.onWinter 2025: Drive the change
13/02/2025
On 24 January 2025, at the striking Residenza Claudia Augusta in Treviso, we held a very special edition of .onWinter, bringing together more than 300 atonpeople, customers and partners.
The aim of .onWinter is to open up the Aton world to our key stakeholders, spreading a culture of innovation and sustainability, exploring the challenges of our time and understanding how technology can improve our lives and the world around us.
It is an opportunity to face the challenges of a constantly changing world together, with a positive outlook.
Opening the event, our CEO Giorgio De Nardi shared his thoughts on the historic moment we are living through, describing it as an unprecedented evolutionary leap.
Never before has humanity experienced such rapid acceleration.
Against this backdrop, he drew on Stanley Kubrick and his iconic HAL 9000, a symbol of artificial intelligence that, without human ethics and awareness to guide it, can take over. Today, just as in 2001: A Space Odyssey, we are facing another groundbreaking discovery: an innovation that, like the bone thrown into the air and transformed into a spacecraft, has the potential to reshape our very existence.
However, the human factor will always remain crucial. Technology is a tool in our hands, and our responsibility is to use it to build a more sustainable and inclusive future.
Despite the apparent setbacks we sometimes see, Giorgio reaffirmed his confidence in the future: every step backwards in history has ultimately been followed by three steps forwards.
Aton is ready to drive change by becoming the winning team in the digital transformation of sales processes, with a growth plan targeting €50 million in turnover by 2027.This direction is reflected in the development of the new AI-powered .one software platform and in Teksmar joining the Aton Group.With the acquisition of a 30% stake in the Perugia-based company, a new cloud-based digital organisational model for retail is taking shape, harnessing artificial intelligence to boost productivity by improving quality and sustainability across both physical and online sales channels.
One of the most inspiring talks came from Cristina Scocchia, CEO of illycaffè and Board Member at EssilorLuxottica and Fincantieri.
Her view of leadership is clear: to make a difference, you need to dream big, act with determination and work as a team.
Cristina shared some of the defining moments in her life and what she learned from them, starting with her mantra: “When the road gets steep, accelerate – don’t brake”, the same philosophy she explores in her book Il coraggio di provarci.
She encouraged us to believe in our own value, have the courage to make difficult decisions and invest in both personal and collective growth, because that is how we can fulfil our potential and build organisations capable of facing the future with resilience.
A key moment of .onWinter 2025 was the “Drive the Change” round table, featuring Luca Gelosi, Senior Director Global Sales Strategy at Zebra Technologies, Michele Cucinotta, Country Manager at Honeywell, Elisa Barbieri, Director of Ca’ Foscari Challenge School, and Piero Pescangegno, Chief Product Officer at Aton.Together, they explored the crucial topics of digital transformation and continuous learning.
In a world where artificial intelligence is reshaping business models, real value lies in people’s ability to adapt and innovate.Technology usability is a key factor: digital solutions need to be intuitive, accessible and genuinely useful if they are to improve both working life and quality of life.
Technology alone is not enough. Learning and development are what enable us to remain relevant in a constantly evolving world.Elisa highlighted the importance of continuous, strategic learning, enabling professionals, managers and, ultimately, companies to anticipate change rather than simply react to it.Only by investing in skills can we fully unlock the potential of emerging technologies and build a more sustainable and innovative future.
Innovation is not only about business. It can also be a powerful driver of sustainability and social inclusion, as the contribution from EMERGENCY clearly demonstrated.
Together with Mattia Marzo and Rolando Bricchi, we retraced the origins of the Nessuno Escluso project and the development of .FoodHubber, the app we developed together to reduce food waste and support families in need.
It is a tangible example of how digitalisation can have a positive impact on society, connecting businesses, associations, institutions and volunteers around a shared goal: a fairer, more inclusive future.
.onWinter 2025 was much more than an event: it was an opportunity for sharing, inspiration and connection.
It reinforced our commitment to remaining relevant through continuous learning and innovation.
A heartfelt thank you to all our speakers, everyone who joined us and our partners Zebra Technologies, Honeywell, SOTI and Bluestar.
If you are looking for your next inspiring read, here are some of the recommendations that emerged during the round table:
