Andrea Sironi, Snapshots from Bocconi
Andrea Sironi can be best described as spanning between personal determination and a certain predisposition towards debate, between beseeching intellectual excellence and extolling human capital. Rector of Bocconi from 2012 to 2016 and president of the Italian Stock Exchange since 2016, he graduated in Economics at Bocconi in 1989, and taught Economics of financial intermediation at the Milan-based university. His approach is one based on virtue in private and academic life that reminds one of the Aristotelian theory of the golden mean, in which virtue represents a point of equilibrium. One of the first students to participate in the Erasmus program, Andrea Sironi can be credited with the strong international approach at Bocconi in order to "permit young students to expand their horizons and aspirations." An analytical person that chooses words with care and measure; a discreet smile that fills even the most rational thoughts with humanity; a sincere gaze that on occasion reveals a warm person. In this manner, in his style, Andrea Sironi opens his album of memories of the thirty years he has spent at Bocconi.
What caused you to stay at Bocconi after graduating?
After graduating I went to London to work for Chase Manhattan-which is now part of the JP Morgan Group-because I wanted to be financially independent. However my dream was to teach. So when Claudio Dematté, the professor with whom I graduated in my studies, asked me to return to Bocconi, I didn't have any reservations. I left a good job and a paid apartment at Draycott Place in London for a scholarship and a basement workplace with eight other colleagues.
Where did your passion for teaching and desire to pursue an academic career come from?
Perhaps from my father: He was a scientist, and worked as a geneticist at a university. I always wanted to teach and decided to try it, if only to avoid having any regrets. Today I can confirm that this choice has given me great satisfaction.
Can you give us an example?
One of the most extraordinary experiences for a teacher is to receive thank you letters from the students that recognize the value of what you have been able to impart. That relationship with young students makes us different from those working in a research center. In fact, we place study and research side by side with teaching, which naturally greatly enriches the interactions within the scope of the human relations.
How was your relationship with Claudio Dematté and with your other colleagues over the years?
Claudio Dematté was a very important figure-charismatic and always very dedicated to the University despite important jobs on the outside, such as with RAI and the Railway. I found other men and women colleagues that were very close to me in mentality and interests. However, when I was in London, I realized that the ambitions of the persons with whom I worked did not match my aspirations for the future.
How has the University changed in these thirty years?
Everything has changed. Back then, research was anchored on real problems, but weaker in terms of methodology. Nowadays, it is more sophisticated and rigorous. Research has become very important because we have adopted the Anglo-Saxon model in which creating scientific credentials in the first years of one's career is fundamental. The market is open and if the University does not provide a place for the best teachers, it will lose them. So Bocconi has to promote the brightest and most productive. Also, the students have changed; I have the impression that they have become less critical than before. This is, in part, due to the fact that young students today have more to worry about for their future than my generation had to. We lived in a more reassuring world and would often challenge the subjects that were presented at the University and debated with the professors vigorously.
How would you describe the beginning of your tenure as Rector?
I started my job as the Rector when I was relatively young [the second youngest at Bocconi after Mario Monti, ed.] and I felt rather insecure. I felt under observation from the older colleagues, whom I greatly respected and held in high regard. But after the first year everything became much simpler. Having been a teacher, Dean, and director of the teaching programs, I had the advantage of knowing the workings of Bocconi very well, but also the disadvantage of being close to many colleagues; with friendships it is sometimes difficult to deny a request or take a different road than others hoped for.
And now, at the end of your tenure as Dean, do you still feel insecure?
Yes, but I think that sometimes not feeling completely adequate for the job can safeguard us from making important mistakes that often derive from being overconfident. Throughout these years, I have always tried to listen to the opinions of all the persons around me before making my decisions. I may have made errors, but not because of cutting corners.
What was the recipe of your tenure as Rector?
I worked continuously with my predecessors and benefited from the work of those who came before me, but my team was fundamental in achieving the results and introducing some important innovations. I think that the spirit of collaboration, friendship, and mutual respect that developed inside the administrative team was the main advantage I benefited from during these years leading the University.
What were your reforms?
Internationalization and social mobility. Now almost all our students are able to participate in a program abroad and can access a scholarship program, which represents an opportunity for social enfranchisement. In fact, Bocconi has a graduate employment rate of 94.3% within a year. All of this gives me great pleasure. I worked assiduously to defeat the elite image of Bocconi from the social point of view, while preserving the intellectual exclusivity.
Do you remember a student that benefited from the programs to support human values?
One that stands out is Dari Tjupa, a stateless student that lived most of his university life in the dorms of Caritas. He did not have the means to study at our University and received aid from us. Now he is a graduate, has a job, and is satisfied in his lot. This person made himself at Bocconi; his story struck me very deeply.
When welcoming freshmen, you bid everyone to make the most of the years at the University in order to make an album of memories. What is in yours?
Unfortunately, as a student I was not at the University very often because of health issues, but I remember with affection and admiration some classmates, including Aldo Romani, a passionate pro-European working in Luxembourg at the European Investment Bank: A simple person with great vision with whom I still enjoy spending time together. Another is Giancarlo Spagnolo, whom I always regarded as a model to refer to; in addition to the academic career, health issues unite us.
In your role as Rector, you have met many important people. Who has struck you the greatest?
One of them is Ratan Tata, a very charismatic person whom I had the opportunity of meeting in his capacity as a member of the International Advisory Council of Bocconi. He is a wise person, calm, generous, but also very simple despite the near-divine role he is attributed in India. No less so are Vittorio Colao, the CEO of Vodafone, and Antonio Belloni, General Director of LVMH: I have built a sincere and deep friendship with them.
How do you feel as a giant among giants?
I do not think that the persons I just mentioned consider me a giant, but they certainly understand the commitment I have always shown to Bocconi. All of this has been possible because I was able to count on a team of persons that were also completely dedicated to the institution and who did not care for visibility. Alberto Grando is first among them in this sense, but I certainly cannot omit Marco Agliati, Antonella Carù, Stefano Caselli, and all the others.
Your team also included Gianmarco Verona, who was nominated to be your successor...
The transition with Verona was rather simple because he was one of my Deans, and as such knew both the University and myself very well. On the other hand, when I became Rector the transition was not so natural because I was not part of the team of Guido Tabellini. However the outgoing Rector was very kind, being always available for me while at the same time standing aside and thus not wanting to interfere with my decisions.
What does a Rector do after being Rector?
He takes a break. I have not planned anything; I have an invitation abroad, but I do not want to take commitments because I want to dedicate more time to my family, my three sons [23, 20, and 12 years old, ed.], and myself. I need to slow down. I will take a step back with respect to the University, even though it will be difficult because it has represented a large part of my life. Maybe I will go sailing a bit just to clear my head.