Farewell to Our Friend Guido Giacconi
On 18th September 2022, Guido Giacconi passed away peacefully while visiting family in his native Italy.
Co-founder and President of In3act, CEO of In3act Global and Chairman of In3act Business and Investment Consulting (Beijing) Ltd, Guido Giacconi was a point of reference for our Institute in China. He was Professional Affiliate of the Institute of Management of Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies: both in Pisa and Chongqing we were honored to have collaborated with him on several projects in recent years. He was elected as one of the National Vice Presidents of the European Chamber of Commerce in China in 2021. In the past, he also served the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China and dealt with many other cooperation projects between Italy and China.
In Pisa, we had the honor to have Guido with us in the “China Issues course”, and also in the 2020 “Seasonal School – Issues on China”. The School was dedicated to the memory of yet another dear friend of the Galilei institute, Consul General Filippo Nicosia. During his duty in Chongqing, it was Filippo that introduced our team to Guido. The respect and admiration for Giacconi adds up to be one more reason to miss and be thankful to Consul General Nicosia. And in his role he has been extremely active in suggesting ideas for new projects and collaborations. When we were reached by the grave news of his passing, we were indeed in the middle of the planning for his next visit and seminar here at Sant’Anna, scheduled for the following week after his passing.
In his lectures, he was able to go directly to the point, be clear and straight. We learned a lot from him and we will never forget his wise words.
In China, he supported our activities and gave us plenty of useful advice. His competence and experience in China was extremely valuable for our Institute. Giacconi was a professional who knew the country like the back of his hand, intellectually honest, pragmatic, also capable of designing successful strategies and helping China in its unbelievable innovation rise.
Our goal is now to keep his name and achievements remembered, and to continue, both in Pisa and China, his incredible legacy.
Here are some of the best moments our team was lucky to share with Guido in the past years:
Mister Giacconi took part in two editions of the course “China Issues” in Sant’Anna. In 2020 he had the opportunity to discuss the role of the Italian companies in China with the students, the main challenges and difficulties but also great opportunities. His speech was very much appreciated by the students and many questions were given to him. You can find the full interview published on Professor Di Minin’s blog, Fuoriclasse, at this link
HIS SPEECH AT THE SEASONAL SCHOOL
SOME OF HIS BEST PUBLICATIONS
China has deployed industrial parks across the country to facilitate and encourage business development in all sectors, demonstrating their ability to guide industry in particular directions. Given the considerable share industry contributes to China’s total carbon emissions, which in turn accounts for a large proportion of global carbon emissions, it is essential that China’s industrial sectors transition to ‘zero carbon’ operations. In this articles, Guido Giacconi argues that the industrial parks are in a position to accelerate this transition and help China realize its carbon neutrality goals. The full article is available at this link
This publication unveils and analyzes in great detail the Chinese industrial policy strategy “Made in China 2025“, evaluating its impact on future trade and economic relations between China and the Western world. The report also identifies opportunities and threats for Italian manufacturing companies doing business with China. The report was presented and disseminated both in China and Italy, and it was highly praised for its deep high quality analysis and vision towards such an important Chinese strategy with an impact on both European and Italian companies.
E’ stata una perdita terribile per tutti noi, sopratutto qui a Pechino dove Guido aveva un ruolo veramente da guida rispetto non solo alla comunità italiana ma anche a quella europea. Era un uomo di straordinaria eleganza, per ciò che riguarda ciò che rappresentava ma sopratutto per ciò che pensava e come lo pensava. Era uno di quegli esempi di cui il nostro Paese dovrebbe andare fiero, anzi, spero che il suo sacrificio saervirà a far considerare qui in Cina l’Italia e gli italiani come gente d’onore, gente di grande spessore professionale, culturale e umano. Personalmente abbiamo lavorato insieme in questi due anni è stata la persona che mi ha aperto molte porte qui in Cina rispetto agli interlocutori, ma sopratutto che mi ha fatto capire la complessità di un continente e di una cultura completamente diversi. Lui era qui da molti anni, aveva ormai recepito e introeittato la genetica cinese, che ovviamente affonda le sue radici in millenni di cultura, di storia e di tradizioni, e quindi era il perfetto snodo tra il vecchio mondo dell’energia, la transizione, e il futuro verso il quale stiamo andando tutti noi.
MANFREDI LODATO – Int3act
Guido was my mentor, a friend, and a father-figure when I needed it, for example when I wasn’t able to return home, to Italy, for long periods of time. He believed in me and in my potential to help grow the organisation he dedicated most of his professional life to, and this has always made me feel so proud. He taught me the importance of analytical rigour, but especially the importance of creating a trusted image of myself through building real skills and competences. Since I first started working with him in 2017, I have always been fascinated by his charismatic personality, and somehow I wanted to be like him. Guido contributed to shaping who I am today, and I owe him. I will miss you, Guido
