Elected president of the Union for Businesses of the Alpes-Maritimes, Franck Cannata has succeeded Pierre Ippolito. The leader of the Transcan group wants to continue the current trajectory while asserting his priorities: housing, energy, and artificial intelligence.
The presidency of UPE 06 has changed faces, but not drastically altered course. Pierre Ippolito left his position after three years at the head of the employers’ movement. Franck Cannata, founder of the Transcan group, was elected to succeed him. The announcement was made official on June 26 in Nice, during the Entrepreneurials. The election itself took place a few weeks earlier, on June 5. He officially took office in July after a few weeks of transition.
Franck Cannata won with 59 votes against 16 for Marielle Walicki, a business law lawyer. The vote took place at the headquarters of OGC Nice. It marks the desire of a large part of the members to continue the momentum initiated by Pierre Ippolito.
The two men know each other well. They share common interests in the transport and logistics sector. Their respective companies, Ippolito and Transcan, already collaborate within EcoCity, a last-mile logistics center project. They also regularly exchange within the Mobilità collective, which groups together local businesses in the sector.
Local commitment and stated priorities
At 45 years old, Franck Cannata runs a company with 500 employees, based in Carros, and active in transport, logistics, and moving. He also chairs the National Federation of Road Transport for Var and Alpes-Maritimes. His candidacy for the head of UPE 06 is part of this economic and territorial commitment.
During his election speech, he emphasized the collective aspect of his mission: “This election marks the start of a strong, collective commitment, focused on listening, unity, and action in support of our businesses. I sincerely thank everyone who placed their trust in me. Their support honors and obliges me.”
The new president expressed his intention to advocate for specific issues. Land management is one of them, with the questions of housing for employees and access to energy and water. He also wishes to support businesses in adopting artificial intelligence. He stresses the need to go “beyond Chat GPT” to integrate these tools into local economic strategies.
In a pre-election context, less than a year before the municipal elections, Franck Cannata aims to make the economic world’s voice heard. He summarized his stance: “It is really with an entrepreneurs’ attitude and nothing else that we see things, to promote the development of activity, the economic world, the added value we produce every day for the benefit of the territory.”
The president wants the UPE 06 to be a driving force for proposals to elected officials, without adopting a partisan stance. He considers this mission of cohesion essential to deliver concrete solutions. A board composed of twelve entrepreneurs will support him. He promises strict parity within this team, whose names have not yet been revealed.
Pierre Ippolito, on his part, praised the transition in a spirit of continuity. He recalled the foundations of the collective work carried out over the past three years: “Roles change, but the organization remains. And I am confident. Because I know Franck Cannata. He will carry out this mission with honor.”
In his assessment, the former president emphasized the central role of governance and shared responsibility. He concluded with this phrase: “because the collective is stronger than the ego.”
The new presidency of UPE 06 thus begins in a peaceful climate, with an expressed desire to continue the dialogue between economic players and institutions.
