Agire Boards have been renewed

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Renewed a large part of the Foundation Council, with the confirmation of Luca Bolzani as President and Stefano Rizzi as Vice President. The Foundation enters the new quadrennium with confidence, strengthened by the recent confirmation of the overall credit.

 

On Wednesday, March 13, at the Technopole in Manno, the new Foundation Council took office, with a significant renewal of its composition. After many years of service, Mr. Franco Citterio and Mr. Alberto Petruzzella have completed their terms, to whom thanks are due for their dedication over these years.

The new Foundation Council, appointed by the State Council, includes prominent figures from the academic and economic world of Ticino. Joining the Council are Rocco Cattaneo, representing the Chamber of Commerce of the Canton of Ticino (Cc-Ti), and Jaime Agramontt representing the Ticino Industries Association (AITI). The trade associations, previously represented by Franco Citterio, thus strengthen their willingness to actively contribute to the development of the regional innovation system by having their presence on the Foundation Council. Franco Gervasoni, Director of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), joins the Council representing the new SUPSI President Giovanni Merlini, who initially decided to fully dedicate himself to his new role. The new members join the reconfirmed ones: Luca Bolzani, Stefano Rizzi, Monica Duca Widmer, Giacomo Garzoli, Simone Gianini, Filippo Lombardi, and Adrian Weiss. During the first meeting, the new positions were defined, with the reconfirmation of Luca Bolzani as President, Stefano Rizzi as Vice President, and Franco Gervasoni appointed as Secretary. Bolzani, Rizzi, Duca Widmer, and Gervasoni will also make up the Executive Committee of the Foundation. The presence of a National Councillor in the person of Simone Gianini adds further authority to the Foundation and a presence in the national political landscape.

The reconfirmation of Luca Bolzani as President of the Foundation Council is the natural result of his concrete commitment during his first term. Under his leadership, Agire Foundation has experienced significant development of its activities and initiatives aimed at promoting innovation in Ticino. Among the main projects developed during the just-concluded quadrennium, we recall the launch of the Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino, an Innovation Park associated with the existing one in Zurich, which will see its consolidation during 2024. Also noteworthy was the strengthening of initiatives for startups – with the organization of the Startup Cantonal Day in collaboration with the Economic Division and the introduction of Scouting for Investors, events aimed at facilitating the meeting between startups and investors – and SMEs, for which the figure of the Digital Coach was introduced to promote digitization in Ticino companies. Finally, it is worth mentioning the organization, in 2023, of the first edition of the Action Day, a new major event aimed at stimulating entrepreneurs and companies to take action to find new innovative solutions that promote the development of the cantonal economic fabric.

The new quadrennium opens with optimism, thanks to the broad consensus expressed by the Grand Council regarding support measures for innovation and regional economic policy for the 2024-2027 quadrennium. The related parliamentary message includes the granting of the overall credit to the Agire Foundation, which also benefits from the support of the Confederation: part of the funding is indeed guaranteed by a convention between the Swiss Confederation and the Republic and Canton of Ticino, recently signed by Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin. This will allow the Foundation to consolidate and expand its activities aimed at promoting and disseminating innovation and technological development in Ticino.

 

Picture Repubblica e Cantone Ticino