Goodbye to Cesare Vaciago, the reformist manager from the Railways to the Municipality of Turin

For Turin he was the man of the municipal machine and of the Olympics, the general director called to translate political decisions into organisation, people, services. He was the man who made decisions, the one who in the end, when they had to be made, not only put his face to it, but above all his signature. A signature that also cost him several investigations and trials, from which however he always emerged clean. But the professional life of Cesare Vaciago, who died today at the age of eighty from a cardiac arrest in his home in Monferrato, spanned much of Italian industrial and administrative history: from Olivetti to Montedison, from the Railways to the Post Office, up to the Italian Pavilion of the Milan Expo. A journey that he chose to tell with a definition that became the title of his autobiography: "Diary of a reformist".

He was born in Turin on 3 October 1946. Having graduated in nuclear engineering from the Polytechnic in 1969, he started at Olivetti the following year, dealing with training. People, their skills and the way of organizing their work would remain at the center of his career. After Censis he moved to Isfol, the institute for professional training, becoming general director in 1978. Then came the years of big industry: the industrial relations of Montedison led by Mario Schimberni, the vice-presidency of Standa.

Schimberni remained one of his references, together with Lorenzo Necci. With both of them he had worked at the Ferrovie dello Stato, where he arrived in 1989 and assumed general management of the holding in 1993. These were the years of restructuring and transformation of public companies, of union negotiations and early retirements. A few weeks ago, in an interview, Vaciago defended that path, claiming the possibility of changing companies through negotiation. He knew how to negotiate, he knew the value of correct industrial relations and the counterparty. And for this he was respected by the unions. He also remembered his mentor Schimberni who, upon leaving the railways, had told him not to give up: «Believe Necci, and you won't regret it».

Alongside his responsibility in the railways, he also held positions in Roman public transport, the presidency of Atac and the extraordinary administration of Cotral, in the years in which Francesco Rutelli was mayor of Rome. In 1997 he moved to the Post Office, accompanying its transformation into a joint-stock company. The return to Turin came in 1998, when the reformist mayor Valentino Castellani, given the shared past with Poli, chose him as general director of the Municipality. An honor for Vaciago to serve his city: «Ironic and beautiful, Turin is a masterpiece», he always said. Sergio Chiamparino had confirmed it. And with Chiamparino the harmony has reached the highest levels. «The role of the city manager? Translating political visions into workable projects and strict deadlines." With Piero Fassino, however, the bond was weaker, also a sign of a time now gone by. So much so that Vaciago preferred to say goodbye to Palazzo Civico and take other paths. However, he certainly left his mark.

He remained in the municipality until 2012, going through the season in which Turin redefined its identity and prepared for the Olympics. He renewed the machine, exchanging systems adopted in large companies for the public: he established the Co.Dir, the committee of directors which took stock of the situation every week, thus making the managers responsible. He established report cards, on the basis of which the salaries of the top leaders who had different functions and weights varied. A revolution. «The most profound sign is having transformed an industrial administration into a service administration – said Vaciago – we have restored pride and perspective to a city that seemed destined for decline».

In March 2005, less than a year before the Games, he was also called to the general management of Toroc. The appointment came after a crisis at the top of the organizing committee: Vaciago and the new deputy director Luciano Barra were entrusted with the task of recomposing the structure. He saved Turin 2006, maintaining the leadership of the Municipality. After the Games, another great event: the general direction of the Italian Pavilion for Expo Milano 2015. Your greatest passion? Juventus. His post-match comments and report cards on Juventinismi, a blog founded by Vaciago, have remained in history.

The Turin years also had a judicial sequel. In 2015 he was acquitted of the charge of abuse of office in the matter of the selection of municipal managers. The trial on the management of the Murazzi concessions also ended with an acquittal. Last mission? Training, an aspect he has always believed in, with his teaching role at the master's course at the University of Milan-Bicocca.