Kineton wins EY Start-up Award

25 November 2021

EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Italian entrepreneurship shines again for courage, innovation, and transformation: Elisabetta Franchi wins the 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year Award

• Elisabetta Franchi of Betty Blue S.p.A. wins the top prize as National Winner
• Nicola Drago of De Agostini Publishing S.p.A. winner for Family Business
• 9 other winners in the following categories:
  • – Salvatore Casillo of Pastificio Liguori S.p.A. for Food&Beverage
  • – Massimo Galassini of USCO S.p.A. for Manufacturing&Automotive
  • – Francesco Pizzocaro of P&R Group for Health&Pharma
  • – Lorenzo Delladio of La Sportiva S.p.A. for Consumer&Retail
  • – Roberto Panfili of Portobello S.p.A. for Sustainability
  • – Giorgio Marsiaj of Sabelt S.p.A. for EY Special Award
  • – Giovanni Fiengo of Kineton S.r.l. for Start up Award
  • – Fabio Porcellini of Natlive S.r.l. for Special EY Startup Award
  • – Paolo Barletta of Arsenale S.p.A. for the Innovative Project to Promote Made in Italy Award

2021, November 24 – Elisabetta Franchi, Sole Director of Betty Blue S.p.A., is the National winner of the 24th edition of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award^® for her courage, tenacity, and constant commitment to a brand of quality, craftsmanship, and international renown.

The prestigious award is reserved for Italian entrepreneurs at the head of companies with a turnover of at least €25 million, who have been able to create value, with innovative spirit and strategic vision, contributing to the growth of the economy, demonstrating courage, innovation, and transformation at an unprecedented moment. The micro, small and medium-sized enterprise sector contributes 76% of employment and 64% of the country’s added value. The impact of Covid-19 has been partly mitigated by the support of the policy measures adopted (more than 50% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were able to access available government support), but SMEs must be ready to face the challenges of the future by seizing the opportunities for growth.

Massimo Antonelli, CEO of EY Italy and COO of EY Europe West says: “At a time of great transformation such as the one we are experiencing, we are proud to reward and support Italian entrepreneurs who, with courage, resilience, and innovation, have managed to anticipate major changes and influence the speed of transformation processes by putting new values at the centre. This is a unique moment for our country in which even the growth estimates have been revised upwards and we estimate a GDP growth of +6.4% for 2021, confirming a strong dynamic of domestic demand. We now have a unique opportunity to accelerate this transformation and design a new future for the country, companies, and people through structural and sustainable growth”.

The 11 winners of the EY 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Massimiliano Vercellotti, EY Partner, Italian Head of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award, comments: “For over 20 years, thanks to the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award, we have been proud to tell the stories that bear witness to the excellence of Italian entrepreneurship in our regions and to reward the entrepreneurs who have been able to guide their growth and development. In fact, everywhere we look we see a path of accelerated transformation, stimulated by an exceptionally complex historical moment, but rich in opportunities”.

Giovanni Fiengo, CEO of Kineton S.r.l., was assigned the Startup Award “for his passion in starting up a company that in just four years has managed to emerge and compete with established international companies in the field of software development and engineering, thanks to significant investments in innovation and the development of skills and talent, demonstrating constant attention to corporate welfare and the social impact on its territory”.

The Start-up Finalists competing were Matteo Pichi and Vittoria Zanetti, respectively Co-founder&CEO and Co-founder&Executive Director, of Poke House S.r.l. and Martina Capriotti and Ciro Di Lanno, both Co-founders, of Mirta.

The awards were assigned by the Jury, chaired by Guido Corbetta, Professor at Bocconi University in Milan, and composed of Alberto Baban, Entrepreneur; Paolo Boccardelli, Director of LUISS Business School; Laura Colnaghi Calissoni, President and CEO of Gruppo Carvico; Monica Mandelli, Managing Director at KKR & Co. in New York; Marco Nocivelli, Chairman and CEO of Epta Group; Cristina Scocchia, CEO of KIKO; Paolo Scudieri, CEO of Adler Plastic S.p.A. and Nunzio Tartaglia, Head of CDP Imprese. EY has also decided to assign the following Special Awards: EY Special Award, EY Startup Special Award and Innovative Project to Promote Made in Italy Award.

The 24th edition of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year® Award was held with the support of Banca Akros (Banco BPM Group), Board International and P101 VC.