The need to always learn something new without the fear of change
“I made a commitment to listen to the disabled colleagues I worked with at the ECB, and that gave rise to a change in the corporate culture, leading to greater inclusion and a better working environment for everyone.” This is how Tiziana Trefiletti describes the journey that has led her to make an incredible impact at the institution where she has worked since 2008 and where she is Founder & Chair of the ECB DiversAbility Network, as well as Senior Analyst.
She knew as a student that she wanted to work in an international context. “I wanted to work abroad, so I chose Bocconi and, after my Master’s degree, I flew to the United States to study International Relations at the University of California in San Diego.”
She then returned to Europe in the early 2000s. She moved to Frankfurt, married and with a son, “with the idea of contributing to international institutions.” But after becoming a mother, with the limited support available to new parents at the time, she decided to devote herself to her family. “I waited a few years and had two more children before going back to work. First for a marketing research company and then for the ECB,” she adds. Here Trefiletti works for various departments, from Communications to Human Resources, as well as in the office of the bank’s chief economist. “One thing about me is that I always need to learn something new, and I’ve never been afraid of change; on the contrary, I seek change,” she adds.
Now working in the International Relations Department, she says it’s a challenging job: “I work with central banks from all over the world except the EU. It is a fantastic job for two reasons: I have contact with the whole world, and with all the departments of the Bank.” Over the years, she has also become involved in diversity and inclusion issues. “This is how community involvement came to be in my organization. I created the Employee Resource Group in 2019, a group of employees that, in our case, focused on disability: we wanted to understand the needs of colleagues and bring them to the attention of management.”
But Trefiletti wanted to go deeper, so she hit the books again. In 2021, she earned another Master’s degree in Diversity Management and Gender Equality, and also started collaborating with the Université Panthéon-Assas in Paris, where she taught as an adjunct professor. Thanks to her daily work and her new skills, she championed the ECB’s transformation on the inclusion front: the buildings and the website were made more accessible, a dedicated disability desk was set up, and guidelines on inclusion and staff welfare were drafted. “For this project, the support of President Christine Lagarde has been crucial,” she adds.
Trefiletti is also passionate about art and music. In 2015, she set out to bring music into the ECB. “We bought a piano and I organized high-profile concerts for staff, in collaboration with Frankfurt’s music conservatories. With the idea that music unites everyone,” beyond hierarchies, gender differences, skills, or generations.
