Il Dott. Salvatore Bernabei alla "Conferenza nazionale sulla formazione alla leadership"

So, Enel. I am Salvatore Bernabei, head of procurement at Enel. Today I will show you what happens when the things we talked about—leadership, innovation, trust—are implemented, and what Enel's experience is. Enel has changed enormously in the last 10 years. Through a few slides, I present the company: present in over 30 countries, not only Italian. Over half of its margins come from abroad. It is the world's first operator in distribution networks, recently acquired the São Paulo distributor, serving 72 million points, equivalent to over 300 million people. It is also the first operator in renewables with over 40 GW installed (hydro, solar, geothermal, wind). In retail, it serves 20 million customers in many countries. Installed renewable capacity almost equals thermal. Innovative services like Demand Response via the new division Enel X. According to Fortune, Enel is among the 20 companies changing the world; two years ago it was ranked 5th. It is also in the 2017 Ethisphere list for ethical responsibility (5th worldwide), alongside Tesla, Unilever, IKEA, Apple. The World Economic Forum shortlisted it for circular economy. Recently reconfirmed in the Euronext Vigeo sustainability index. Sustainability together with innovation—the title 'Leadership for Innovability'—is central to Enel's strategy.

Why sustainability? Not because Enel decided to be charitable. Enel realized before others that combining industrial efficiency with strong positive social and environmental impact creates long-term value. Many companies focused on the short term have been destroyed. Enel focuses on the medium and long term. The CEO of BlackRock, Enel's second-largest shareholder, wrote to our CEO emphasizing that companies must have a social purpose and create long-term value. That's what we do. Innovability: 'If you don't innovate, you die.' But to innovate, you need the best minds, also outside the company. Enel recognizes it doesn't have all the skills internally. The best talent won't join an unsustainable company. Hence innovability: creating an ecosystem based on shared value. Two pillars: Open Power—opening up to learn from others, not being self-referential; and creating value distributed among all stakeholders—startups, NGOs, employees, suppliers, civil society, institutions, universities. Enel created these programs autonomously, not because of state incentives. Being a leader means exploring new frontiers even without regulatory support.

We innovate with startups: six innovation hubs worldwide (Israel, Silicon Valley, Italy, Brazil, etc.) where we offer a simplified path to do business with us. We have industrial programs like Scra Sourcing, Innovation Intelligence, Innovation Vendors, involving suppliers with specific challenges. I want to emphasize Innovation Communities: being a leader in innovation means it must be part of the culture. We give all Enel employees the opportunity to apply to work in innovation communities on topics like blockchain, augmented reality, wearables, robotics—20% of their time, with no bosses or leaders, just a community innovating in an agile way. They report directly to the CEO periodically. This creates a strong sense of ownership and empowerment. For example, in a small village at 4,600 meters in the Atacama Desert (Chile/Bolivia) that had electricity only 8 hours a day from a diesel generator, we experimented with new saltwater batteries (Zebra battery), a wind turbine for high turbulence, and solar panels in extreme temperatures. We provided 24-hour energy, revived the local economy, and tested a microgrid solution. The community helps maintain the plant.

Innovating with suppliers means giving them challenges. We created an open innovability portal where anyone can propose ideas. We also launched tenders differently: today Enel's tenders are not awarded at the lowest cost. Cost is one variable, but we also include environmental KPIs—we reward suppliers who commit to reducing CO2 emissions; social KPIs for hiring disadvantaged people; incentives for using electric vehicles. In some tenders, the economic component is less than 50% of the total weight. To drive this change, we need to shift focus from short-term to long-term, create a safe environment where people are free to make mistakes (overcoming the Italian culture of blame), and foster an entrepreneurial mindset. Key skills: a clear vision (Open Power: doing business while solving humanity's challenges); willingness to take risks and resilience; adaptability to a fast-changing world; participative leadership—the CEO as a chief enabler officer, like an orchestra conductor. Heart and head: I quote Nobel laureate Rita Levi-Montalcini. Storytelling is crucial: communicate the strategy in a real and convincing way. Build trust and resilience; enable creativity, openness, risk-taking, and new working methods like agile. Thank you for your attention.