If Your Mentor Is a CEO

Claudio Colucci
China MIM
Is there any trustworthy person you turn to for advice when you have to face extremely complex challenges? Does this person belong to your work environment or to your informal network?

Enrico Chiapparoli
Barclays
I have a network of a few selected persons I seek advice from. Some belong to my work environment and some are from my informal network, as different views always provide for a more thorough analysis of a complex situation. In the end, for the final choice, it is always my wife I seek advice from.

Enrico Vita
Amplifon
I regularly engage with close friends and former colleagues: their outside-in views are very revealing both in ordinary and extraordinary circumstances. Besides this, I constantly seek dialogue with my team. Each and every member of the Amplifon Leadership Team is a highly talented and passionate leader: so exchanging views with them, always working as a team, is something I always rely on.

Camélia Cagnoli
Finance
What is the best piece of career advice you were ever given and what is the worst?

Fabrizio Gavelli
Danone
The best career advice I was given was 'when you feel too much in your comfort zone, it's time to change assignments.' Staying in your comfort zone means to give in to habit, to stop asking questions, looking for new ways and accepting new challenges. In other words, to stop growing as a person and as a professional, to stop moving forward. Which in many cases also means going backwards. The worst was 'think short-term, think salary increase.' My professional choices have always been guided by a long-term goal, the ambition to bring my passions and values into my daily work. And I am happy to see that the younger generation increasingly sees work as an opportunity to develop their talents and interests and not just as a chance to earn a career: I believe this is the winning choice.

Elena Goitini
BNL
By nature and because of my background, I am open to dialogue and especially listening, as I consider both essential occasions for analysis of professional and personal situations. In my life, I have always taken advice into careful consideration, which has also been an opportunity to reflect before taking action. Maybe that's why I struggle to define good or bad advice. Through my choices, first in my studies and then in my work and career, I was able to experience how useful my family's advice has been – and today it is more valuable than ever. They have always pushed me to be fearless when pursuing ambitions and dreams and to not be afraid of change, because changing means opening up to new opportunities. It means being smart, flexible, alive.


Leonardo D'Onghia
Double Degree with Keio University, Tokyo
How do you picture the CEO of the future? What qualities are most important to have?

Veronica Diquattro
DAZN
This is an important question that deserves consideration, going beyond the role and mere definitions. It should focus on substance, especially in a time of constant change characterized by new challenges and different ways of dealing with them. One of the most important challenges of our time is to manage uncertainties and a CEO must be able to do this by understanding the situation, the context and the people. And, since definite and absolute competencies no longer exist, it is essential to have an open mind, to be open to debate and to sharing ideas, projects and objectives. In a context where technology is already a fundamental element for businesses and the market, the CEO of the future must know how to understand, adopt and use it to the fullest, placing the human factor at the center, enhancing the skills of individuals, with a focus on diversification and inclusion to increasingly foster innovation. In fact, the human factor is and will always remain an essential element for the success of any company.

Marco Gay
Digital Magic
When thinking about the role that the CEO of a company must have, especially today, the evolution of everyone – from startups to large businesses – must be remembered. This refers not only to intrinsic change in business models but also changes in a company's social role. CEOs must increasingly have soft skills, i.e. the ability to integrate vertical and transversal skills. They must cultivate leadership, therefore the ability to guide and inspire their team to achieve objectives that are not simply business-specific, but that also have a positive impact on the company's ecosystem. They must therefore have a double focus, both on shareholders, the natural beneficiaries of business, and stakeholders, to develop all areas of the company.

Walter Mulè
Economics and Management of Governments and International Organizations
If you could go back in time, what would you recommend to a recent graduate as a first job? Going to a startup or a big firm?

Alberto Calcagno
Fastweb
Constantly train the muscles of ambition, courage and contamination with others. These are my tips to a young graduate entering the world of work. Be ambitious by setting increasingly challenging goals with the aim of improving each day. Be entrepreneurs of themselves and always have courage in the decisions they will make inside and outside the company. Be as open as possible and available to learn new things, to be positively contaminated by other people. These are in fact the skills that will make the most difference and that will be crucial for the company's growth, whether small or large. Because only in this way will the future really be in their hands.

Paolo Rigamonti
Mars Italia
I believe what really matters is the quality of the experience, the opportunity to learn and be supported in your personal development, so important at the beginning of the career as well as for growth and progress in the future. So in this respect the culture of the company is something to consider and I look at it in two ways:

• the company's values and principles resonate to me, I see a fit with who I am
• the company culture is putting people leadership at the center: personal development, engagement, health and wellbeing, inclusivity

These are the key ingredients in my personal opinion. Plus, never forgetting that passion, engagement, willingness and learning agility/curiosity are the essential drivers for starting a brilliant career!


Rafael Pintro Schmitt
Economic and Social Sciences
What is the hardest part of being a CEO? At times do you wish you'd chosen a different career?

Alessandro D'Este
Ferrero
The most difficult moments were those of inconsistency between the objectives assigned and the resources available, those of multiple constraints that led to a blocking situation, those that put my people in a critical situation, struggling, with probable defeat. Instead, when faced with pressures that could have compromised my values, I had no difficulty in choosing the right path, paying for this choice personally. No regrets in these (rare) cases. I looked in the mirror, gathered my strength and started over, with more determination. I believe that the ability to ask yourself questions and have doubts is essential to effectively carry out the task of leading complex organizations. Many times, I have wondered if another career would be more correct. As many times, I have concluded that this is the job that I like, which fulfills me and probably suits me best.

Jean Obeid
Cyber Risk Strategy and Governance
What are the skills (soft and hard) that new graduates must have in order to succeed when they enter the job market after the pandemic?

Matteo de Brabant
Jakala
The pandemic accelerated a number of trends that were already changing, starting with a greater acceptance of a different way of working and living. There is more awareness of different issues, more balance between professional and personal lives, we can express ourselves with greater freedom. A Bocconi education provides many opportunities. Young people who enter the world of work must pursue their dreams, do their best in business and generate value, while never abandoning their true selves.
Massimo Giordano
McKinsey & Company
The talents of the future will be professionals with highly qualified technical skills, especially in those areas that are driving the current transformation: digitalization and sustainability. Experts in advanced analytics, digital marketing and renewable energy will be among the most in-demand profiles on the market, so it will be important to develop those skills. However, we should not forget that qualities such as the ability to evolve and innovate, to change and adapt to a world in constant evolution will be truly rewarding. In this sense, a profile that combines scientific and humanistic disciplines, hard and soft skills, can make a real difference in the new world of work.
Francesco Toti
Economic and Social Sciences
If you were a university student again, what mistakes would you avoid making?

Bernadette Bevacqua
Henkel Italy
I would definitely study abroad and I'd focus on working at a non-profit in an area I'm interested in (i.e. diversity).

Matteo Manfredi
Houlihan Lokey
I think there are two things I would recommend, although I do not necessarily define them as 'mistakes.' First, try to understand which kind of job you would like to do. Your professional life will be driven also by the opportunities coming to you, but it's equally important to think about what would be your desired path in the professional environment. Second, enjoy your time at university, where you can choose which subjects you want to study. It's not going to be the last chance to enhance your 'intellectual capital,' but it's a very important moment to do so, in line with the first point above and regardless of any other constraints.

Tiago Guardão
Finance
How do you deal with mistakes (your own and other people's)?

Francesco Cardinali
JP Morgan
A successful career is a long-term path, rarely linear, during which mistakes may well occur.  Dealing with mistakes promptly and with transparency is key: acknowledging them, understanding the root causes and the consequences, as well as apologizing are all important steps for the individual and the organization. Also, in an organization like ours based on teamwork and leadership, finger pointing is not an option. Mistakes become valuable opportunities to learn, adapt and grow. 
Cristina Scocchia
KIKO
Mistakes are a part of any learning process. I don't think anyone likes making mistakes, I certainly don't, but the only productive thing you can do with mistakes is to learn from them. They are also a sign you are trying to expand your own horizons, which is always a state of mind to be in. Expertise allows us to avoid mistakes, but expertise is a product of repetition, not of learning. Learning demands mistakes from us and from others, it is an expression of us continuously trying to evolve above and beyond our comfort zone. So I try not to be too hard on myself or on my team over mistakes, but I do make sure I understand them well to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

Alessandra Pittaccio
Economics and Management in Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment
How do you balance your intense work life with your personal one?

Silvia Bagliani
Mondelēz
First of all, I believe it is important to be clear on your priorities and to be honest in identifying how much you can stretch in terms of career and family. Decisions become less stressful when we are clear on what matters most for us. Mondelēz International has always had a strong commitment to creating an inclusive work environment providing enough flexibility to be a supportive and involved parent. This has always allowed me to be present for my family's most important moments, while managing my work in a more flexible way when needed. Also a great team at work and a good organization at home, with a trusted helper, have made it possible to enjoy a fulfilling career and a wonderful family.

Serena Porcari
Dynamo Academy
Some would argue CEO work-life balance is an absolute myth, well it may be. I believe it is a matter of trying, failing, continuous learning and eventually succeeding. It is all about pursuing what makes you feel truly yourself, at work and at home. Of course, that means being able to manage the expectations others may have of you or you feel others have. Yet, being honest with ourselves is the way to handle this balance. I do not believe in pre-fixed rules, or pre-established percentages of time allocated to one or the other. I will therefore share what I have experienced works for me, for the time being, which I can summarize in two points. First: flexibility. Organizing work is certainly very important, yet you should always be able to deal with the unexpected and re-organize your professional and personal life around it. Allowing yourself flexibility immediately translates into granting flexibility to your people, building a team where the other players are committed to results, not only processes, and everyone is able to prioritize and re-prioritize according to shifting needs at work and at home. Second: support systems, both in personal life as well as at work. You need to be able to delegate tasks, have people take responsibility and generate a solid network so that there is always someone able to intervene to be of help and no one, including yourself, feels left alone. All right, these are my coping strategies, always curious to learn more about how others try to be on top of their game.

Maria Chiara Bricoli
Economia e legislazione per l'impresa
Of course with this kind of role, one of the qualities a CEO is currently required to have is to always keep up with the times. So in your opinion, what added value can CEOs actually bring to a business today and in particular, in the future, what specific qualities will they have to have in order to be increasingly successful?


Marco Travaglia
Nestlè

Already today (and more so as the years go by) changes in the market and input coming from the outside world need to be seized immediately and mixed together in a different way to build something new. I love music and I would compare the work of a CEO to that of a music arranger: both figures build their ideas by creatively interpreting external input with the aim of devising something that does not yet exist in the eyes of others. For this reason, CEOs today must have great listening skills and the ability to connect with the outside world. They also need to be ready to pick up and interpret the great ecosystem of signals that surrounds us and transform it into an innovative business vision in line with developments in the market. But not only that: just as music arrangers bring together the sounds, notes and different instruments of an orchestra to compose a score that works, CEOs must be able to listen with interest to the voices, needs and points of view of employees by observing everything that happens within the company to build an environment open to dialogue and an exchange of ideas that will naturally lead to better decisions. Being curious and knowing how to listen are the two special qualities that characterize the work of CEOs today. Knowing how to make decisions and how to guide the company are two other equally important special qualities that result from listening and observing everything that happens both inside and outside the company.

Giovanni Pietro Viani
Oliver Wyman
As we ease back into the new normal, graduates entering the job market need to embrace the new balance between the virtual and the in-person working reality, which is certainly here to stay. To this end they must enhance their soft skill set, on top of their technical knowledge. Flexibility, spontaneity, and discipline will be key to setting the foundations of a thriving career, and so will the ability to work well on virtual and physical teams, and at the same time to self-organize and progress in an autonomous way. Success will be based on open and effective personal interactions, the ability to listen and cooperate, and leverage every opportunity to spend time together in person. This will accelerate a creative process allowing the team to generate innovative and breakthrough ideas that rarely emerge in virtual settings.

Ann-Christin Holl
Economics and Management of Governments and International Organizations
How would you start your career today if you could do it all over again?

Edoardo Caovilla
René Caovilla
Today I would certainly aim to study hard and participate in a study abroad experience. The world is polarizing and markets are and will increasingly be almost exclusively rooted in the US and China. Visiting Silicon Valley is a must because the innovations that change the world are created there and it is where the importance of substance over form can be learned.
The world is going in a specific direction with fewer objects and more experiences, it's better to share than to possess, ethical values matter more than material recognition. I would certainly learn Chinese, in addition to English and Spanish, as other languages are practically doomed. I would always look for a way to connect the culture of all kinds we have in Italy with the rest of the world that loves and envies us, but without being bewitched and rendered inert by its beauty. The best of today is expressed between 16-17 and 30 years later ... it is a consequence of it. Good luck!

Lorenzo Potecchi
SC Johnson
While looking at this question my first thoughts were: Maybe I'm not sure if I would choose the FMCG sector again but besides that, I still believe it's a fantastic sector that has developed incredibly over these many years and it is still flourishing. When I look at my career steps, I think I was really lucky with the opportunities I had and there is really nothing I would do differently. I started up in Sales in the lower level of the ladder managing the emerging stores of the early '90s (the hypermarkets), and I had the chance to go through various positions in Sales, Trade Marketing and Marketing (in that order) which helped me build strong skills in the commercial sector. I lived in different towns always getting out of my comfort zone, I had local and regional roles in Europe, as well as experience in different sectors (Non-Food and Food) and worked for a truly American multinational and a big Swiss multinational, so always humble yet hungry.

Francesca Sofia Cocco
Management
Businesses are what we study when we're at university. Today your case study is me. As my mentor, how would you set up our 'work' together?

Riccardo Mulone
UBS
'If you can dream it, you can do it.' - Walt Disney
A process based on dialogue and trust that can help you bring out your talents and develop professional and other skills, that will accompany you to and in the world of work. I will be ready to answer your questions by sharing practical examples from business and times during my working life to teach you to think 'outside the box,' but above all to pass on my passion and determination that can be the key to success for the new adventure awaiting you. Last but not least, I hope to remain a point of reference and inspiration even after your final placement in the world of work: your future successes and achievements will be a source of pride for me as well!

Federica Tremolada
Spotify
In this program I don't see a CEO on one side and a student on the other. I see two people first, one with more experience in the working world than the other, who must first get to know and trust each other. Therefore, I would like to understand who my mentee really is, on a human, temperamental and personal level, and then start to address issues related to their career and professional future. This seems to me to be the best way to start a sincere, transparent, and trusting dialogue. At the center of the discussion, then, I would put the theme of 'passion.' Understanding what you really like, what is the real driving force behind your ambition, even going through anecdotes and the exchange of personal experiences, and never denying the difficulties experienced along the entire path of growth.

Cansu Sut
Economic and Social Sciences
As a mentor, what would be your advice for building and maintaining a network?

Aldo Bisio
Vodafone
I have always believed in building professional relationships that are above all authentic, but also profoundly human. Based on mutual trust and even more on the ability to learn from one another. Having a network of relationships is important. Not so much 'to have privileged access,' but to improve yourself and get a different perspective on things. This is where the value of your personal network lies: in its multiplicity and not in its uniformity. Don't look to create your very own 'fanbase,' but seek out and seize opportunities for a mutual, honest exchange of experiences and ideas. This will enable you to build strong networks over time, where you will be called on to contribute much but you will gain even more.

Luca Colombo
Facebook
Building and maintaining a network is considered by many a quality and a virtue. While some people have a more natural tendency to nurture and develop contacts, others may need a more structured approach to it. Regardless of one's strengths and aptitude, it is indisputable that connecting with others generates value, both in personal contexts and even more so in business.
In my opinion, some basic elements and steps for building and maintaining a network are as follows:

1. Define well your objectives and choose accordingly the people with whom you want to build a connection.
2. Dedicate attention and time to build and nurture your relationships. This will require planning ahead and should not be considered a spare time activity.
3. Follow up and do not think that an initial contact or meeting is sufficient. Checking in with your network of contacts is as important as meeting up with them.

In summary, it is crucial not to neglect the importance of these activities, planning them carefully and devoting enough energy and time to ensure that they become a key lever for one's personal and professional development.

Tomas Novak
International Management
Sometimes, when I look at the careers of successful leaders, it seems like they were meant to be in their positions already from the beginning. How was it in your case? Have you always strived to be a CEO or did you choose this path later?

Francesca Bellettini
Saint Laurent
Since I was young, I dreamt of leading a Company and I was  profoundly lucky as I always had the  best support  from my family, who encouraged me to follow my dreams and work hard to achieve them. It is important not to be impatient in building your career. Ambition should never push you to compromise ethical values nor to take shortcuts. Feed your curiosity and keep alive the willingness to learn from others. This will allow you to continue to improve and grow. Never stop finding occasions to learn in your life from every experience. Build your future every day, with hard work, dedication, passion, and above all, belief and optimism.