The banking world can offer many interesting career paths over the course of a lifetime and Corrado Passera has taken full advantage of its opportunities. The Italian financier has played a big role in the country’s economic development over the past two decades. In the summer of 2006, he led the merger to create the country’s largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo.
Then, in November 2011, he joined Mario Monti’s technocratic government as a minister in the wake of the European sovereign debt crisis. He was responsible for economic development, infrastructure and transportation, and drove reforms to encourage Italy’s start-up scene, which has a connection to his current venture, Illimity — a specialised bank that provides credit to small and medium-sized enterprises with strong potential but limited funding.
