MESSAGE FROM THE CEO:WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER STARTS

True.

The summer break is behind us. And here we are, back again, with batteries more or less recharged and hopefully new energy to invest in what lies ahead. The pause was necessary, because resting is part of the process, and it gives us the clarity to look forward with fresh eyes.

Even if not often easy to accept the reality that fresh eyes give you back. Because this new, relaxed way of seeing things is a two-sided coin.

It allows us to see with greater serenity the goals achieved, the chosen path, and the changes that have been pursued.

At the same time, it detaches us from daily operations, and as if placing us astride Vhagar the dragon, it allows us to see things from above, connecting with what (and how) is happening outside our usual microcosm.

Sometimes we do extraordinary things.

Sometimes we think we’re doing extraordinary things. Though, seen from up there, they are less than ordinary.

The dynamics that drive new technologies, new trends and that will drive new economies, travel at a tremendous speed, easily (and better) understood when looking from up there.

I had this clear image. I was hurtling along close to 200 m/s, riding Vhagar like a horse. A pure symbol of my adaptation to the speed with which I was trying to keep up with the times. I was pleased to realize that my speed was greater than the one with which things moved beneath me. So that I could understand them, and keep pace with them.

Until I looked up. And I saw dozens, hundreds of my fellow men whizzing by above me, riding space rockets like horses, at no less than 8,000 m/s, looking down on me, pleased that their speed was greater than the one with which things moved beneath them, so that they could understand them, and keep up with them.

f Change is hard, managing the Change is crazy hard.

Now, we come down to the ground. We return to our workplace and we are not only picking up where we left off. We are setting the pace for the final part of the year. Ahead of us are new projects, challenging deadlines, exhibitions abroad, and the continued growth of our microcosm

.Let us remember that every achievement is not just a number or a certificate. It is the result of people open to change, working together, sharing ideas, supporting each another, and making things happen even when it seemed difficult or worst not possible. That should be our real strength.

Welcome back, everyone. Let’s get started.

And allow me, Billy Joe Armstrong,wake me up when September starts.