300 participants at the conference, nearly 400 guests at the gala evening with Sergio Marchionne (ceo FCA Group). These are the numbers which underline the success of the first Bocconi Alumni American Conference organized by the Bocconi Alumni Association in New York on June 20th and 21st. In the setting of the historic Union League Club alumni from the US and all over the world gathered with leading representatives of the University and prominent and internationally renowned business leaders and academics. Theme of the conference: “Stimulating Economic Growth: America vs Europe”. During the various sessions different topics were discussed – among others that of the trends, challenges and prospects in the Americas and Europe; of how to finance growth and of case studies of successful international growth. Among the high profile speakers, Alberto Alesina (Harvard University), Bennet J. Goodman (senior director Blackstone), Bruce Kasman (chief economist J.P. Morgan), Mario Monti (president Bocconi), Richard D. Parsons (senior advisor Providence Equity Partners), Doug Peterson (president and ceo McGraw Hill), Miguel Martinez (president & ceo Piaggio Group Americas), Alberto Festa (president Bulgari USA), Monica Mandelli (managing director Goldman Sachs) and Fabrizio Saccomanni (former Italian Minister of Economy). «The Bocconi Alumni American Conference represents a further step forward in the internationalization process of Università Bocconi», said the President of Bocconi, Mario Monti. «Our community of alumni in America is large and very active; we were therefore particularly happy to have met in New York and to have involved them in this fine opportunity for discussion and reflection with distinguished speakers and guests». The first edition of the Bocconi Alumni American Conference is part of a larger program through which the University and the Bocconi Alumni Association (BAA) plan to strengthen and enhance its network around the world, a community that now has 94,000 people (including over 2,000 in the Americas). The day ended with a gala dinner at the Mandarin Oriental which had as its guest speaker Sergio Marchionne.