Arexpo is a private company held by a majority of public-sector shareholders, founded in 2011 to acquire the areas destined to host Expo Milano 2015. Since the ending of the event Arexpo has worked to define a new future for the entire site, a space of more than one million sq m. Arexpo’s work has led to the creation of MIND Milano Innovation District, an innovation hub and a new neighbourhood for the city. MIND was featured in the last edition of Life Sciences Real Estate, published on 30 September 2022. Igor De Biasio has been the CEO of Arexpo since 2019.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background. Where did you work prior to your current role?
I am a graduate of Cattolica University in Milan. After a few years of managerial experience in multinational consulting companies, I became an executive in Philips S.p.A. I then joined Moleskine and in 2018. I joined the Board of Directors of RAI, the Italian public broadcaster. I was appointed CEO of Arexpo in 2019 and I was also recently reconfirmed in this
role for the next three years.
Tell us a bit about Arexpo and its mission.
Arexpo is a private company held by a majority of public-sector shareholders, founded in 2011 to acquire the area used to host Expo Milano 2015 (the world fair that took place in Milan from 1st May to 31st October 2015). The company has worked on defining a new development for the entire site, a space of more than one million sqm. This has led to the creation of MIND Milano Innovation District, an innovation hub and a new neighbourhood
for the city. The plan was possible thanks to the involvement of Lendlease, through a 99-year concession of the area, for an operation that envisages a total investment of approximately €4 billion.Moreover, Arexpo is also working on other future initiatives throughout Lombardy, where it can leverage its expertise as mediators between institutions and private operators.
In your experience, what is most important when fostering collaboration between the public and private sectors?
A clear separation of roles and a total alignment of interests are vital to the success of any initiative; even more so when the public and private sectors interact. The main private partner, Lendlease, has a 99-year concession, a practice that, although very common in the UK, represents an absolute novelty in Italy.Indeed, one of the main challenges was to insert this lease type within the current Italian legal framework. It is quite important that all partners
understand that this project is for the long-term. For example, while what it is being built right now is very innovative, it might become functionally obsolete in 30 years. Long-term commitment by the partners means that, if this happens, there will be a strong incentive to reinvest in the area.
Are there lessons to be learned from other science parks and areas of innovation?
After Expo 2015 ended, the owners of the area grouped together to discuss what was the best thing to do with it. There was a lingering concern that in many cases the areas hosting events would be underexploited or would not find a proper use after the event took place. However, all the main stakeholders, such as the Italian government, Lombardy region and Milan municipality agreed that the main vocation of the area should be to become an innovation district. They then took the time to do some comparative research on similar situations, both in Europe and globally. This was the start of the MIND idea. The cornerstone of the project was to involve private operators, but to also maintain a strong interest from the public sector. One of the strengths of Arexpo is to make the administrative process faster and easier for private operators.
Scientists tell us that “innovation happens at the intersection of different disciplines”. How will MIND foster collaboration across disciplines?
This has always been one of the main objectives of MIND and distinct parts of the project have communication and interdisciplinarity at their heart.
Let’s think about urban planning, for example. Within MIND, each building has an open common ground that can be accessed by everybody. This might take the
form of a canteen, a café or an auditorium, and the overarching idea is to facilitate interaction. There are also common initiatives such as monthly meetings among the communication departments of different occupiers of MIND.
The innovation district will include Campus Scienze UNIMI –can you tell us more?
La Statale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan’s State University, is ready to build a science campus in MIND for 18,000 students. Along with some
2,000 staff, this means that around 20,000 people will populate the campus, the size of a small-to-medium town. Another interesting fact is that there will be some residential real estate - the totality of it just to rent, to favour mobility.
What is the single thing that will most clearly differentiate MIND from other innovation districts?
Two things come to my mind: the first is economies of scale. Although some innovation hubs already exist in Italy, this is by and large the most important both in size and breadth. The second one, which is partially related to the size of the project, is the ability to favour innovation by geographical proximity.
Are there long-term scientific trends that shape your vision for MIND (for example, precision medicine, digital health, or AI)?
The mission of MIND is not to specialise in a specific trend, but to favour innovation in a holistic way. Indeed, the main focus of the project is to promote activities with high economic and social impact.
