The Importance of Great Teachers

In some way, it is as if she never left. In fact, the many bonds she has created – personal, professional or of social impact – keep her closely linked to her alma mater. Diana D’Alterio, 53-year-old Director of Audit and Internal Control (Group Chief Audit Executive) at ATM Group, began her international career after graduating from Bocconi with a degree in Business Administration, but has always remained tied to the university on Via Sarfatti. She arrived at Bocconi, if not by chance, then certainly with an unusual motivation: “I attended high school for foreign languages, and two of my classmates had older siblings who went to Bocconi. They spoke about it with such enthusiasm that I wanted to enroll at all costs, despite my shortcomings in math. I was terrified of taking the admission test because I did not have a plan B, but luckily it went well.” Her memory of Bocconi is that of a leading institution, for not only its teaching methods but also the extraordinary faculty. “Among many distinguished professors, I had Claudio Demattè and Piergaetano Marchetti, who made it a joy to go to class; in fact, I attended every lecture,” she says. Diana D’Alterio’s knowledge of English and German, in addition to her IT skills – which, she says “were not considered a given during the mid-‘90s as they are now” – allowed her to leave KPMG to join Alcoa because she “was so passionate about auditing”. “Alcoa was recruiting for an internal auditor, preferably Italian, for the EMEA market,” she explains. 

“I was 27 years old and they were actually looking for a more senior figure, but after a lengthy interview process at the Pittsburgh headquarters in the US, they hired me. From there my career in internal auditing began – a career that did not yet exist in Italy.” She traveled and flew often during this period, then she returned to KPMG, where she remained for another eight years. “There was one constant throughout my entire career,” she continues, “a pragmatism I learned in the university’s classrooms, when almost daily we could listen to the testimonials of entrepreneurs who ‘were making things happen’. They were really useful business cases of figures who were changing the world. One example is Leonardo Del Vecchio, who was not yet world-renowned in the mid-‘90s.” During her second stint at KPMG, Diana D’Alterio met Roberta Cocco – at Microsoft at the time – and Paola Profeta, collaborating with them on various women’s initiatives. Then she moved back to Italy to begin her new job at Aviva Group, where she worked for 10 years, with frequent travels to London. She continues: “One of the Managing Directors had placed his trust in me and invested in Roberta Cocco’s ‘Nuvola Rosa’ project. The project focused on the dissemination of STEM subjects among women and included mentoring programs, as well as thorough presentations of us executives in universities.” Her career progressed rapidly, stating “I believe that men’s careers advance much more quickly by equality of other means. When I had the chance, I tried to rebalance the equation by constantly suggesting female applicants – who were even in the majority at times – in addition to male candidates, all based on merit of course. Obviously, this warrants some criticism.” “For example, my son is a university student,” Diana D’Alterio continues, “and he complains that his female classmates are offered more projects than male students are, causing the latter to often feel at a disadvantage because, for them, the issue of equality is obvious – as it should be for all. It is clear that we all believe in merit and equality, and – with data in hand – I emphasize to my son that there is still a lot of work to be done.” Currently Diana D’Alterio is employed at ATM, where she manages internal auditing and reports directly to the board of directors. 

“There are about 30 directors at ATM, half of whom are women with strategically critical roles,” she explains, “Of course, if we look at ATM as a whole – including technicians and drivers – it is still male-dominated, although so much is being done for gender equality. My team, for example, is divided exactly in half.” Looking back, Diana D’Alterio recalls her formative years: “I feel very lucky because Bocconi really makes you feel as though you are investing not only in yourself, but also in others, the future, younger generations, and constant preparation to take on new challenges. Bocconi provides you with this mindset to invest in your future and in that of generations to come.”