September 5-6-7, 2014 40th edition

Intelligence on the World, Europe, and Italy 2014



Its international scope is the most significant aspect of the Forum The European House-Ambrosetti organizes each year in September at Villa d’Este in Cernobbio. The event, held each year since 1975, is entitled Intelligence on the World, Europe, and Italy and brings together an array of speakers of the highest level from the world of politics, academia, government and business, from across the globe.

The Forum

The Forum is a three-day event:

  • Day One is normally dedicated to major global issues of a predominantly economic, geopolitical and scientific/technological nature.
  • Day Two focuses on Europe and enjoys the presence of officials and representatives of all major European institutions who take part in discussions around the most pressing issues facing the European Union.
  • And finally, Day Three is dedicated to Italy with the presence of representatives of the Italian government, officials and numerous leading figures from the world of business and finance.

Forum participants

The highly-select audience is comprised of 200 top managers from Italy and abroad, with precedence given to members of the prestigious Ambrosetti Club. The Forum is an event with major appeal. It is no accident that requests to attend from around the world continue to grow and each year The European House – Ambrosetti finds it difficult to meet the demand.

Among the protagonists of recent Forums have been: H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Kofi Annan, José María Aznar, Silvio Berlusconi, Joe Biden, Richard Cheney, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, José Manuel Durão Barroso, Larry Ellison, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, François Fillon, Bill Gates, Valéry Giscard D’Estaing, Felipe González, Neville Isdell, Alain Juppé, Henry Kissinger, Vaclav Klaus, Christine Lagarde, Sergio Mattarella, Abu Mazen, John McCain, Mario Monti, Giorgio Napolitano, Shimon Peres, Romano Prodi, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, H.M. Queen Rania Al-Abdullah First Lady of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Card. Joseph Ratzinger, Matteo Renzi, Michel Rocard, Nouriel Roubini, Wolfgang Schäuble, Eric Schmidt, Helmut Schmidt, George Shultz, Giulio Tremonti, Jean-Claude Trichet, Umberto Veronesi and James Wolfensohn.


What makes the Forum special

The Villa d’Este Forum is a unique event held in a highly-prestigious venue, but the secret of the event’s success lies in its exclusive nature. Since its inception, its sessions have always taken place behind closed doors and it continues to be a unique opportunity for many of the leading players and protagonists on the international economic and political scene to meet and discuss.
Another secret of its success is its ability to involve top-level guests in an exchange of viewpoints and debate of the highest level that is never mundane and focused on issues examined by the professionals of The European House–Ambrosetti. In fact, presented each year at the Forum are some of the most important studies developed within the firm, including with the contribution of authoritative outside experts, on issues relevant to the business community and the Country System.