The CEO Alliance for Europe meets in Rome to foster electrification, decarbonization and digitalization of EU energy, transport and industrial sectors.

Rome, December 12th, 2022 – The CEO Alliance for Europe’s Recovery, Reform and Resilience (“The CEO Alliance for Europe”) held its biannual meeting today at Villa Aurelia, Rome, an event hosted by Enel which brought together leaders from prominent European companies with the aim to promote actions in support of the energy transition among Europe’s business sectors.

The event, moderated by former EU Commissioner Connie Hedegaard, was attended by the European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni and the Italian Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy Security Vannia Gava, as well as Björn Rosengren (CEO of ABB), Francesco Starace (CEO and General Manager of Enel), Leonhard Birnbaum (CEO of E.ON), Erik Ekudden (Chief Technology Officer of Ericsson), Ignacio Galán (Iberdrola Executive Chairman), Christian Levin (CEO of Scania), Peter Weckesser (Chief Digital Officer of Schneider Electric), Anders Danielsson (CEO of Skanska), Andrea Orcel (CEO of UniCredit), while Oliver Blume (CEO of Volkswagen Group), Thomas Schmall (Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology and CEO Volkswagen Group Components) and Jean-Pascal Tricoire (CEO of Schneider Electric) joined remotely.

At the event, the CEOs and their external guests jointly tackled important issues such as the current crisis context, marked by the war in Ukraine, the energy transition and security of supply, as well as Europe’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy.

During the meeting, the presidency of the CEO Alliance for Europe was passed on from Volkswagen AG, who led the Alliance during the first years, to Scania, with CEO Christian Levin as new chairman for the coming year.

The Rome meeting was also the occasion for Members of the CEO Alliance to confirm a Sustainable Corporate Building Climate Pledge with the aim to decarbonize their office buildings through action plans that include electrification, energy efficiency and digitalization measures to be implemented by 2030 and calling upon other players to join the effort.

The CEO Alliance launched a new Joint Statement urging industries and EU policy makers to join forces in transforming the energy crisis into an opportunity for Europe, by fostering electrification, decarbonization, digitalization and innovation of the energy, transport and industrial sectors.

The CEO Alliance for Europe is a cross-sector collaborative action tank that unites 13 leading European companies representing the main industry sectors, with over 1.5 million employees and over 500 billion euros in annual revenue. Members work together towards a more prosperous, sustainable, and resilient Europe, with a focus on decarbonization and digitalization, and advocate for a collective effort by all EU member states and collaboration between the public sector and industry.