Arturo Licenziati and Alberto Bona, two Captains Courageous who look to the future

Facing challenges, aiming for a goal and committing themselves to achieve it; competing with themselves and with the external world; striving to effectively exploit every tool at their disposal: these are just some of the features characterising the audacity we find today in the protagonists of Sailing into the Future. Together. Shared values and a mix of determination and perseverance are the common leitmotif of this great sporting and human enterprise;an adventure that Arturo Licenziati, President and CEO of IBSA, and Alberto Bona chose to carry out. Two “captains” at the helm of two realities that – in apparently distant contexts – still have a lot in common.

SAILING AS A CORPORATE METAPHOR

The team, the regatta, the route, the adventure of sailing itself: this sport becomes a metaphor for the human and how everyone measures itself every day with the challenges of life and difficulties on its course.  Grit, passion, determination in overcoming unforeseen events and ‘bad weather’ during this journey are the parameter to evaluate the abilities of two people who today at the helm of important projects: Alberto is in fact the skipper of the Class40 IBSA, while Arturo Licenziati – the founder of IBSA – has been measuring himself with the challenges and difficulties of the pharmaceutical market for over 35 years. Both of them know how to read the changes in the weather, exploit them in their favour, take “the boat” beyond the storm.

THE 4Cs OF PRESIDENT ARTURO LICENZIATI

 “If he fights with courage, he has already won”, stated President Licenziati. Not giving up is a victory in itself, but turning an adventure into a successful business can be done by combining together some essential ingredients. These are the 4Cs that Arturo Licenziati has always been inspired by:

• the Courage to make choices and difficult decisions, even against the general trend;
• Cleverness,that is, the ability to understand the context in which one finds oneself, to look far and to always be one step ahead of others, with rationality and lucidity;
• Commitment to following the path undertaken and to pursuing the set objectives, with dedication;
• Chance, since the opportunity to exploit events and situations is critical, in order to optimise the collection of the outcomes of one’s commitment.

SUSTAINABILITY AND ATTENTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Sustainability is one of the most meaningful messages of the project Sailing into the Future. Together. Both Arturo Licenziati and Alberto Bona are very sensitive to the issues of social and environmental responsibility. In fact, an essential part of the project is inclusive sailing. And then, what’s more sustainable than a sailboat? To quote President Licenziati himself: “He [Alberto Bona] manages to go on simply by using natural forces, without dirtying anything and leaving things as he finds them”.

The journey that IBSA and Alberto have undertaken is an ambitious one. The whole team is working hard, testing and optimising the new Class40 IBSA. On September 15-18, after weeks of training and solo tests, Alberto participated in the 40’ debut regatta Malouine Lamotte, competing for the first time with other boats, and ranking 8^th position.