From Corporate Consulting to Sustainable Development at the UN
From a job in consulting to working in an international organization, the step is neither short nor obvious. But, if there is an inner feeling of wanting to set up one’s professional and personal life differently, Giulia Di Donato has no doubts: “You have to go beyond the patterns, the stereotypes, especially for women, and the natural outlets of one’s studies. More generally, you shouldn’t let yourself be pigeonholed by your first professional experiences. Starting from this awareness, I listened to my desires and inclinations and looked for alternative paths. It was a process; I let myself be inspired by my instinct and so I mapped out all the alternatives during what I define as my continuous path of growth, listening and reflection.”
Today Ms Di Donato works in Vietnam for UNDP (United Nations Development Program) and deals with economics, public policies and sustainable development, studying issues of social inclusion, economic justice and environmental sustainability, also in the context of multilateral processes such as the G7. Yet today's civil servant began as a student at Bocconi University with a Bachelor in Business Administration and Management and, later, with a Master of Science in Accounting, Financial Management & Control. "I thought that, in my life, I would work in auditing and consulting. And it is this in field that I started out but, soon, I understood that that world was not mine. I didn't see myself fit in, it wasn't what I really wanted," continues Giulia Di Donato. After her Bocconi Master, she also obtained a Master in Public Policy from the National University of Singapore and it was at the end of it that she truly understood that those subjects would characterize her professional and personal life path, because she decided to settle in Asia.
"I love Asia, its culture. I had already sensed this during my studies in Singapore and Beijing. I believe that my career’s turning point was due not only to personal reflections, but also to the fact that I carefully looked at the examples provided both by senior colleagues in consulting and other mentors. In the former case, I understood what I did not want to continue doing, in the latter, I let myself be encouraged. Good mentorship is especially important when you enter the world of work. You should not expect mentors to give you answers, but rather to pose the right questions,” underlines Ms Di Donato. She also recalls how her experience in consulting gave her some assets: a strong ability to plan and manage, and a methodical approach to work and attention to detail.
The Bocconi alumna continues to draw inspiration from various perspectives, scenarios and different sectors: in 2020, immediately after her experience in Singapore, she launched Officine Italia, a network of young professionals and students (which later became an association) for the relaunch of intergenerational dialogue and Italy’s change of trajectory during the pandemic. From then on, her professional career evolved along this axis of interest, including being economic advisor to the Minister of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility during Mario Draghi's tenure as Italian Prime Minister, and then contributing to the organization of the latest G7 summit, supporting the Italian government together with UNDP Rome with regard to development policies.
"What do I like most about my job today? What confirms that I have made the best decision? That I have learned how to apply my critical spirit to the analysis of complex processes to improve them and to make people collaborate better with each other, in order to have a positive impact on people and the planet. This way, my professional and private life objectives are aligned with the goals of improving social inclusion, environmental protection and economic justice,” concludes Di Donato.
