Continuing on from the previous mandate of Tommaso Boralevi, Chief Technology Officer at Lendlease, Grillo will be responsible for expanding the Federated Innovation @MIND network and further consolidating it within the innovation ecosystem, with a view to developing projects with an ever-greater impact. Grillo will be supported by Simone Astiaso Garcia, Senior Vice President of Engineering & Operations at ELT Group and Vice President of Federated Innovation @MIND.
Among the new developments are the further expansion of the network at an international level, the drive to support innovation, and the definition of a program of high-profile events in the areas of City of the Future and Life Sciences.
Federated Innovation @MIND – the public-private collaboration model launched in 2021 as a driver of innovation for MIND, Milano Innovation District, and promoted by Lendlease with the contribution of Cariplo Factory, has appointed Fabrizio Grillo as its new president. Alongside Grillo, Simone Astiaso Garcia, Senior Vice President of Engineering & Operations at ELT Group, will serve as Vice President of Federated Innovation.
At the helm of Bracco Pharma Group's Public Affairs & International Relations Office since 2016, Grillo has gained extensive experience in the field of institutions and international relations, working in both public and private organizations. He has held positions of great responsibility at the Municipality of Milan, in relations with the European Commission, the European Parliament, and UNESCO. In these contexts, he has managed legal, economic, research and analysis, and political issues, as well as advocacy and fundraising activities in the fields of industrial policy and research and development. Between 2009 and 2016, he followed Expo2015 in Milan and the Italian Pavilion in his role as Secretary General, managing relations with participating countries and international organizations (UN, EU, OECD), promoting new partnerships, and implementing important business projects.
With over 20 years of managerial experience in the Aerospace & Defense sector, Simone Astiaso Garcia has participated in important national and international projects in Italy, the UK, Germany, and the US. He has been with ELT Group since 2001 and currently holds the position of Senior Vice President of Engineering & Operations, leading Technical Marketing, Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrialization, Customer Service, and Sourcing & Supply Chain Management. He is a member of the Board of Directors of E4Life (a startup created as part of Federated Innovation @MIND by ELT Group and Lendlease in the new field of biodefense) and Solinx USA (an ELT Group subsidiary in Boston, a reference point for sourcing, technology scouting, and marketing in the USA).
In line with the previous presidency, the new governance will focus on further strengthening awareness of Federated Innovation both within MIND and in the broader Italian and international innovation ecosystems, continuing to develop public-private dialogue to support the implementation of projects that have a positive impact on the Future of Health and Cities of the Future, which are the two thematic pillars of the network.
Particular attention will also be paid to expanding the network of companies that make up Federated Innovation.
Over the next three years, particular attention will be paid to technology transfer, as Federated Innovation @MIND can now serve as a model for accelerating knowledge in order to create an advanced ecosystem in the world of research. Federated Innovation brings together all the characteristics and skills needed to transfer knowledge, technology, and expertise from the field of scientific research to the market.
In the first three years of Federated Innovation, the companies and institutions in the network have created innovation and stimulated debate around the two pillars of the Future of Health and Cities of the Future. The new mandate aims to continue to focus on these two macro-areas, in particular through the new President's desire to create a network of high-profile events, bringing companies, institutions, and research centers together to exchange ideas on an international level.
Finally, the new presidency will focus on promoting the more than 100 innovation initiatives that have emerged in recent years within Federated Innovation and on seeking funding opportunities for new projects that will be proposed by companies through the model adopted by the network, collaborate to compete: a model that goes beyond classic open innovation, aimed at generating research and innovation initiatives, promoting technology transfer and the cross-pollination of ideas on a platform open to collaboration between all companies, universities, and institutions involved, and with a legal structure to protect intellectual property.
"I am thrilled to take on the role of President of Federated Innovation, an initiative I have believed in from the outset due to its potential to become a real game changer in the field of business innovation within a few years," commented Fabrizio Grillo. "I intend to continue the work of the previous mandate and build on the excellent results achieved in recent years. In particular, this three-year period will be based on a number of clear guidelines: strengthening awareness of Federated Innovation not only within MIND, but also in the Italian and international innovation ecosystem; continuing to expand the network of companies; creating a small scientific committee; launching a technology transfer program; and, last but not least, creating a program of high-profile events on the themes of the Future of Health and Cities of the Future."
