« It was 1999 when I arrived in New York. I was the first Sicilian graduate to be admitted to Harvard. This was a completely new fact also for the same University of Catania, which, after hearing the news, activated different channels to support me. The Faculty of Law offered me a scholarship to study abroad, the Province of Catania at the time gave me the mission to select the photos of the Allied landing in Sicily in the National Archives in Washington DC in order to realize in Catania the current Historical Museum of the D-Day landings in Sicily. The main difference is in the number: in America, there are at most 30 students in the classrooms against the crowded classrooms of Italian universities. Next, it should be pointed out that in an American law school, the common law system is studied by the Socratic method against the study of codes in Italy. « Access to the U.S. market requires U.S. training in certain sectors, including legal, rather than scientific. It is therefore necessary to pursue a master`s degree in a prestigious American university. And to do this, you need to have good grades and an excellent level of English.
If the goal after law school is to stay in the United States, it is difficult for an American law firm to choose a non-U.S. partner who does not have a J.D., but only an LL.M. You have had a career in a field, legal, which is often difficult for a professional who was not born and raised in the United States. In the legal field, how do you see the American training and the professional dimension abroad compared to the Italian dimension? This is not the first time you have dealt with the acquisition of Italian football clubs by Italian-Americans. The first Joe Tacopina and the last in chronological order is the purchase of Fiorentina by Italian-American Rocco Commisso, both supported by her and her studio. Is there a reading that can be given to this new interest of the Americans for the Italian football market? « During all these years, I have never separated from Italy, thanks to the fact that Studio Chiomenti is an Italian studio that makes me interact a lot with the Belpaese even during frequent trips. I do not feel and do not see the need for a change in my professional career. Italian preparation, understood as study and knowledge, has nothing to envy to American preparation, just as Italian students themselves have nothing less than their American colleagues. In Catania, I met several brilliant teachers who were a point of reference for me.
The problem of our universities is something else and is called familialism and baronism. Today, he is a partner and head of the New York office of the law firm Chiomenti, one of the largest in the world. What is the profile of your customers and what do you mainly do? His professional history begins in Catania, his city. At Etna University, you hold a law degree and a doctorate in business law. It was the same law school that provided her with a scholarship that brought her to Harvard. A story that somewhat refutes the old cliché of universities in the South. After working for three years in the famous New York law firm Shearman & Sterling, he has been a partner and director in New York of Chiomenti, the prestigious law firm with offices in Italy and abroad, since 2008. This is the same Salvo arena that helped customers like Rocco Commisso buy Fiorentina.
Acquisitions, private equity mergers, leveraged buyouts are the subject of his legal activities. La sua sembra una storia da American dream. Figlio di operaio catanese che ha voluto che lei nascesse in Svizzera, un dottorato in diritto commerciale e un LL.M ad Harvard. Senza dubbio oggi lei é uno dei professionisti italiani più affermati a New York. Tutto merito della meritocrazia americana unita al suo talento e determinazione? Every two years, the Harvard Law School Association appoints a new president to oversee an organization that aims to foster engagement and community among its more than 38,000 alumni in 148 countries around the world. In June, HLSA passed the baton to outgoing President Paul Perito `64 at Salvo Arena LL.M. `00. Arena is an Italian lawyer practicing in New York and is only the third non-American. Graduated from Harvard Law School to become president of the 128-year-old organization. Going forward, Arena hopes that HLSA will continue to grow by promoting new local and international HLSA clubs and their common stakeholders such as the thriving Women`s Alliance (with 15 chapters worldwide), the Recent Alumni Council and the Latino Committee.
« Più che parlare di American dream parlerei di un obiettivo preciso e determinato: il mio. A Catania vado almeno una volta l`anno e sempre con grande piacere. Oggi vedo tutto con una lente diversa e apprezzo cose che prima non riuscivo ad apprezzare. Certo, mi rattrista vedere che certi problemi non trovano ancora una soluzione e lo stato di rassegnazione tipico di noi siciliani ». One of Arena`s goals is to connect HLSA more closely with alumni associations at other Harvard schools. He envisions, for example, a collaboration with the Harvard Business School Alumni Association, which would lead to a joint leadership forum. « I think that`s the direction we need to go. » In addition, there are two elements: the undeniable growth of passion for football among the American public and the increase in financial availability for investment in this sector. « From Canadian Joey Saputo, President of Bologna, to American James Pallotta of Roma, Joe Tacopina of Venice to Rocco Commisso and Tony Di Piazza, we have seen a growing interest in Italian football teams from Italian-Canadians and Italian-Americans. However, this is not a phenomenon limited to Italian-Americans. Let us not forget that the American fund Elliott invested in Milan and that the York Capital fund focused on Sampdoria, although the latter has not yet completed the operation.