This week our trailblazer is Francesco Venturini, CEO of one of the world’s most innovative energy solution companies, Enel X. Told to ‘go out and break things’ Francesco insists that the company’s incredible success has never been about innovation for innovation’s sake. Rather, a critically disciplined focus on value generation.
Serving half a billion people with electricity every day puts this leader in a very powerful position to help accelerate the energy transition. We’re here to fuel a new energy conversation and it starts with you.
“To accelerate a transition, people need to be engaged. To engage them you need to provide value . To provide value, you need to be providing a great customer experience."
FRANCESCO VENTURINI
Trailblazer 10:
FRANCESCO VENTURINI
CEO ENEL X
Innovation Ninja
Francesco Venturini is the highly successful Chief Executive Officer of Enel X, the innovative business unit charged with creating an energy ecosystem through electric mobility, electrification, digitalization and the provision of new energy services at the residential and commercial level to pave a new energy future and at the same time creates value for our shareholders.
Born in New York (USA) in 1968, Francesco graduated cum laude in Economics from the University of Rome La Sapienza, where he also served as assistant professor of Banking Strategies and Techniques during the academic year 1991-1992.
He is a London Business School alumnus and he received an MBA from MIT’s Sloan Business School in 2015. Francesco served as Financial Controller for Elsag Bailey Process Automation, and later became Chief Financial Officer for several companies of the Elsag Bailey Process Automation and Hartmann & Braun groups in both the United States and Brazil.
He joined the Enel Group in 1997 as Head of Administration and Management Control at Enel S.p.A., contributing to the company listing on the New York and Milan Stock Exchanges. Mr. Venturini later became Head of Internal Audit within Enel's Distribution and Market Division, and subsequently Head of Sales Administration within the same division.
Traditional utilities as we knew them are trying to survive in an evolving scenario where margins are squeezing because of increasing competition and disruptive innovation. In 2009, Francesco was appointed Head of Finance in Enel Green Power. Afterwards, he took on the role of Head of Business Development and later, in 2011, as Head of the North America Area. He was named Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Enel Green Power in May 2014.
Enel began shifting it's attention from the “asset” to the “service” dimension of the business, moving from being pure commodity vendors to service providers. To this end, Enel is was keen to harness inspiration from new trends and technologies to develop its own activities through a new Global Division called Enel X (e-Solutions). Francesco was appointed Enel's Head of Global e-Solutions in May 2017 and CEO of Enel X in November 2017.
Francesco intends to continue leading the business to be a key sector player by coupling profitability with sustainability and by creating value for our customers in each segment in which they operate.