The Italian Consul in Detroit, Paola Allegra Baistrocchi, participated on February 20 in the launch talk show for the second edition of ROCK, RetImpresa’s contest dedicated to Open Innovation and collaboration in Italian supply chains.

Moderated by Rai journalist Mattia Iovane and available on YouTube, the talk show provided an important opportunity for experts, companies, and stakeholders to discuss trends and opportunities offered by collaborative innovation, particularly through the initiative The Perfect Pitch.

As is known, in 2024 the Italian Consulate in Detroit collaborated on the first edition of ROCK and hosted the final stages of the The Perfect Pitch competition last September with representatives of the three finalist startups in the sustainable mobility sector. Joining Consul Baistrocchi to recount the 2024 experience were Fabrizio Landi, President of RetImpresa, Davide Ippolito, CEO of Reputation Research, and Rai Italia journalist Monica Marangoni. Together, they engaged in a dialogue and unveiled the behind-the-scenes of this new format, launched in 2024 and now transformed into a TV series that will air soon.

Continuing its commitment to promoting Italian excellence in the United States, the Consulate will, in 2025, facilitate meetings between representatives of Italian innovation and key stakeholders and venture capitalists from Michigan and the Detroit consular district—which also includes Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. Consul Baistrocchi emphasized, “The idea of bringing Italian startups to Detroit to showcase what can be achieved in one of the world’s most important ecosystems for startup growth is of fundamental importance, while also highlighting just how modern and cutting-edge Italy is.”

Indeed, the initiative The Perfect Pitch builds on the Consulate’s recent efforts to promote an image of Italy no longer solely tied to its old traditions and artistic and scenic beauty, but as an innovative country with strong economic and technological ties to the rest of the world. At the same time, the perception of Detroit and the Midwest in general remains often rooted in its industrial past, while the extraordinary potential of a region that serves as a crucial hub for modernity and technology—capable of attracting investments and strategic partnerships—remains largely unrecognized.

President Landi concluded the conversation by stating, “Even in 2025, The Perfect Pitch will be one of the most anticipated events in the ROCK program, especially considering the media impact this project will have with the TV series produced during the first edition in collaboration with the Italian Consulate in Detroit.”