EY NextGen

Carla Venesio believes that to embrace the full potential of their ambition, business leaders need to be brave, open-minded and resilient. She says that when those qualities are paired with vision, they create a dramatic impact by changing the way people think, act and behave.

Having a clear vision is important to Carla. As the Director of Private Banking and Wealth Management at Banca del Piemonte, she is navigating the digital transformation of the banking sector. “You need to know where you want to go, you try to understand the big picture of what you are doing, and you find a way to do it,” she says.

“The way clients and customers think and act is very different than in the past,” Carla says. “We are trying to change the business model in a way that improves the user experience for our clients.” To that end, she is working with her team to harness the digital revolution and invest in technological solutions.

Her family, which founded the bank in 1912, is fully committed to this project. “We all agree that we need to make this big shift and change the business model we’ve been used to in the past,” she says. “They trust me a lot.”

Trust is important to a family enterprise, and it’s one of the many relatable topics that attendees discuss at the EY NextGen Academy. “It’s a great opportunity to talk with people from different parts of the world and also from different industries about issues that are incredibly common with you,” Carla says.

Douglas McAlpine knows that a leader’s groundbreaking ambitions can lead to revolutionary outcomes. When Renewable Energy Systems was founded 35 years ago, the company was focused on R&D in a high-risk, nascent industry. Today, the technologies are commercialized and the industry is on the brink of a potentially huge expansion.

“Renewable energy is one of the most important answers to decarbonizing the world and electrifying our energy use,” says Douglas, who is the Chairman of the company’s North American subsidiary. “The people who led my family business at the beginning were visionaries. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

As a fifth-generation member of the family enterprise, Douglas sees the business attracting the attention of younger generations who are interested in sustainability. Their interest reveals one way a family legacy can evolve. “I think legacy can really shine a light on some of the issues that we face today,” he says. “A lot of the lessons learned can be reapplied to today’s world.”

One of those lessons is the importance of culture. “We have four core values: passion, accountability, collaboration and excellence,” Douglas says. “We believe that if everyone in the company demonstrates them and excels at them, then the company hugely increases its ability to succeed.”

Another key to success came from networking at the EY NextGen Academy. “I had a number of issues that I was able to share and ask others about,” he says. “Their advice directly impacted the way I approached the situation.”