The broad leadership of Mariafrancesca
“A career is certainly important, but for me it was equally important to have a network of women to go to for advice. Not just colleagues, but also friends. I think of my sister or my niece, who gives me a lot of insight by telling me about her generation. We older people can also learn from them.” Mariafrancesca Carli has spent her entire career in M&A and is now Managing Director of BDT&MSD Partners, after having worked for Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan in London and New York.
She has always been determined. She says: “Even in high school I knew I wanted to do two things, one was go to Bocconi and the other was to live abroad.” In fact, in 1988 she graduated in Political Economics and, thanks in part to the encouragement of Professor Mario Monti, went to the Sloan School of Management at MIT in Boston. It was there that she discovered her passion for mergers and acquisitions.
In her words: “I remember the adrenaline rush of the first deals, and the fact that there were very few women. No matter how exhausting the work was, you were always on the road, and I always enjoyed it. I liked the international side of the challenges, and the fact that there was always something to learn.” The relationship aspect of the job also appealed to her. “It may not seem like it, but as a consultant to a company, you’re often dealing with families, and for them this transaction may be the only one they’re ever a part of in all their life. You not only have to be competent, you also have to gain their trust,” she adds.
Now leading multiple teams on multiple deals, Carli explains that it takes broad leadership to move them forward. “It is not enough to map out the direction; people have to get on board. Decisions are made by consensus, by listening to all the people on the team. I’m also very careful to pass on my passion and work ethic to younger people, but I listen a lot too. From young people you can learn to think in a more project-oriented way, and it’s often thanks to the dialogue between different worlds that you come up with the best idea or solution.”
Being a leader also means trusting your team and knowing how to delegate. For Carli, a mother of two, it’s also the only way to balance work and family. “You have to learn to balance your energies,” she says. “Sometimes work demands are priority; sometimes you have to be there for your family. It’s not easy, but I think that well-rounded people, who find fulfillment emotionally and in their passions outside work, are also more effective professionally.” That means it’s vital to have a network outside your bubble, “because diversity increases creativity, even in finance.”
Imagining herself talking to a 20-year-old student who is undecided about her career and her future, Carli stresses how essential it is to listen to advice but also follow your gut; be conscious of your own value but always on the lookout for people to learn from. “It also helps to find a mentor, and here in America that’s the norm, someone who believes in you and boosts you up. Basically, someone to lend a hand.” With the idea of being that lending hand, Carli is president of the board of directors of Friends of Bocconi, the nonprofit that promotes the university’s projects in the United States.
