Ignazio Arces refused to let a snowstorm stop him from making it to Cambridge in March of 2018. He was registered for the MIT Sloan Executive Education course Neuroscience for Leadership with senior lecturer and research affiliate Tara Swart, and he had every intention of getting to the MIT campus for the in-person experience. But when the Italian manager arrived at the airport in Milan at 6 a.m., the ticket agent told him that his flight to Boston was cancelled.
“But MIT is waiting for me,” he declared, insisting that she find another way to get him to North America. A new ticket took him from Milan to Brussels, from Brussels to New York, and then from New York to Boston. After a 20-hour journey, he finally arrived, eager to learn from those he considered to be the best.
A Dream Realized
Arces became very familiar with MIT in 1997 as a PhD student at Università degli Studi di Palermo (The University of Palermo). “I read papers from the professors at MIT, and this is the main reason why I wanted to come here,” he explains, adding that he while he has spent 24 years in the oil and gas refining industry, working across four regions in Europe and the Middle East, he is always looking for opportunities to advance his knowledge in both the industry itself and business in general. And in 2017, he began looking for very specific executive education opportunities.
“I wanted to refresh what I had learned about engineering, and MIT was my preferred partner on my lifelong learning journey,” continues Arces, who today serves as Head of Development and R&D Deployment Projects for Italy-based integrated energy company Eni. He registered for the six-week self-paced Business Process Design for Strategic Management course with Professor Nelson P. Repenning, and it was a game changer for him.
“I always say that Professor Repenning gave me a Swiss Army Knife when he introduced me to the concept of dynamic work design,” he says. “The four principles of reconciling activity with intent, connecting the human chain through triggers and checks, structuring problem solving and creativity, and managing optimal changes were the tools I needed that now allow me to assess an organization and make changes to the system. The methods are fantastic, and they are tools that I have in my everyday routine. The quality of learning was exceptional.”
"MIT is a wonderful partner for my lifelong journey of learning. The concepts I am learning today I can apply today or tomorrow... Just like your body, you need to exercise your brain every day. MIT is the best coach for this exercise."
It also encouraged him to fast-track his journey with MIT Sloan Executive Education, leading him to such additional classes as Developing a Leading Edge Operations Strategy, Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy, and Driving Strategic Innovation: Achieving High Performance Through the Value Chain. He also participated in MIT Sloan’s Global Executive Academy in 2018. In 2019, he earned his Advanced Certificate for Executives in Management, Innovation, and Technology (ACE). And not only did he achieve his dream of studying at MIT, but he also soon recognized how valuable that education would be in his professional life.
Applying Newfound Knowledge
Back in 2014, when Arces was a Refinery Manager in Milazzo, the oil refining sector in Europe was already facing a structural crisis that required it to change course and implement some innovative initiatives, including converting several old industrial sites into efficient biorefineries with the aim of speeding up the transition to biofuel production. As a result, when Arces became CEO of Raffineria Di Gela S.P.A. in 2018, the organization began the biggest of these projects. At the time, the new CEO was firmly entrenched in his MIT Sloan journey, and he realized that he had an array of new concepts at his fingertips, specifically in the areas of innovation and management.
“The success of a plant conversion project stems from a deep commitment to innovation, involving the development and implementation of cutting-edge, environmentally friendly technologies that significantly reduce emissions and ensure industrial operations that are economically sustainable in the long term,” he notes, adding that the concepts he learned in the Driving Strategic Innovation course—from linking technology decisions with business strategy to understanding how technologies and markets evolve—were particularly helpful during the complex project. “I was able to apply all of the concepts I had learned and demonstrate that an old industrial site can become a workshop for applying the most advanced technologies in the field of renewables, which promotes a circular economy,” he continues. “We achieved the goal, but it wasn’t just about the technology. We weren’t just focusing on the biofuels—it was about the frameworks we used to complete the conversion.”
The power of that experience, as well as others that followed as he has moved into different roles with Eni and taken on a variety of new energy evolution projects, has encouraged Arces to continue taking Executive Education courses even though he has already earned his ACE. In fact, he most recently completed Understanding Global Markets: Macroeconomics for Executives with Professor Roberto Rigobon. “With Professor Rigobon’s course, I gained a deeper understanding of how central banks function, how contagion occurs, the sources of international conflict, and the varied responses of economies to crisis, using COVID-19 as a case study,” he says. “I’m an oil and gas manager, and Professor Rigobon gave me another perspective to watch the world’s energy needs and dilemmas.”
From here, Arces looks forward to learning even more through MIT Sloan Executive Education. “MIT is a wonderful partner for my lifelong journey of learning. The concepts I am learning today I can apply today or tomorrow. They allow you to write a roadmap,” he concludes. “Just like your body, you need to exercise your brain every day. MIT is the best coach for this exercise.”
Learn more about MIT Sloan Executive Certificates.