“We must innovate because old methods no longer work”
On 18 March 2025, at our headquarters in Brussels, we had the chance to hold a very interesting conversation with Silvia Pugi, our Deputy Secretary General at CEC European Managers. We discussed the need for innovation and discrimination and presented a useful survey to investigate the role of the “innovation manager” inside organisations, among other things.
Silvia Pugi at CEC European Managers headquarters in Brussels
How do you like to introduce yourself?
I’m Italian, but I’m also proudly European.
At university, I won an Erasmus scholarship and had the chance to study in Paris for six months. It was a fantastic experience that truly changed my life.
I studied alongside people from all over Europe and decided I wanted an international career. In the following years, I worked in France, the UK, Germany, Greece, Belgium, and Sweden, and now I am here in Brussels!
Speaking about my career, I’ve always been deeply involved in innovation—both in terms of new technologies and business models. I started in marketing in high-tech companies, then moved into venture capital and investments in digital startups, always with a focus on sustainability.
At the same time, I have been a member of Manageritalia—the Italian Managers’ Federation—for many years, managing sustainability initiatives and leading a group focused on innovation.
Who is Silvia Pugi, personally?
My main trait is curiosity; I’m always looking for something new. That curiosity led me to leave my hometown after university, change career paths several times, and gravitate toward innovation and startups.
I’m also a very practical person, a doer, who finds great satisfaction in building things. Maybe that’s why I enjoy cooking and baking so much!
Last but not least, I’m a mother who had to become super organised to juggle work and family life.
What led you to become involved in management representation? (Think of a personal experience that shaped your path.)
At one point, my job wasn’t particularly exciting, and I was looking for new challenges.
I first started collaborating with a university, and then explored what my local Manageritalia association was doing. That’s when I discovered their group focusing on women executives—it was love at first sight!
The group was composed of remarkable women, some of whom had been the first female managers in their companies. They organised initiatives and projects to support younger women’s careers with a “give-back” approach.
I started by leading a project for high school students, and gradually, I became more and more involved in the union.
Have you ever experienced discrimination in your career?
I personally did not experience major discrimination in my career, but I often felt the pressure to keep on proving my commitment to my job.
I often encountered a patronizing attitude. Many years ago, I had a boss who called me baby, even in important meetings, and I hated that! That’s one of the reasons why I decided to change companies at that time.
CEC has just released a Position Paper on unconscious bias #BeyondBias, do you think it will help?
CEC just launched a campaign to identify and fight unconscious bias towards women (but also towards minorities), proposition 20 practical recommendations for managers.
For example, one of our recommendations is to ask people who leave the company why they resigned. Because past workers tend to be more sincere and may actually tell you what was the problem they faced.
What is your current role in CIDA?
CIDA is a federation of several unions in Italy, including Manageritalia, my original association.
I managed sustainability for Manageritalia for several years, and now I lead a working group on innovation, with the mission of connecting managers with Italy’s innovation ecosystem.
What are the particularities of CIDA?
CIDA is the federation of several Italian managers’ unions in different industries.
It represents 150,000 executives, both in the private and public sectors. Its major members include Federmanager (industrial production) and Manageritalia (services), but it also include FP-CIDA (public sector), CIMO-FESMED (doctors), Sindirettivo (Banca d’Italia), FENDA (agriculture), Federazione 3° Settore CIDA (healthcare), FIDIA (insurance), SAUR (university), Sindirettivo Consob CIDA (Consob).
What is your current role in CEC European Managers?
I’m Deputy Secretary General, working within a four-person board.
I lead the innovation working group, work on enlargement (promoting new organisations to join CEC European Managers), and support communication activities.
What could you tell us about the working group you are chairing on Innovation and EU Competitiveness?
CEC European Managers defined four working groups for the next years: digitalisation & AI, gender equality & diversity, just transition of climate leadership, and innovation for a more competitive Europe. I’m in charge of the innovation group.
Our goal is to seek economic growth and EU competitiveness by pushing forward innovation, while safeguarding our welfare systems and social values.
We aim to do this by designing actionable policy recommendations and building bridges between stakeholders, promoting open Innovation and cooperation with research centres and startups, a European Industrial Policy, upskilling frameworks, new businesses and working models, and reducing red tape between European countries.
How can we track managerial innovation in Europe?
One of the first activities of the working group on innovation is a research we just launched together with Mind The Bridge to investigate the role of the “innovation manager” inside organisations
Is this role to create an innovation culture? To educate the company about technology trends? To work with startups? This research will provide us with an assessment of the main tasks and objectives of the Innovation Manager, a benchmark for those working on this role, and a model for those willing to create it inside their company.
Please participate in the research following this link: it just requires 5 minutes.
Participate in our research here [+]
Why is it essential that CIDA belongs to CEC European Managers?
The majority of Italian legislation is decided at the European level. Therefore, CIDA needs a strong presence in Brussels—to anticipate upcoming regulations and to have a direct channel for communicating the perspectives of Italian managers.
What are the main differences between Italian leaders and other European managers?
Managers, first and foremost, form a global community—more uniform across different countries than one might think. European countries’ economies, values, and work dynamics continue to converge.
In Italy, as in Sweden or France, managers are qualified professionals who have a high degree of autonomy, manage people and resources, receive performance-based compensation, and often act as a bridge between entrepreneurs and employees.
Today, across Europe, managers are concerned about the automotive industry crisis, energy costs, sustainability, the potential of Artificial Intelligence, geopolitical threats, and global competition.
Compared to the northern countries, Italy is more concerned with the lack of economic growth, which is causing young professionals to move abroad to find more career opportunities and higher salaries.
What is the social role of managers?
I strongly believe that managers have a social role to play. They hold leadership positions within companies and are often considered role models. CEC European Managers can catalyze their ideas.
We have an opportunity to make CEC European Managers more relevant to European institutions.
Managers have ideas and proposals, and we want these to be heard and incorporated into discussions at the European Commission and Parliament.
We aim to contribute to shaping policies on green and energy transition, Technological innovation, AI, welfare, social justice.
However, our strength lies not only in our ideas but also in our collective voice: we are stronger together.
That’s why we need to strengthen our bonds with national associations—engaging them more and working more closely together.
The European Commission is pushing for simplification to enhance competitiveness. Do you see the current “less regulation” paradigm as a good opportunity for social dialogue?
Simplification is necessary, but it must not come at the cost of total deregulation.
Europe will define new rules in the coming months. Managers who have firsthand experience with the pros and cons of current legislation can provide valuable input for improvement.
In his report on the single market, Enrico Letta mentions the three “leftovers”—energy, communications, and finance—as opposed to the four essential freedoms (movement of people, goods, services, and capital). Can managers help foster further integration?
Letta argues that Europe’s competitiveness and autonomy depend on overcoming these barriers to create a true union in energy, communications, and finance.
A unified market would benefit all European economies, but “the devil is in the details”—every country will have to make compromises.
As managers and business leaders, we see the need for further integration and can provide a long-term perspective to help navigate these necessary changes.
Regarding the Draghi report on competitiveness, how can skilled leaders and managers drive innovation and inclusivity?
Standard managers take care of everyday business—great managers steer the ship through the storm. And right now, we are in a storm.
Leaders must be creative and adaptive to navigate challenges such as high energy prices, disrupted supply chains, and global trade tensions.
Managers need to develop an innovation mindset and be open to unconventional solutions.
Inclusivity is not just a moral choice—it is an economic necessity.
How would you convince other managerial organisations to join CEC European Managers?
Managers represent a small but highly influential group within the workforce.
We are uniquely positioned between entrepreneurs and employees and can shape the political debate.
CEC European Managers is the only association representing managers in official EU Commission consultations. Join us to have a seat at the table.
In the midst of the debate about the Union of Skills, the European Commission is suggesting the creation of financial products so that banks and financial institutions engage with educational and reskilling. How do you think this could be attractive for these companies?
We are experiencing a perfect storm: an aging population and rapid technological innovations.
Companies in every industry need to upskill their workforce, starting from leadership positions.
Final Thoughts?
We are in a period of transformation. Managers are responsible for leading innovation, driving sustainability, and fostering a fair and competitive Europe.
Through CEC European Managers, we can amplify our voices and create real change.
Thank you, Silvia!
