Massimo Malvestio is an established lawyer with great expertise on legal and financial matters. In the past, in addition to working as legal consultant to many banks, listed companies and large enterprises, he also sat on the boards, audit panels and investment committees of banks, asset managers and brokerage houses. As of today, he is Portfolio Manager and Chairman of the Investment Committee of Praude Asset Management Ltd., a well-established asset management company which he founded in 2009. In the interview with “Bassanonet”, he shared his point of view on the economic present and future of Veneto and, in particular, on the existence or not of what is often described as “Zaiaeconomics”.
“Bassanonet” interviews Massimo Malvestio
An expert in finance and local matters in Veneto, lawyer Massimo Malvestio was interviewed with Maurizio Sacconi and Paolo Giaretta on the present and future of the Veneto economy. The interview was conducted by journalist Luigi Marcadella and focused on the existence or not of “Zaiaeconomics”: in other words, “Luca Zaia’s updated vision on the development of the Veneto region”, a vision “capable of overcoming his well-known pragmatism as an experienced local administrator and a person capable of reaching strong consensus, skills that are widely recognized today”, journalist Luigi Marcadella explained in the article. Speaking about the economy in Veneto, Massimo Malvestio pointed out that “export is the element that still represents what Veneto is. A region that is still globally competitive, despite everything and everyone. There is still a productive class of exceptional quality, which is made up of entrepreneurs and workers. When I talk about the productive class, I also mean all those public services that are functional to the competitiveness of the system, such as healthcare, universities and local authorities”.
Massimo Malvestio’s point of view
Is it reasonable to speak of “Zaiaeconomics”? According to the lawyer, some distinctive features of Luca Zaia’s action can be found in having made Veneto a “major player in territorial marketing”: he is “unrivalled in this”, he added. Some examples include Cortina d’Ampezzo being selected to host the 2026 Olympic Winter Games with Milan, the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene being declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as the success of Prosecco wine in the world. As Massimo Malvestio went on to explain in the interview, the current President of Veneto “just wants to be an administrator of the region, so unfortunately something is missing when the necessary actions are not purely administrative in nature”. It was different in the past with “figures like Rumor, who was not only a Prime Minister but also a political leader”. Today, as a consequence, Veneto has a peripheral role compared to other Italian regions such as Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Lazio. As for finance in the region, Veneto pays the price of its lack of political representation, as well as of its being “a polycentric region”: according to Massimo Malvestio, the question is therefore to find “a development path that is based on what Veneto actually is: a polycentric territory”. How to make it attractive and competitive? “Veneto still has so many resources and can do it. But action without thought will no longer be enough”, the lawyer concluded.
