Marco Mizzau Interview
Marco Mizzau is a seasoned CEO and investor with over 25 years of leadership across institutional and industrial sectors. Known for his expertise in infrastructure, digital transformation, and private equity, he has held pivotal roles including CEO of Consip and Inarcassa—two major pillars of Italy’s public and investment landscape. Today, he advises global private equity firms on value creation, governance, and cross-border strategy, with a particular focus on Europe and the GCC region. Marco champions innovation by bridging business with research, and actively promotes SME growth through internationalization, aggregation, and digitalization. As Chairman & CEO of PRIVATE EQUITY AI, he leads initiatives across Milan, London, Dubai, Miami, and New York.
Unlocking Growth: How Private Equity Empowers Italian SMEs Through Capital, Governance, and Innovation
We started the interview by asking, “How do you perceive the role of private equity in fostering the growth of Italian SMEs?”
Marco Mizzau replied, “Private equity plays a vital role in bridging the gap between tradition and innovation in the Italian SME ecosystem. Beyond capital injection, it brings structure, international networks, and operational know-how—elements that many SMEs lack. Italy’s entrepreneurial fabric is rich in creativity and craftsmanship, but often weak in scale and governance. Private equity, when paired with a high-touch, founder-respectful approach, can be the catalyst for strategic growth, succession planning, and digital transformation—especially if combined with a long-term vision and industrial expertise.
I see similar dynamics in the UAE, where PE is increasingly investing in family-owned businesses to professionalize governance and accelerate international expansion.”
Key Investment Criteria: Beyond the Numbers—What Private Equity Really Looks For
The Arab Today: What key criteria do private equity funds consider when selecting companies to invest in?
Marco Mizzau replied, “While financial metrics such as EBITDA margins above 10% and double-digit revenue growth are important, today’s leading funds also evaluate intangible assets: the quality of leadership, ESG alignment, scalability of the business model, and potential for digital acceleration. In my experience, funds increasingly look for companies where value creation can be unlocked not only through financial engineering, but also through cultural alignment, operational excellence, and innovation readiness.”
Bridging Academia and Industry: A Blueprint for Applied Innovation
The Arab Today: Can you elaborate on your vision for integrating industry and research to drive innovation?
Marco Mizzau replied, “In my view, the future of industrial competitiveness depends on how effectively we merge academic insight with business pragmatism. During my tenure at Campus Bio-Medico, I saw firsthand how investment in R&D infrastructure and collaboration with universities can lead to tangible industrial breakthroughs. We must transform research centers into open ecosystems, where startups, corporations and academia co-create solutions in fields like healthtech, sustainability, and digital infrastructure. This virtuous cycle can make Italy—and Europe—a hub of applied innovation.”
Learning from France: Building a Stronger Private Equity Ecosystem in Italy
The Arab Today: What lessons can Italy learn from France regarding private equity’s impact on economic development?
Marco Mizzau replied, “France teaches us that ecosystem matters. Its success in scaling private equity has been driven by long-term regulatory consistency, active institutional support, and strategic public-private cooperation. Italy must overcome short-termism and fragmentation. We need to simplify governance, incentivize capital deployment, and cultivate entrepreneurial confidence. With the right framework, Italy has all the ingredients—talent, brands, family businesses—to replicate and even surpass the French model. Similarly, countries like the UAE show how a government-driven agenda can attract global PE capital to drive diversification and innovation.”
Transforming Public Procurement into a Catalyst for Economic Modernization
The Arab Today: How did your tenure as CEO of Consip contribute to the Italian economy?
Marco Mizzau replied, “Leading Consip meant leading the most powerful public procurement platform in Italy. Under my management, we reached €27.2 billion in annual spend—equal to 1.8% of the national GDP. But beyond numbers, we repositioned Consip as a lever for industrial policy: enhancing transparency, digitizing procurement, and generating €4 billion in savings for the state and citizens. We created strategic partnerships with over 21 institutions and brought over 180,000 suppliers into a more competitive, merit-based system. It was public governance serving economic modernization.”
Strategies for Global Growth: Empowering Italian SMEs to Go International
The Arab Today: What strategies do you recommend for Italian SMEs to successfully internationalize?
Marco Mizzau replied, “Internationalization begins at home—with mindset, governance, and digital readiness. SMEs should professionalize their management, invest in technology, and define a brand identity rooted in authenticity. From there, they must form strategic alliances—whether with distributors, e-commerce platforms or institutional partners—and embrace market intelligence tools, including AI. It’s not about being everywhere, but about being relevant where it matters most. The UAE, for instance, offers a strong base for Italian SMEs in food, design and tech to access wider MENA markets.”
Unlocking Scale and Impact Through Strategic SME Aggregation
The Arab Today: In your experience, what are the benefits of aggregating SMEs?
Marco Mizzau replied, “Aggregation enables SMEs to scale without losing their soul. By forming industrial clusters or horizontal alliances, they can gain negotiating power, share innovation costs, and access new markets. During my time at Inarcassa and in private equity advisory roles, I’ve seen how aggregation also improves access to capital and talent. When done with vision, it’s not just consolidation—it’s multiplication of impact.”
Empowering Europe’s Future: Driving SME Growth and Fintech Innovation by 2025
Lastly we asked, “How can Europe enhance its role in supporting SMEs and fintech innovation by 2025?”
Marco Mizzau replied, “Europe must embrace its entrepreneurial side. That means less bureaucracy, more interoperability, and policies that reward experimentation. Fintech and SME innovation should be integrated into national recovery strategies and funded through cross-border initiatives. We need “European Sandboxes”—regulated innovation spaces that allow fast testing of solutions in digital payments, AI, and embedded finance. And most importantly, we need to invest in talent, ensuring that our universities and accelerators become launchpads for the next generation of tech-enabled SMEs”
Marco Mizzau Concluded
Connect Marco Mizzau on LinkedIn
Visit https://www.marcomizzau.com/ and https://www.privatequity.ai/ for more details.
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