the 2000s, five years ago, and it is absolutely like that right now. You find stuff that cannot be found in any other place in the world. The digital revolution is only one of the things we can collaborate on, yet there are many others we can work together on. In gener- al, the mindset, the sentiment, and the way of thinking are all making a big difference: it's what we call "culture." The cul- ture of the people is unique and, believe it or not, it recalls the same it was in Genoa and Italy at some point in history, when we were leading the world's culture. Genovesi and San Francis- cans share a strong interest f o r t h e i r p a s t a n d h i s t o r y . How can you turn this mutual curiosity into a plan of collab- oration? Reading and understanding the past is absolutely critical to make the right move for the future. We learn from the past but, if we stick to it only, it may be hard to move forward. So, if we use the knowledge of the past and apply it to the strategic move of the future, we actually h a v e a b i g p l u s . T h e r e f o r e , keeping the connection between two cities that are seven thou- sand miles apart is very impor- tant because, if we use the con- n e c t i o n f r o m t h e p a s t t o replicate the mindset that is in our city, we can do great things. People, money, and opportuni- ties are connected because peo- ple who have been successful here can invest in Italy by tak- ing advantage of the Silicon V a l l e y m e n t a l i t y t o c r e a t e something similar. Talking about technology, y o u s a i d y o u w a n t t o h e l p investors and facilitate invest- m e n t s i n G e n o a . H o w c a n G e n o a s e t a n e x a m p l e f o r other cities in Italy? We opened up to the world, like Milan did and Turin is try- ing to do. More than technical issues, the mindset is crucial: Genoa's was closed for a long time, now we opened it up and people understand that's the way to do things. We want to become an example for the rest of the country: if you want to be successful, you need to be in c o n t a c t w i t h t h e w o r l d a n d , maybe sometimes even go fur- ther than that, by putting your- self on the leading hedge, at least in the areas you're strong in. After you visited compa- n i e s a n d m e t p e o p l e h e r e , what do you think can play a role in achieving the goals you set for the city of Genoa as a Mayor? As we identified the areas of Mayor Bucci tasting Trofie e Pesto prepared by Chef Panizza from Genoa SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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