Everything in Madrid: From Politics to Stress

On 10 March they met with former Italian Minister Elsa Fornero, to hear her talk about managing the pension reform; in February they discussed the entrepreneurial idea of the creators behind idealista.com, a website for property sales, while last summer they heard from Andrea Brentan, Managing Director of Endesa, a Spanish company that is part of Gruppo Enel. Between events, there are also various social appointments to expand the network of connections and relationships amongst Bocconi alumni. These are the activities at the Madrid chapter, led by a group of nine people headed by Andrea Carissimo.

"Increasing our base is our primary objective," explains the chapter leader, Managing Director of Lapis Lazuli International NV, a company in the sector of contact lens liquids. "We're try to mix cultural and professional events with events related to networking and having fun." Events in the first group include a meeting on 24 March with a representative of the Spanish office of the European Parliament, Ignacio Samper, and an event in April with the founders of the phone company MasMovil. Another event is scheduled for before summer with the international psychiatrist Enrique Rojas, to discuss job stress.

As part of the second type of event, there are wine tastings (in May at the Valenciso wine cellar) and a kart tournament. "At the moment there are about 60 of us participating in group activities, and about 40 are BAA members," says Carissimo. "We're lucky that there is a solid core of very active members and that Bocconi, our Alma Mater, has recently been investing a lot in strengthening our sense of community."