MILAN — The Bulgari Foundation and Save the Children continue their commitment to raising awareness within the luxury world, starting with the next generation of leaders.
To promote the partnership, the Italian jeweler and the nongovernmental organization have organized masterclasses at prestigious universities around the world including Harvard in 2024 and Keio University in Tokyo, last September.
On Friday, the third chapter of the project was hosted at Bocconi University in Milan. With leadership as the topic, the masterclass featured Laura Burdese, deputy chief executive officer of the Rome-based firm, representing the Bulgari Foundation, and Save the Children Italy’s CEO Daniela Fatarella.
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The event brought together 150 students from the master in fashion, experience and design management, or MAFED, and the fashion and luxury management program, and was moderated by Emanuela Prandelli, director of MAFED.
Burdese and Fatarella shared their extensive experience, discussing the origins of this partnership and its significance for both companies. They explained how it has influenced their internal and external strategies, highlighting the ways in which it has driven positive change and growth.
Since 2009, first Bulgari and then the Bulgari Foundation, together with Save the Children, have launched more than 140 projects in 39 countries, reaching more than 2.4 million children and raising more than $120 million through the sale of a special collection of five silver jewelry pieces. For each piece sold, the foundation donates 95 euros.
The discussion focused on how luxury brands are embracing social responsibility through projects and partnerships like this, also driven by consumer awareness, as consumers “want to buy into something,” as Burdese said. Fatarella emphasized that this partnership is leaving a legacy for the future by investing in the present, as “helping a child is a long-term investment,” and Bulgari and the foundation are 100 percent committed to this goal.
Also, it highlighted the uniqueness of the partnership, “born from the encounter between two seemingly distant worlds, the humanitarian sector and the luxury industry, it has, over more than 15 years, overcome challenges and differences, evolving into a strategic commitment that spans multiple countries and corporate functions, generating innovative projects that act as real agents of change,” explained Fatarella.
The shared hope was that this partnership model will be replicated by other companies and led by the future generations of professionals.
“Bulgari has demonstrated that a business model can generate value while driving real change, and through our masterclasses with Save the Children in major universities around the globe, we aim to inspire the next generation to embrace this vision,” said Burdese. “Luxury, at its core, is about acting with intention, creating genuine emotions, and offering a sense of meaning to those who experience it. If we can pass this mindset on to future leaders, we will have built our most important legacy.”
The foundation was created to strengthen Bulgari’s commitment to social, philanthropic and cultural projects. Its last project was unveiled in May when Bulgari marked its store opening in Rome revealing a new sponsorship agreement to support the city’s Museo del Novecento through the foundation. Opened in 2010 and showcasing more than 300 artworks of the 20th and 21st centuries, Museo del Novecento is expected to double its exhibition space by mid-2027. Bulgari pledged 900,000 euros to back the project.
In May, the brand also revealed its exclusive partnership with the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The Roman jewelry house will support the next three editions running in 2026, 2028 and 2030.
Earlier this year Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of the foundation and of the brand, added to his role that of CEO of LVMH Watches, succeeding Frédéric Arnault, who was named CEO of Loro Piana.