Enzo Carpanetti has had enough. After years of watching infrastructure projects crawl along using the same methods from decades ago, this multilingual executive is pushing for a complete overhaul of how we build and manage everything from bridges to power grids. His solution? Stop treating technology like an add-on and start making it the foundation.
Enzo Carpanetti brings an unusual mix of skills to infrastructure development. His background spans electromechanical engineering, artificial intelligence, strategic management, and finance – a combination that’s proving essential as developing nations race to modernize their infrastructure while established economies upgrade aging systems.
“The future is now,” Carpanetti often tells younger professionals entering the field. It’s not just motivational speaking. He’s actively working to digitalize and automate infrastructure projects in both OECD countries and emerging markets, where the gap between traditional construction methods and modern technology remains vast.
What sets Enzo Carpanetti apart isn’t just his technical expertise – it’s how he approaches massive infrastructure projects. While many executives focus on spreadsheets and timelines, he combines what he calls “teutonic rigor” with genuine enthusiasm for empowering local teams. This blend has helped him navigate complex negotiations across different cultures, turning around struggling projects and finding new revenue streams where others saw only problems.
His current work focuses on helping investors own and operate large-scale infrastructure assets globally. But here’s where it gets interesting: Carpanetti isn’t content with just building things. He wants these projects to actively improve communities’ quality of life while incorporating green energy solutions and AI-driven management systems.
The challenge? Taking buzzwords like “digital transformation” and “sustainable development” and turning them into actual, functioning infrastructure. Carpanetti has little patience for what he calls “inflated expectations” – the tendency for companies to promise revolutionary change while delivering incremental improvements. Instead, he focuses on practical value: What can actually be built? What will actually work? What will genuinely help communities?
His investment philosophy reflects this pragmatism. As someone who identifies opportunities to unlock value through specialized infrastructure focus, Carpanetti prioritizes being what he calls a “responsible custodian of capital.” The goal isn’t just attractive returns – it’s making disciplined, impactful investments that create lasting change.
Young professionals entering infrastructure development find in Enzo Carpanetti someone who genuinely wants to see them succeed. His leadership style focuses less on personal recognition and more on cultivating talent in others. It’s an approach that resonates particularly well in emerging markets, where local expertise needs nurturing alongside international investment.
The timing couldn’t be better. As emerging markets grapple with rapid urbanization and developed nations face aging infrastructure, the need for professionals who understand both traditional engineering and digital innovation has never been greater. Carpanetti represents a new breed of infrastructure executive – one who sees AI and automation not as threats to traditional development but as tools for creating smarter, more sustainable projects.
For Enzo Carpanetti, being “done” with old-school methods doesn’t mean abandoning proven engineering principles. It means refusing to accept that infrastructure development has to move at a glacial pace, cost billions in overruns, or ignore the digital tools that could revolutionize how we build. If you’re still doing infrastructure the way it was done in the 1990s, Carpanetti would probably tell you you’re already obsolete.
Connect with Enzo Carpanetti on LinkedIn and Instagram.
