At the age of just 35, LUISS Business School alumnus Filippo Ghirelli is the founder and CEO of Genera Group Holdings, an international group in the General Construction Contract, Real Estate Development and Energy sector.
Filippo felt a strong desire to give back a part of what he learned during his time at Viale Pola, giving life to the executive specialization program in Green & Circular Economy, an innovative and international professional course aimed at recent graduates and young professionals.
“At the Business School, I first attended the EMBA in 2008, followed by the Executive Master in Real Estate Finance (EREF) in 2010 and the Executive Master in Finance and Markets (EMAFIM) in 2015,” explains Ghirelli. I work to stay current and continually enrich my knowledge and skills, and at LUISS I have accomplished both. There I was able to study subjects that were pertinent to my profile and business model as well as take courses to improve my management abilities.”
Taking LUISS BS courses, Filippo noticed three strengths in particular: “First of all, the variety of courses and content, and the complete and vast course offerings. In second comes professionalism from contact with the business world and specialized instructors. Finally, the networks that the master’s programs create. The relationships established during these courses are fundamental in the business world, still today I collaborate with people I met during the MBA.”
With a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Filippo immediately began his international career: “I wrote my thesis at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and afterwards I worked all over the world: Guinea, Mali, Turkey, the United States, Morocco, Ehypt, Algeria and Tunisia, collaborating on large projects with multinational firms. I was then invited to work with Gruppo De Angelis, where at 27 I became general director. A few years later, in 2009, I founded my general contract firm, Genera Costruzioni, today referred to as Genera.”
In six years, Genera has built an international holding and has grown and expanded to different sectors with important partnerships, investing in highly innovative and sustainable businesses. In the Energy sector, the group has launched collaborations and joint ventures from energy efficiency to the production and sales of energy produced entirely by renewable sources, also thanks to Consortium Energia Verde S.p.A., held 50% by Gruppo Unicredit, of which Ghirelli is vice president.
The world of energy and sustainability is the base of the new specialization program from the LUISS Business School in Green and Circular Economy. “Today, industry’s primary goal is to adopt principles from the green and circular economy. Our idea is precisely that, to transmit important information and create classes of young talent from which we can tap new business ideas. In fact, the program’s participants will have to discuss their final projects with a panel of business representatives who can work directly with the students, choose profiles and make them job offers.”
The program will launch in September 2016 and will be structured by area of specialization: from an understanding of primary green energy production processes and trading networks, to projects on energy efficiency, circular economy, as well as green structure integration, and the social impact on work, smart grids and smart cities.
“We want to prepare the future professionals of the Green and Circular Economy and create reference points for the whole industry.” For this reason, Filippo advises graduates interested in the field to be consistent and coherent, to choose a path and follow it, but above all, to invest in networking. A professional’s credibility is based not only on their abilities and background, but on how they interact with others and establish contacts.”