I remember that together we were in Sheffield and we saw the first continuous casting and we shook hands, right? And we said, look, if dad and mom were here, they would be happy, and we were both a bit moved.
There are looks and complicity that only those who have had a brother or sister can understand. It's that handshake sought in the dark at night. It's that silent look that is enough to say everything. Gestures that cross time and remind you that wherever you go, you will never be alone, even when the journey of life and responsibilities leads you to lead a group with 7,800 people, 36 plants on four continents, that embrace remains and continues to be the safe harbor. Today that family harmony intertwines with the story of a company that, starting from steel, crossed the borders of the world without ever losing its deeply human roots. And so we meet them today, first and foremost as two extraordinary entrepreneurs, two brothers united by an extraordinary harmony. Welcome to 'The Other Face of Steel.' Welcome to Emma and Antonio Marcegaglia.
Thank you for being with us. What is the first memory you have together, that moment, that embrace in which you understood that from then on you would no longer be alone?
It's actually a journey because we really grew up together with the intimacy of the family, with the intimacy of family life that overlapped with that of the company, always breathing the spirit that also involved our games, our fun, and our free time together. But I think that after entering the company, it's a somewhat different path between us. For my part, it was after dad's passing in 2013 that, visually as well as emotionally and even more strongly, at least I perceived the fundamental importance of complicity, of common feeling, of the vision and responsibility that has always united us, but at that moment it became concrete, immediate, imminent, and even more important. A fantastic brother.
No, no, I agree. We have, even though I look much younger, we are only 2 years apart, I'm joking of course, so we really grew up together always. We were in Mantua together, we went to school here in Gazzolo, then we went to Mantua together, then we did high school and his friends were my friends, then we lived together for a period in Milan during university, we faced the issue of dad's kidnapping and I remember when we were at university together we decided to take a theater course, right? To tell you, it was a beautiful thing, and we did it together. I remember on Fridays I did this theater course, then we went home. Then, let's say, families etc., but there has always been a very strong common thread, of great complicity, of great friendship as well. And then I share with Antonio that this affection and esteem turned into a very strong bond when we found ourselves after the passing of mom and dad at the helm of the company together. So, the affection, the esteem, the games together, all that life when we were younger, until you are a child, even if you may not be so young anymore, but you are still a child. When unfortunately you lose your parents, we felt the direct responsibility and there the bond became even stronger. And so I share that this thing became very beautiful and now wherever in the world we are, we always call each other and say 'Where are you, what are you doing?' and he tells me what he did. I tell him what I did, work but not only work. So it's a continuous journey together, an extraordinary complicity.
And growing up under the same roof means not only sharing a space, as you said, but also a heritage of common values. If you had to choose that value, the most important one that you have most cherished, that you have most interpreted in your personal and professional journey, which value would you choose?
Perhaps the one that comes from the moral legacy of our parents, the great humanity, right? Everything we do, we do with a sense of responsibility, always with great attention to the people who work for us, who are our customers, our suppliers, our friends. This great humanity that, I repeat, comes from our parents and that I believe characterizes us a bit as entrepreneurs today.
Yes, I confirm it too. Naturally, the idea of social value and the role of the entrepreneur beyond one's own interests, to contribute to society, to the territory. But I would also like to add a specific value of the entrepreneur, specific I believe of a certain type of entrepreneur: tenacity. Never give up, no matter how, where, why, but never give up.
With this tenacity and this humanity, today you are at the helm of an international group, also the child of many strategic choices that you have courageously undertaken, with which today the Marcegaglia group is no longer a leader only in steel transformation, but also in production with the first entry in 2023, also realizing your father's dream with the acquisition of the long products of Autocompu. Then 2024 also saw the strategic choice of Fossim in France and then a series of collaborations, integrations, joint ventures starting with the Manni group in 2025. In this journey where personal and entrepreneurial dreams intertwine, what is the most beautiful dream you feel you have realized for yourselves, but also for the group?
First of all, our father, as you know, was a great entrepreneur, a great man together with our mother. So the first dream realized, if we can say so, is having taken the values, made them our own from our parents, and then transformed them into very important growth. Since dad passed away, we have basically doubled revenues, we have expanded and also changed the business model of the company, while keeping the helm steady, with the upstream integration you mentioned. As you rightly recalled, the fact of becoming steel producers is a dream realized. I remember that together we were in Sheffield and we saw the first continuous casting and we shook hands, right? And we said, look, if dad and mom were here, they would be happy, and we were both a bit moved. So the dream was to continue to carry the company forward, expand it, make it even stronger, bigger, more capable of being in the markets. And as Antonio said, dreams never end. The dream is to continue to make the company even stronger, even more ready to face the challenges and all the things we have ahead. So we are ready and our dream is to continue to have a strong company that understands, rides, and perhaps even anticipates new trends.
Perfect alignment. This thought. We have summarized it in this claim '10,000', a shorter-term goal of 3-4 years: 10 billion in revenue, so grow another 1 billion, grow with the right profitability on a structural basis beyond the economic cycles, and zero debt, zero accidents, zero emissions, meaning quality of this growth. If we look further ahead, the further dream is also to leave a mark in society, in the territory, so that Marcegaglia steel is remembered not only for its business performance and the social role of the company, which is fundamental, but also for the broader impact we can and hope to have transmitted and still have to work on and can transmit around us.
You, Emma, together with the company, have also crossed the associative and institutional world with so much determination, courage, and with the desire to maintain and create true relationships, especially in years when being a woman was absolutely an exclusivity. You were the first woman president of Confindustria, of Eni, of Business Europe. In this journey where you also created new paths for those who will come after you with openness, what was the moment of greatest adrenaline, greatest pride, and what do you remember from those years?
Well, it was a very beautiful journey, obviously very satisfying, always parallel to the company because even in the years when I dedicated a lot of time to institutions, my presence in the company was always there. I remember when I was president of Business Europe, there was a meeting where we talked about the labor market, the challenges of work, and the European Council, where all the heads of state and government sat, asked Business Europe and union representatives to participate. I remember they sat me essentially next to Merkel and I gave a speech and then she did this, she touched me and said 'You gave a great speech.' I said, oh how nice, then maybe I gave a speech that was too pro-Germany and not for Italy, maybe I was wrong, but that was a moment when I said, wow, nice. Then I remember coming home, this also shows the greatness of our family, feet on the ground. I came home all happy, I told dad, 'Dad, you know, I was with Merkel, Merkel told me I was good.' And he said, 'Yes, yes, but now come here, we need to talk about how to distribute the portfolio to the banks.' I mean, there was always this idea: you do very beautiful things, but remember that solidity is here. However, I remember that moment as a moment of great emotion. I was sitting there, me and the three unions, and there were the 28 heads of state and government, and I spoke even more than I was supposed to. I was supposed to speak 5 minutes, I spoke 10 minutes, and I saw Merkel looking at me and then she gave me this sign, said 'brava, brava.' So that was a moment I certainly remember.
Just before, you mentioned yesterday's meeting with two female entrepreneurs who said, 'You were our role model.' When did you realize you had become Emma Marcegaglia?
You know, I don't know. Let's say that yesterday evening these two women, who today hold very important roles internationally, in investment funds, in banks, and are probably 40-45 years old, told me, 'Look, you were our model' because back then we were starting, there were few women, you were our model. It made me... I don't know when, but let's say it has always been a beautiful journey. I can tell you that I would do everything I did again. There is nothing where I would say, 'Ah, that thing I did wrong, maybe I shouldn't have done it.' No, all the experiences I had, more or less positive, but actually they were all positive, there is nothing where I would do things differently. All these experiences have enriched me and made me who I am today.
We should get used to selling not tons of steel, but square meters of beauty. That's a phrase you quote and that we also share a lot. But what does it mean, Antonio, in 2025, to do business in the steel supply chain?
This phrase refers in particular to one of our products, Chromatica, which finds application in urban renewal on external facades, so it had its own specificity. But this concept is actually extendable: to evolve our proposition in the metal and steel supply chain, particularly in Europe, from a logic of commodity and pure search for efficiency and cost competitiveness, because we live in a part of the world that will have increasing complexity in competing with new emerging countries, especially Asia. We are in some way defending ourselves from unfair trade practices, we are trying to evolve our markets, but through technology we have a path that we must not give up at all, but rather strengthen. However, I believe we must also address the issue of enriching product and service solutions in a way that is more attractive, more differentiated compared to the basic product. To do this, we need process and product innovation, creativity, rethinking value chains, rethinking distribution mechanisms, and also the attractiveness of a product that remains industrial, functional, instrumental, but also has many attractive, sexy, beautiful aspects that can and must be valorized.
Speaking of creativity, I am also passionate about music, and one of the things that always strikes me is hearing that some pieces, even famous ones, in their reinterpretations, their interpretations, seem to almost surpass the original. Maybe it's the intensity of the voice, the orchestra, the harmony, but also the emotion with which they are interpreted. They not only revive the original, not only do not betray it, but in some way amplify it. I think that doing business, after all, is also a form of art, because beyond the numbers, beyond the data and organization, every company has its own rhythm, its own melody. And I like to think, listening to you, that in some way the score created by your father, you have not limited yourselves to continuing it as second generation, even though he loved to call you 'first bis,' but in some way you have written a new melody, more your own, more in your style, more modern, bigger, obviously more international. But in some way you have rewritten that music, amplified it with the values of the original, but with a melody all your own. Casa Marcegaglia is a way to valorize all this and to bring this melody to the community and to those who will come after you.
Well, certainly yes. By the way, congratulations, I really like this metaphor of yours and it's a nice compliment. Casa Marcegaglia is a project that Emma and I strongly wanted, precisely to combine the heritage, especially of values, but also the experience, the information, the history that we must not forget, which underlines our roots and all the positive things that are the basis of what we are today, in a context that can visualize and capitalize these values also for the benefit of our employees, our community, and in general the outside world. But at the same time with a look to the future, not only to the past, with a different language, more emotional, perhaps more modern, less orthodox, and we think also attractive. But in a journey that projects us into a distant future, without forgetting the origins, without forgetting the strengths, but underlining the ability to innovate, improve, and evolve.
Study is another very important element of your personal journey, both graduated with honors from Bocconi, then an experience in New York during the NBA and the Academy that is also born in this spirit, image, together with that humanity of Steno who, when shaking hands and workers apologized for their dirty hands, said 'Those who work never have dirty hands.' Today, how much time do you manage to dedicate to in-depth study and reading? I know you prepare a lot. How do you manage, within your commitments, to carve out moments of study for yourselves?
Certainly, first let me say that the Academy for us is a very important project, which is also an integral part of Casa Marcegaglia. For us, the Academy is perhaps what we want to do most for our future strength. So attracting talent, retaining talent, making sure that our stakeholders, our customers, suppliers, other entrepreneurs can in some way benefit from this knowledge we are creating, which is not only knowledge of our company, our sector, but also knowledge of geopolitics, leadership, everything that is needed today. So for us, the Academy is truly central in our future strategy. Coming to the question, I think it applies to me, but absolutely also to Antonio: we continue to study. Even if I have to speak to 10 fifteen-year-old kids, I still study, first out of respect for myself, because I don't want to say things, and then out of respect for the people I speak to. So I always prepare, I always study, I go deeper, I read books. It's a continuous deepening. And now that we have bought this important company in France, not having studied French well when I was a girl, I am taking French lessons. This poor teacher, I give him a hard time, but I'm trying, I'm studying French. So I think that studying is always very important, deepening, reasoning. I believe that the educational path we had, and also what we always breathed from our parents, left me with great curiosity. My husband makes fun of me because when I see something I say, 'Ah, that's beautiful, I want to know everything about it.' So he teases me, 'Now you want to know everything? I start buying books on that thing.' So knowledge is very important, it's fundamental.
I also confirm that a learning path is never finished. On the contrary, I believe that the more you study, the more you realize how ignorant you are in a certain sense. And it's even more important, I would say, in a world that is absolutely much more complex, articulated, where the rules of yesterday or the day before yesterday are valid neither today nor even less tomorrow. And especially in a world that, due to the speed and the way in which many today learn or inform themselves rather than learn, risks superficiality. If there is a strong element that comes from our culture, our education, perhaps also from our time, it is precisely the determination to go deeper, to understand thoroughly, to compare multiple points of view, but to go deeper and not settle for the first opinion or the superficial one. This is an element that, whether in technical issues like CBAM and its rules, or in broader ones like geopolitics or the impact of artificial intelligence, I believe it is important to maintain.
