Leadership devoted to inclusion

“My leadership? I try to inspire people by sharing my passion for work. And I also try to encourage diversity in the team.”

She went from Pesaro to Milan with the intention of getting to know the world in order to build something of value. Alice Acciarri has recently been General Manager for Italy at eBay. Looking back on her career, she talks about a somewhat unexpected path, but one in which every experience has helped her to grow as a person and a manager.

“I am a curious person,” she explains, “and I like challenges, so I didn’t follow a linear path after graduating from Bocconi. I’ve explored different sectors: from logistics to publishing, from fashion to e-commerce.”

After earning a degree in in Economics and Management from Bocconi in 2005, Acciarri worked first at UPS and then at RCS MediaGroup in the Marketing Department, only to move a few years later to fashion, one of her lifelong passions (along with technology). She joined the Yoox Net-à-Porter group as Head of Online Stores.

“Six incredible years,” she says, “when the company was flying high after the IPO, and I had the opportunity to be part of a major change in the fashion world with the acceleration of e-commerce.”

But Acciarri, as we know, is curious. So she left Yoox and entered the start-up world with Vestiaire Collective, where she was country manager for Italy. “Each experience helped me understand something about myself and what I wanted to do. Beyond that, at Vestiaire Collective, I had the chance to build strategies for the Italian market from scratch and see the impact of my work.” Then came the call from Bottega Veneta offering her a global role: worldwide e-commerce director. “Another challenge, because in this case you had to innovate, but in a different context, because it was a brand with a distinguished history and a very structured organization,” she adds.

After three years at Bottega Veneta, Acciarri joined eBay in 2020. “Again, I knew I could make a difference because it’s a company that creates opportunities for users and sellers. During the pandemic, we saw how true this is and I felt an even stronger sense of responsibility.”

For new generations of women, Acciarri has three pieces of advice: never tell yourself no, don’t be afraid to look for answers, and always be authentic, because that’s the only way to build trusting relationships with people. And healthy relationships are essential in today’s complicated working world.

To give back, Acciarri has also been EMEA President of Women@eBay, the company’s diversity and gender inclusion program. “When you need to hire, you should always put a lot of focus on making sure the team is diverse. That means different educational backgrounds, different universities, different cultures. That’s how you create real innovation,” she concludes.