In the midst of 2026’s rising geopolitical uncertainties and rapid technological transformation, one word continued to crop up in discussions with some of Europe’s top CEOS: resiliency.

“Poste Italiane is built for resilience,” said Matteo Del Fante, CEO of Italy’s largest integrated and omnichannel services platform in Italy. “Our business is almost entirely domestic, serving 46 million Italians across financial services, insurance, payments, energy and logistics—giving us natural protection from direct geopolitical exposure.”

Recent developments show clearly that resilience and digital sovereignty are becoming even more important, according to Timotheus Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, Europe’s largest telecommunications provider. The partially state-owned German telecommunications company was formed in 1995 after a restructuring of Deutsche Bundespost, a state monopoly at the time.

“Deutsche Telekom is well positioned because we have been strengthening the resilience of our supply chains and network operations for many years. So far, the direct impact on our business has been limited—but we take the broader geopolitical environment very seriously,” Höttges said.  “At the same time, this also creates new business opportunities. Europe needs more digital sovereignty—and Deutsche Telekom is well positioned to provide it.”

Generali Group, one of the world’s largest integrated insurance and asset management groups based in Italy, sees its role as the ability to maneuver in this environment while being there for its customers, according to CEO Philippe Donnet.

“Our role is to navigate the storm well and we have repeatedly demonstrated our ability to do so, providing risk protection and peace of mind as a true Lifetime Partner to our customers,” he said.

“Our very diversified business model and focus on European retail business, which tends to be less sensitive to macroeconomic fluctuations given the stable and long-term nature of individual protection needs, make us very resilient and ready to face any macro challenge,” he added.

Facing these challenges—and meeting them—is also why the CEOs of Generali Group, Deutsche Telekom, and Poste Italiane are among the members of Extel’s 2026 Developed Europe Executive Team.

More than 1,500 global buy-side analysts, money managers and sell-side researchers at securities firms and financial institutions that cover the region—including those who cast and received votes in this year’s Europe Research Team survey—provided independent and unprompted feedback on the chief executive officers, chief financial officers and investor relations professionals at the companies in their coverage universes.

They were asked to consider a myriad of attributes when ranking. CEOs were ranked on their credibility, leadership and communication. CFOs were ranked on their ability in financial stewardship and communication. IR Professionals were ranked on their authority and credibility and business and market knowledge. For the Investor Relations programs, companies were ranked on the following attributes: quality of meetings, quality of earnings calls, proactive communication; consistency of financial disclosure; and granularity of financial disclosure.

Voters also ranked companies on the quality of investor/analyst events, company board on their tenure and board refreshment and strategy and stewardship, and ESG.

Read on to hear more from these top-ranked CEOs on the challenges and opportunities that remain in 2026 for their companies, the region and the world—and some of their proudest moments from the year.  

What opportunities do you see for your business for the remainder of 2026?

The TIM transaction represents a step-change for Poste Italiane. Upon completion by year-end, it will position the Group as the backbone of Italy’s digital infrastructure, unlocking over €700 million of synergies.

At the same time, our platform model continues to scale. The SuperApp already reaches over 4 million daily active users, AI is reshaping both customer experience and operations, and the new Financial Hub is accelerating cross-selling across the franchise.

Combined with TIM, we are building a fully integrated digital platform with a breadth and reach unmatched in Italy.

Poste is evolving into a key enabler of the country’s digital transformation. This will become increasingly visible in the coming months, as we complete the transaction and present the combined business plan in 2027.

The opportunity ahead is unique: we now have the platform, the scale, and the connectivity to redefine how Italians connect, transact, and interact with the digital economy. This is a pivotal moment for Poste.

What challenges are you currently facing?

The scale of our ambition is itself a challenge—and that's exactly where we want to be. Integrating TIM into our platform is the most transformative deal in Italian corporate history and we are fully focused on executing it seamlessly while maintaining the operational momentum that delivered record first quarter 2026 results.

We're also navigating the evolution of traditional mail, intensifying competition in parcels and upskilling our people for an AI-driven future. But these are the challenges of a company that is growing, not standing still. Every challenge we face today is a stepping stone to a stronger, more digital, more resilient Poste. We have the vision, the strategy, the team and the “intelligent” platform to turn each one into a competitive advantage – and that's precisely what we intend to do.

How are geopolitical tensions affecting your business?

Poste Italiane is built for resilience. Our business is almost entirely domestic, serving 46 million Italians across financial services, insurance, payments, energy and logistics – giving us natural protection from direct geopolitical exposure.

We're not immune to second-order effects – energy costs, inflation, rate volatility – but our diversified model absorbs shocks that would hit single-business peers far harder. The real insight is this: uncertainty drives trust and in Italy, no institution is more trusted than Poste. When markets are volatile, customers consolidate with platforms they rely on – and that's us.

What are you proudest of over the last year?

Without question, delivering the strongest results in Poste Italiane’s 160-year history. We achieved record revenues of €13.1 billion, record adjusted EBIT of €3.2 billion, and net profit up 10% to €2.2 billion in 2025—with all business units contributing to growth. What makes me proudest, however, goes beyond the financials. We strengthened our position as Italy’s trusted physical and digital platform. Our SuperApp has established itself as the number one Italian app in related categories, with over 4 million daily active users and 17 million total users.

We also became TIM’s largest strategic shareholder, laying the foundation for a transformative combination. At the same time, being named Top Employer for the seventh consecutive year is a testament to our 120,000 people—who are at the heart of everything we achieved.

And we have carried this momentum into 2026, delivering another record first quarter. The trajectory is clear: our momentum is strong and accelerating.