Il Sole 24 Ore - 14 March
Peter Bodin, CEO of Grant Thornton International Ltd, in Rome on the occasion of the Grant Thornton Diversity & Inclusion conference, has been interviewed by one of the most important economic newspapers in Italy, Il Sole 24Ore. He expressed his views on the opportunities offered by the Italian economic environment.
Asked about the peculiarities of the Italian SMEs, Peter Bodin declared that all that concerns technology and innovation can have a positive impact on the economy […] It is necessary to foster the development of the SMEs market, helping them become technology-based and expand internationally. Italy and Germany, who are both characterised by this peculiar entrepreneurial environment, play a key role in the Grant Thornton network and their importance is growing.
Speaking about foreign investors’ expectation and economic outlook on Italy, Peter Bodin highlighted the drop in optimism recorded in 2018 in Europe, Asia and Italy as well, due, among other factors, to the politic uncertainty which is affecting a large number of businesses worldwide.
Peter Bodin then commented on the results of the latest Grant Thornton “Women in Business” report, which registered an increase - though slight - in the number of women in business leading positions. According to Peter Bodin, to be sustainable over time, businesses must guarantee gender equality, which impacts positively also on investments, performances, and clients. Young people today would like to work in businesses that care about the environment and, most of all, about gender equality. By promoting diversity, better results are achieved, better decisions are made and better performances are reached.
Lastly, as concerns sustainability and international climate mobilization, according to Peter Bodin, today businesses cannot ignore environmental sustainability in the long term. The UN Sustainable development goals are one of the solutions aimed at addressing the challenges of the modern world. Businesses should decide and take measurements in this direction.
