The technology of the future, the brain in a pair of glasses, tomorrow’s investments, the financial games, and a special look at Mediobanca. A wide-ranging interview with the CEO of the global eyewear giant
This article has been translated with artificial intelligence
“If there’s one lesson that digital and technology teach us, with their exponential growth curve, it’s that no position of strength is guaranteed over time, and that the competitive landscape can shift rapidly. The challenge is to ensure that our country seizes the opportunity to become a hub of innovation in the key sectors for humanity’s future, by investing in research, technology, and development in order to remain a key player in a constantly evolving world.”
There are two dimensions — they complement each other, they overlap, they intertwine — but the story remains the same, and it is the story that Italy itself is facing: how can innovation be turned into an opportunity for growth? And how can we move with ease and confidence through a disordered historical phase like the one we are living in today — amidst trade wars, commercial battles, weakened globalization, unstable markets, and uncertainty about the future?
Francesco Milleri is sixty-six years old. He has a sharp gaze, a heavy legacy behind him, and a major brand in his hands. He leads one of the top twenty European companies by value generated, and he is the Italian heading the most highly capitalized company in the world among those run by Italians. Last year, his company surpassed 130 billion euros in total market value, and for months now, his professional life has been projected into a dual dimension — into two worlds that may seem far apart but are in fact much closer than one might think.
The first dimension — the main one, the most fascinating, the one capable of projecting you into the future through the power of a word, a story, an innovation — is also the most well-known, the most famous. It’s the dimension of EssilorLuxottica, a global eyewear giant born in 2018 from the merger between Italy’s Luxottica, a leader in eyewear manufacturing (Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol), and France’s Essilor, specialized in ophthalmic lenses (a company that Milleri, over the past three years, has managed to grow, doubling its value).
The second dimension is more local, so to speak — the one that, in recent months, has landed Milleri in the headlines more often, and not always willingly. It concerns the financial investments of Delfin, the Luxembourg-based holding founded by Leonardo Del Vecchio and now led by the manager born in Città di Castello. Delfin, in addition to holding 32.2% of EssilorLuxottica, has significant stakes in the Italian financial and insurance sectors: it owns 19.9% of Mediobanca, 9.8% of Generali, 2.7% of Unicredit, and 9.78% of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (on Thursday, April 17, the MPS shareholders’ meeting will weigh in on the public exchange offer launched by MPS for Mediobanca).
Inevitably, Delfin’s name has been at the center of financial news in recent months, for many reasons. Milleri has repeatedly said that his intention is to continue the vision and strategy set out by Leonardo Del Vecchio and to bring innovation to the sectors in which he operates — including finance. The goal, says the CEO, is to ensure that the holding’s stakes, which are “purely financial investments,” are viewed through this lens: “Trying to help the Italian financial sector grow, by introducing innovative technologies that allow it to compete with the major international giants”.
The games are intertwined, the two dimensions meet, the strategies sometimes overlap — but at the center of it all, as Francesco Milleri tells us in this conversation with Il Foglio, is the desire to start from Italy and try to innovate globally.
We are in Milan, just steps from Piazza Cadorna, inside Luxottica’s headquarters — on the fifth floor of a new glass building constructed during the Covid era in the inner courtyard. Francesco Milleri sits before us with a lively gaze, no jacket, wearing his signature high-neck sweater zipped halfway up the chest. He has agreed to speak with Il Foglio at an interesting moment, and the conversation flows, brushing against both dimensions. It begins with the first and reaches the second. The stories intertwine, overlap, and help us understand the boundaries, the taboos, and the opportunities of future innovation.
We start with glasses, move to Italy, and land on finance. “Ours,” says Milleri, “is a simple bet: in the digital society, sight and hearing are destined to take on an increasingly central role. They are the natural channels through which our brain accesses data and information, coordinating and processing more ‘physical’ senses like touch, smell, and taste — which represent a natural area of expansion for sensors integrated into our wearable technology. Our optic nerve — and therefore the eye — is an integral part of the brain, its most direct extension, and it’s the only organ in our body exposed to the outside, easily monitorable. In this sense, today and in the future, eyeglasses will play a strategic role in unifying vision, hearing, and voice, placing themselves in a privileged position to interact with our thoughts. They will increasingly become a tool that allows us to stay constantly connected and informed, freeing up our hands for a more immediate and intuitive use. Our goal is to replace, by simplifying its functions, the current smartphone.”
Milleri pauses, then continues. “Think about it. Even today, a pair of glasses does more than just correct and protect vision, or prevent and slow the onset of eye conditions like myopia in younger people. It’s also the most immediate and natural access point to a multitude of worlds that are part of our daily lives — from the real to the virtual, from artificial intelligence to human intelligence, from the inner world to the outer one. These are worlds that increasingly serve as crossroads where culture, entertainment, sports, prevention, and health all converge. Looking ahead, glasses are destined to mark a threshold — a subtle yet powerful filter — capable of maintaining the smallest possible degree of separation between humans and any form of augmented reality that our brain can perceive. It’s the last frontier before envisioning even more advanced scenarios, where intraocular, cerebral, or subcutaneous implants could transform the very functioning of our bodies. A possible future, distant and controversial, that for now remains confined to the search for solutions to complex and rare pathological conditions.”
Is imagining a pair of glasses fully replacing a smartphone too Orwellian a frontier? “Over time, you’ll see, smart glasses could more simply integrate — and progressively replace — all the applications we currently use on our smartphones, without interrupting our natural movements and without forcing us to chase the many screens around us. Everything would be within our line of sight, thanks to advanced technologies applied to ophthalmic lenses, ensuring a seamless and uninterrupted experience. A multifunctional device, just like the smartphone is today, to some extent. For example, it could enable secure authentication by leveraging unique biometric features such as iris recognition or jawbone vibrations. It could integrate a wallet for secure payment systems or become a trigger for digital and physical ecosystems — allowing us to unlock or operate a car, or control home automation systems, with a simple glance or voice command. What needs to be understood is that, just as technology and digitalization have transformed other industries, this frontier could accelerate convergence between sectors that today seem far apart. If today we’re seeing integration between optics and audiology with Nuance Audio, in the future even fields like automotive or sports, agriculture or medicine could find new applications through our smart glasses — with special attention to the emerging space economy. And in this scenario, innovation must develop along three directions: what we can integrate inside a pair of glasses, what we can build around them, and, above all, what humans will be able to do thanks to the technologies we’ll make available. With one clear goal: to improve people’s lives across many aspects — from work to relationships to health. The keyword: ‘empower humanity.’”
Practical examples? “We already have solutions. Take Ray-Ban Meta, for instance, that allow people to experience everyday life and social interactions without barriers, staying fully immersed in the present moment thanks to natural interaction with the glasses and voice. Nuance has a more medical orientation, enabling people to better hear what they see. These are just the first steps toward a future where smart glasses could allow us to perceive people or events thousands of kilometers away as if they were physically in front of us — offering a natural and immersive visual experience — or to provide real-time information processed by increasingly advanced AI systems, helping us make more informed decisions and interact more effectively with the world around us. You see, soon lenses will be able to project information or content directly into our field of vision, in a discreet way visible only to the wearer. Just as audio has gradually evolved toward increasingly integrated and discreet technologies, the real breakthrough for lenses will be identifying and perfecting the most reliable and effective technology for visual content projection. That means developing systems that deliver sharp, stable images, with low energy consumption and high compatibility with users’ daily needs — making the visual experience feel completely natural. Today, the most promising areas of research we’re focusing on include emerging microLEDs, waveguide systems, holographic technologies, and metasurfaces”.
Will the eye become like a mouse? “Exactly. The lamination technologies we’re developing will allow us to integrate invisible electronic circuits and components directly into the lenses of glasses. This won’t just enable the display of images and information directly on the lenses, but will also pave the way for new advanced functionalities. For example, low-power eye-tracking technologies will effectively turn the eye into a true ‘mouse’, allowing users to give commands and interact with wearable devices in an intuitive way, receiving increasingly precise and contextualized information. The development of these and other technologies could also enable us to read intraocular data, at the retinal level or from the back of the eye, collecting signals and indicators that could help predict — and where possible prevent — the onset of diseases or the elevated risk of serious episodes such as a heart attack. Situations where early or timely diagnosis can determine the success of a life-saving intervention or treatment. Even today we know the eye can reveal a predisposition to or early signs of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, as well as metabolic syndromes, cardiovascular or kidney dysfunctions. In the future, our eyes could become real sentinels of our overall health — enabling early diagnoses, improving treatment pathways, and ultimately helping to save lives. And the purpose of our recent investments lies in this direction. We’ve worked to acquire skills and technologies that strengthen our presence in the med-tech world. Expertise from companies like Heidelberg Engineering, Espansione Group, Pulse Audition, and Cellview has brought innovations that rise upstream along the entire chain — from diagnosis to prescription to treatment — supporting ophthalmologists and a wide range of medical specialties. Imaging technologies, advanced analysis of the retina and fundus, and the interpretation of the countless signals our eyes can offer — powered by big data and artificial intelligence — open up new possibilities to improve people’s lives not just in terms of vision and hearing, but in other areas of health as well. Not coincidentally, we’re already piloting the introduction of surgical suites in our stores in North America, aiming to merge vision care, treatment, and wellness in one single space, offering increasingly broad, simple, and accessible support. You’ll see — the longevity economy is destined to drive global trends in the coming decades”.
Naturally, when we talk about technology, we also think of raw materials, rare earth elements, and all the precious resources that major global powers have been contending over for years. Milleri says that in the future, “interesting opportunities may also arise from silicon, with the development of tailor-made solutions for optics and microcontrollers capable of enabling specific functionalities in glasses, while reducing the power consumption of the integrated system found in typical smartphone chips. Low-consumption controllers could also autonomously power composite sensor arrays to interact with various physical dimensions — from air to light, from sound to sweat analysis, just to name a few — and extract timely and precise health-related data”.
Milleri says that, looking ahead along this path, there is “a very profitable business”, and that his company is “already filing patents for innovative low-power chips”. But he also acknowledges that as display technologies mature and become increasingly versatile, “we’ll have to ask ourselves what content is worth transferring to these small transparent screens placed right in front of our eyes”. And more importantly, “we’ll have to understand the extent to which technical and technological capabilities must be reconciled with the limits and potential of the human being in learning how to use them”.
Because assimilating a real-time translation transmitted directly into our ear through the glasses while someone is speaking to us, or viewing additional information through the lenses without losing focus on what we’re doing, “will require evolution and adaptation.”
The step Milleri takes further into the future concerns an aspect of technology that’s directly tied to artificial intelligence: the possibility of living in a kind of augmented reality, where the integration of our own capabilities with cameras and AI “will have a profound impact on our culture and cognitive processes, transforming the way we make decisions and seek information.”
In this sense, Milleri continues, the new wearable tech devices “will become like a personal assistant, capable of suggesting the best solutions based on our needs. They won’t just be technological devices, but life partners — a constant and updated support system that can help us understand ourselves better and better through the continuous analysis of thousands of data points gathered and processed about our body, our health, and our habits. This, of course, could influence multiple areas of society: from culture to healthcare, entertainment to education, and even personal coaching aimed at improving our performance and quality of life. All with minimal invasiveness — in fact, thanks to iconic design and branding, glasses will allow us to continue expressing our personality in the best possible way.”
When you talk about the future, of course, and about data, you can’t avoid addressing the boundaries of what can and cannot be done — and, more broadly, the line between data management and respect for privacy.
“The management of data and privacy,” Milleri continues, “represents a crucial challenge in a constantly evolving world, marked by fragmented regulatory approaches. A central issue will be how the information that powers AI systems will affect the objectivity of the responses and suggested actions. This will be the other major frontier that every future-oriented company, like ours, will have to confront — by adopting collaborative rather than competitive models, and opening up to dialogue and sharing. Our group today serves over half a billion customers around the world every year, collecting, protecting, and processing billions of data points through a global logistics-production-distribution network that is unique and almost impossible to replicate. I’m well aware that this is a volume of information destined to grow exponentially, and it compels us to ask increasingly significant ethical questions. To meet this challenge, we are considering the creation of an ethical-scientific committee made up of internationally renowned experts. A concrete step that reflects the responsibility we feel in light of the enormous potential of the technologies we are developing. In this sense, our innovation no longer contends only with technical and technological limits — which are rapidly evolving — but above all with human and physical limits, as well as regulatory and ethical ones, all of which still need to be defined.”
When you talk about innovation, you obviously don’t only think of business opportunities but also those for a country like Italy. Milleri reflects on this, considering what useful insight could be offered to the country regarding the opportunities in innovation, and puts it this way: “This trajectory of innovation I’ve tried to illustrate is not just an opportunity for our industry, but also a strategic lever for the country system. Italy has a long tradition of excellence in design, manufacturing, and technology, and our path demonstrates how the ability to integrate research, industry, and distribution can generate a concrete impact, not only in terms of economic growth but also in technological advancement and positioning in global markets. The convergence between med-tech and artificial intelligence is a perfect example of the frontiers that we collectively must aspire to lead. It is an area where Italy and Europe can play a foundational role, as much of the intelligence that now powers medical-scientific discoveries and innovations in technology originated here. However, it is a game that requires greater capacity to work together and likely a culture more inclined to consider error and failure as stepping stones to success, in a land that has shown great entrepreneurial innovation capabilities. And so, yes: in this world, no position of strength is guaranteed over time, the competitive context can change rapidly, and our country must seize the opportunity to become an innovation hub in the key sectors for the future of humanity”.
The first dimension, therefore, that of innovation, the future, vision, and technology, overlaps with the second dimension that concerns finance, the future stakes that Milleri faces. Topics: what are Delfin’s intentions with Mediobanca? How far can it go with Generali? What are its ambitions in the future of finance? “Today,” says Milleri, “EssilorLuxottica is a global company with a clear vision of the future, built on a solid and constantly evolving business model. The market is rewarding this trajectory, and our growth reflects the potential we are developing, both in the core optical business and in the new frontiers of med-tech and smart eyewear. This success directly translates into value for shareholders and also for Delfin, which, over time, has started to build a diversified portfolio with strategic investments in major Italian financial institutions. The fundamental goal is to support the growth of entities that have the potential to innovate and compete globally. This has been further reinforced by the opportunity to contribute actively to strengthening the Italian economic and financial fabric, supporting operations that create value and promote the evolution of the industrial system. It is with this logic that we look with interest at operations such as Mps-Mediobanca: not only as a market operation, but as a step to make the financial sector in our country more competitive. As EssilorLuxottica, we are at the forefront of promoting integration. In the financial field, we are a long-term investor that provides skills and capabilities to facilitate innovation and support continuous improvement and dimensional growth.”
We insist: but how can the first dimension, that of innovation, align with the second dimension, that of finance? “The vision behind these choices is very simple and replicates the strategies of EssilorLuxottica. Collaborative systems and dimensional growth will be the key elements that determine the success of businesses and, consequently, the strengthening of the economies of the countries that pursue them. I see that in our country there are still many resistances, but at the same time, the recent activism of our financial system gives hope for the future”.
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Nasce a Palermo nel 1982, vive a Roma da parecchio tempo, lavora al Foglio dal 2005 e da gennaio 2015 è direttore. Ha scritto qualche libro (“Le catene della destra” e “Le catene della sinistra”, con Rizzoli, “Io non posso tacere”, con Einaudi, “Tra l’asino e il cane. Conversazione sull’Italia”, con Rizzoli, “La Presa di Roma”, con Rizzoli, e “Ho visto l’uomo nero”, con Castelvecchi), è su Twitter. E’ interista, ma soprattutto palermitano. Va pazzo per i Green Day, gli Strokes, i Killers, i tortini al cioccolato e le ostriche ghiacciate. Due figli.