Norwegian Water? It's Coming to China Thanks to Sara
She wanted to go to Bangkok, but she ended up in Beijing. She thought she would stay in China for three months, but after thirteen years, she's still living in the Land of the Dragon. Sara Vettori graduated in 2003 in International Economics at Bocconi, with a thesis on the expansion of the ASEAN treaty to China, South Korea and Japan. "Initially, I worked on internationalization strategies for luxury Italian brands," she says. She has also worked in China for the United Nations, working on industrial development projects and, in 2006, she started in the water division at Nestlé as head of brands Sanpellegrino and Perrier. "I decided to stay here because I was attracted to the professional opportunities and I was curious about the country. Also, working in premium food & beverage was a continuum of my previous work in the consultancy sector: it was about creating a very new division by importing signature brands to China so that local consumers can learn to appreciate the Italian or French lifestyle."
Since 2012, Sara Vettori has worked at VOSS, the Norwegian player in the mineral water market, and she now holds the position of Asia Market Director at the company. "My job is to plan and coordinate the brand's commercial and marketing strategies in this area. Collaborating with different cultures and markets at the same time is extremely stimulating but also very complex. To manage the business successfully, I have to constantly use mediation." It's a continuous adaption process that has to also consider the sudden changes that affect the country. "During recent years, I experienced three different periods in China: pre-Olympics, post-Olympics and post-Expo.
The whole country worked hard to demonstrate to the world that it's a great country." And a passionate fervor came over each segment of the population, as well as the economy, that in part was "inflated by large government investments. This all contributed to spreading the idea that nothing was impossible." Today, the enthusiasm in China is more contained, the growth rate has undergone a slowdown and professional skills amongst the Chinese have grown because "the new generations have studied abroad, acquiring skills that are equal to Western colleagues." Transformations also involve women, who represent a great potential for the country: "There are no barriers for reaching prestigious professional positions that can also be economically rewarding."
Sara Vettori is one of the over 500 Bocconi alumni present in China - where on March 11, in Shanghai, will be held the 4th edition of the Bocconi Alumni Global Conference.
Click here to get to know more about the Bocconi community in China and read other stories from Alumni in the country.