The beauty of being at the helm

Born in Japan but raised in Brazil, Naomi Kohashi flew to Italy for love, “without a clear plan,” she says. She earned her place in the world by studying and building a profession from scratch, one that didn’t exist before. Today, she is one of the few women CEOs of an innovative, listed SME. She leads Eligo, which she founded with her husband in 2016, a group of companies including Masel Milano and Meltin(Pot), all which share a dual focus: Made in Italy and personal stylists.   

“My father had a restaurant in Brazil, I always saw him working for something he believed in and felt was his. Maybe that’s why I always knew I wouldn’t work for anyone else.” Kohashi explains that she was unsure of her future after high school. “I studied political science for a year and then switched to business administration in Brazil. It was during this time that I met my future husband. He was studying at Bocconi, and in Brazil for a student exchange program. It was this fateful meeting that inspired me to move to Italy. I must admit that it was complicated at first, I didn’t speak the language and it was hard to find work. I was a babysitter, a waitress and then a shop manager, and I enrolled at the Brera Academy.”  During that time, Kohashi also devoted herself to photography, taking a course at CFP Bauer, but she still couldn’t break into the Italian market. “There wasn’t much money to be made as a freelancer and the only outlet I could find was the commercial sphere, which was not very creative for me,” she adds.

So in 2013, she and her husband came up with the idea of starting their own business. The first start-up was called Sator, a project related to the world of tailoring. “In those years we decided to go back to university to get an Executive MBA from Bocconi, first my husband and then me, taking turns to look after our two children.” The outcome of this investment in training was Eligo, which Kohashi now heads as CEO.

“At first the title didn’t feel like it was for me; it didn’t really fit. But then I learned through firsthand experience how to manage a team, and the beauty of being at the helm of a company: being able to make business decisions that impact the whole company.”

As Kohashi sees it, Italy still has a long way to go regarding inclusion of women, and she says this as a reader and admirer of Melinda Gates. “In the arena of start-ups, innovation and technology, I find myself doing meetings, panels or conferences with only men. The risk is feeling different; instead it’s an asset. What’s needed is greater awareness.” As a woman who struggled to make her way to the top, Kohashi tells younger women to take the plunge. Even in small ways: “Sit in the front row at meetings; put yourself forward for projects and initiatives, even if the challenges seem too big for you. 
It helps to have a healthy dose of cheekiness, and never say ‘I don’t deserve it.’”