A Career That Leaves a Trace
“From an early age, I have dreamed of following the fragrant trace of the family business. I have perfume in my DNA… and also in my name. My professional journey became clear to me quite early on: I wanted to join the business founded by my grandfather and brought to success by my father.” Today, in fact, Ambra Martone serves as vice president of ICR - Industrie Cosmetiche Riunite, a company that produces and distributes perfumes and cosmetics for numerous luxury brands. She took up this role after a professional development journey that began right at Bocconi. “Before working for the family business, I invested time and energy in crucial professional training trying to explore new paths, especially abroad. I never believed in the myth that talent leads to success; behind every outstanding person, I always see a lot of research, preparation, practice and dedication. I chose Bocconi, and specifically the CLEACC program in its first year, because I had thought that it would have allowed me to stay in touch with an artistic and cultural realm that I felt was closer to my interests. My good grades allowed me to choose among the most fascinating destinations to study abroad. I did my Erasmus in California, then after graduating tried to specialize in the perfume supply chain.”
Ambra Martone's career has brought her to various cosmetic giants working on raw material extraction and essence synthesis, as well as to Firmenich in New York, where she joined some of the most renowned ‘noses’ in creating fragrances for American brands. “As a perfectionist, I always think that there is something to further improve and that my work is never finished,” reflects the manager, who also serves as president of the Accademia del Profumo. “It is not easy for me to change jobs; it often happened that external circumstances pushed me to make that decision. When I was in New York, for example, my husband received a job offer in Geneva and I searched for possible work in that city. I found a role at P&G in the luxury division that manages the licensing and branding of some luxury perfumes. My three children were born in Switzerland and I would have remained, but – after 15 uninterrupted years abroad – I wanted to come back home. I also felt a sense of responsibility to the family business that, at the time, was run by my sister, Giorgia, and my father.” This kind of transition, a new employee joining a family-run company, is not always easy to manage. “It is true; it is a delicate moment, but in our case it went very smoothly. We mutually split the roles and were even able to enjoy our relationship at work. On the other hand, balancing one’s career and family – not only the one you’re born into, but also the one you’ve created – is the challenge of all challenges.” To achieve this goal, Ambra Martone follows an ironclad rule. “One needs to know how to say no when there is a family commitment fixed on the calendar as a priority. Your private life is to be respected because it is no less important than your career. If your job is your passion, it will be even more difficult to do, but you have to force yourself. This, of course, also applies to men.”
Despite professionally advancing in the perfumes and cosmetics sector, comprised of mostly women, the vice president of ICR does not hold back on the gender gap issue. “There are people who find pink quotas a compulsory or undemocratic solution, but we are so far from gender parity that they still seem absolutely necessary to me. There is a very strong involuntary social conditioning that affects people who consider themselves impartial but who, in fact, do not prove to be so. Among those who say they are open-minded, who would be willing to support, for example, an obligatory period of paternity leave lasting two months, where the father stays at home with the newborn so that the mother can return to work?”
