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30 October 2025

ACEA thinking outside ACEA: How a 110-years old, asset-intensive company innovates its Innovation model and designs an Innovation Factory

Authors: Maria Isabella Leone, Laura De Lorenzis.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Abstract: Even today, as in the times of ancient Rome, May is considered the month of sowing and new opportunities. Also, in Acea it is time for unveiling a new course of actions. Born in the south of Italy but grown up in Milan, Stefano Antonio Donnarumma, was aware of this opportunity, when he entered the Acea main building, in the role of the new CEO in May 2017. Donnarumma’s mission was not the most ordinary one: to launch Acea into the future, not in a progressive way but in an incomparable leap forward. In Donnarumma's mind, a single imperative: how to turn an industrial, asset-intensive company into an open and smart company and do it fast. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes