Five Ring Bocconians

Three different stories, very different indeed. But with some things in common: first of all, a degree from Bocconi University, then the firm decision to leave a high-profile career path to embrace a stimulating, fascinating and, in a certain sense, unique but temporary one: the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Because taking part in the organization of an Olympic and Paralympic event is something that marks your professional life and, perhaps, your personal life too.

The three Bocconi alumni involved in the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation, the body responsible for all the organization, promotion and communication of the sporting and cultural events related to the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, are Anush Arakelyan (Head of National Olympic and Paralympic Committee Services, who attended the FIFA Master at Bocconi), Iacopo Mazzetti (Head of Legacy, Master of Science in General Management) and Flaminia Tamburi (Head of Village Management, Executive Master in Business of Events).

Anush Arakelyan's journey

For Anush, who is Armenian, Milano Cortina is not her first experience with the five rings, but since 16 years have passed since her previous adventure and 20 since her first, in a certain sense it is as if it were. “Once I finished my Master's degree, which was like an Eldorado for me given my passion for sport, thanks to its network I managed to join the organizing committee for the 2006 Turin Olympics, where I was in charge of relations with some national Olympic and Paralympic committees. I was in daily contact with them to understand their needs and then share the information with the rest of the team.”

After a brief experience in Vancouver in 2010 – “only three months, because if I had accepted the full-time position, I would have lost my residence permit to stay in Italy” – she worked in logistics. When the opportunity arose to work for the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, she had no doubts.

“The work is the same, but compared to 20 years ago, it has changed a lot, and not just because I am now the manager. The IOC's guidelines have changed, for example, with an increasing focus on sustainability. The complexity has increased because there are six Olympic villages for Milano Cortina compared to three for Turin. As a result, the number of issues has increased, and so has the number of staff involved.”

The management of Olympic villages according to Flaminia Tamburi

Complexity is a key word. Not criticality, a term that Flaminia Tamburi, head of the Olympic and Paralympic villages and coordinator of a team of about 100 people, does not like. “Managing the villages does not just mean providing athletes with a place to sleep,” she says, "but ensuring a range of services and activities so that every delegation is satisfied. I talk about complexity because the villages are very different from each other: from the ultra-modern one in Milan, which will become a student residence after the Olympics, to the accomodation built ad hoc in Cortina, to the hotels in Bormio. Ensuring that athletes have a positive experience, wherever they stay, is our mission." It is a widespread event that makes the most of what already exists. “Places like Bormio, Cortina, and Livigno are used to organizing World Cup ski races, they have the know-how and the facilities,” says Tamburi.

Legacy according to Iacopo Mazzetti

The theme of the villages is naturally linked to that of the legacy, both tangible and intangible, that the Games will leave behind. “My work,” explains Iacopo Mazzetti, “is very varied, because when we talk about legacy, we are referring to the lasting legacy in terms of infrastructure, works, and economic and social benefits that the event leaves to the territories.”

Organizing with as little impact on the environment as possible was one of the IOC's diktats, as Iacopo Mazzetti confirms: “The instruction was clear: only build infrastructure that can be reused because there is a specific interest in that area. This is the case with the Santa Giulia Arena, where the hockey matches will be played. It is a modern facility, which Milan lacked, capable of hosting sporting and musical events in the future. Other facilities, such as the skating rink at the Fiera, will be temporary.”

The dream of being part of a gigantic machine

Overall, more than a thousand people work for the Foundation alone, not counting related industries and services. A gigantic machine that started up in 2019, immediately after the IOC awarded the Games, and which is now running at full power on the eve of the opening ceremony. “I wanted to be part of this event right from the start,” says Flaminia Tamburi. “I was already working in events at the Dynamo Foundation, and I have a great passion for winter sports: I'm a ski instructor. When will I ever get the chance to participate in an Olympics organized where I live and where I practice my favorite sport?”

For Iacopo Mazzetti, the adventure began even earlier: before joining the organizing committee, he was responsible for the bid. “It's an experience you have when you want change, because the Games bring together so many different professionals and people from all over the world.”

Our Games

Once the Games are over (February 22 for the Olympics, March 15 for the Paralympics), their experience will also come to an end. What will remain, in terms of “legacy,” in each of them?

“This experience is teaching me to manage complexities in a more in-depth way than my previous experiences,” explains Mazzetti. “And then knowledge of governance, business management, the ability to identify priorities, and a stronger relationship with the institutions I have been in dialogue with.”

“Working in this context, the biggest there is because nothing surpasses the Olympic Games, allows you to acquire skills that can also be applied to the organization of other major events, not necessarily sporting ones,” adds Arakelyan. “It taught me to work under stress and manage a large team of over 40 people of many nationalities.”

For Flaminia Tamburi, what she has learned will also be valuable in the future, perhaps at another major sporting event. "Whether it's another Olympics or something else, I would like everything I've learned over the past six years not to go to waste. If they told me that there would be another Olympics in Italy in 10 or 20 years, I would sign up immediately. I, like the other more than 1,000 people working for these Games, represent human capital, expertise that must not be lost and that could be extremely useful for other major events that Italy may want to organize."