The Heritage of "Private Equity & Entrepreneurship"

What was the real intention of the workshop? And what will be its heritage? After having concluded the intense one-day-workshop held in Taormina, let us go back to the drivers of this event that attracted more than 150 people, including 21 panelists and 4 session Chairs which animated the workshop. As Co-Organizers, our primary goal was to share the knowledge of the private equity issues with firms, local banks, academics and graduate students. In order to accomplish the mentioned goal, the list of the panelists was just oustanding. A broad spectrum of investors has illustrated the heterogeneous world of the private equity, ranging from individual investors to very specialized companies which provide money, but also managerial, organizational and networking resources in order to boost the firm's growth process. Some of these investors are specifically investing in the Southern Italy; others, while scouting for new business opportunities, are seriously considering the opportunity to diversify their portfolio investments looking at the "Mezzogiorno". In addition, academics coming from the top world Universities running special programs in private equity confirmed that, under certain conditions, the Southern firms are eligible to open their ownership to outside investors. And last but not least, the Ambassador of the US to Italy said that a very friendly relationship between these two countries must be converted also into effective and stable business partnerships. So, as Co-Organizers we can say this goal has been largely accomplished. But Taormina's event has to be only the beginning. Its primary goal is certainly to have revitalized the debate about the future development of the Southern Italian firms and all the main Universities located in the South of Italy have sent their representatives to Taormina in order to learn how to refuel the debate. But, now it is the turn of firms and entrepreneurs. Our firms are entrepreneurial by definition, no matter whether they operate in mature or emerging businesses. But, to be more competitive, they need to grow up and to expand even internationally. As it happens in other parts of the world, outside investors can be the best partners in these business projects. They provide money, but also managerial and organizational resources; they introduce effective governance systems into the firms; they release the best energies to revitalize both the business and the corporate level strategies. Depending on the stage of the life cycle development and on the organizational size, firms may experience the support of a broad range of investors, becoming more managerial, and being open to outside investors in their ownership structure. Can our Southern firms get the chance provided by the private equity? Taormina has just launched a challenge.