The future of management and the crucial role of creativity

Curated by VSM Alumni, November 2024

The experience of three successful VSM Alumni

In a constantly evolving business landscape, the role of managers has transformed far beyond the simple coordination of resources and processes. Today, creativity is an essential skill for addressing increasingly complex global market challenges and effectively driving change. On October 17, 2024, three alumni of the Venice School of Management spoke at the event “Artificiale: Managerial Intelligence and Artistic Thinking” – Future of Management 2024, sharing their experiences on how creativity has become a foundational pillar in their professional lives: Marco Benvegnù, Head of Corporate Brand Management at Arper SPA; Massimiliano Mirabella, Head of Marketing and DTC at SIDI Sport; and Cinzia Scarbolo, Head of Omnichannel, Trade Marketing & Digital Retail at Vodafone.

Creativity and innovation in design
Marco Benvegnù [ITA], Head of Corporate Brand at Arper—an organization with design at the core of its business—highlights the deep connection between creativity and innovation. “Creativity helps me imagine, design, and deliver experiences that can evolve and innovate the company culture. For a design-focused company like Arper, creativity is essential to express meaning through products.” According to Benvegnù, creativity must be paired with practical application and aesthetic appeal in order to capture attention. “Design becomes the vehicle for expressing the full potential of innovation, which I see as the result of three multiplying factors: creativity, execution capability, and appeal. Aesthetic value in design is crucial: to be appealing and communicate meaning, we must capture something intrinsic to human nature—the pursuit of beauty.”

Creativity in management: a constant discovery
Massimiliano Mirabella [ITA] reflects on how creativity is an essential component he discovered throughout his professional journey. “What’s creative about a manager’s job? A lot—and it’s one of those discoveries you make early on and that stays with you throughout your career. Our role is to build in a world where the context is constantly changing. As responsibilities grow, you face constant uncertainty and both internal and external factors,” says Mirabella. In a world overloaded with products and information, creativity becomes key to finding new ways to be relevant and distinctive to consumers. “You constantly find yourself facing a blank page. Starting from a blank page is the right approach: asking yourself what’s the best way to achieve the end goal. No one gives you the answer, and it’s not necessarily found in the path you’ve already taken. Often, by freeing yourself from past paths, you build new ones that lead to even greater outcomes. That’s why the work of a manager is creative.”

Creativity as entrepreneurial spirit and improvisation
Cinzia Scarbolo [ITA] offers another perspective on creativity, emphasizing its links with entrepreneurship and improvisation. “When asked what’s creative about my job, two things immediately came to mind: the first is entrepreneurship. Every day I feel like an entrepreneur of myself, constantly working to improve processes and create new projects to bring innovation into the company,” Scarbolo explains. The second key aspect she highlights is improvisation. “Working in a fast-moving tech company, staying on top of things and being able to improvise is essential. You’re constantly facing new and unexpected situations. This is where improvisation comes in—it stems from experience and helps turn daily challenges into creative opportunities.”

The future of management: balancing creativity and strategy
Looking ahead, managers will need to continuously balance technical expertise with creative capacity to remain competitive in an increasingly fluid market. The ability to start from a blank slate, improvise in the face of uncertainty, and design experiences that combine aesthetic and innovation will be critical skills for leading companies to success.
The experience shared by the Venice School of Management Alumni shows how creativity can be cultivated and channeled toward innovation, offering fresh perspectives to tackle the challenges of a constantly changing world.