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It means having not only innovation skills, but also empathy and emotional intelligence. Cristina Zucchetti, President of Z Holding and Head of Human Resources at Zucchetti, highlights the qualities that a good leader should possess. To the young women who aspire to become one, she says to “not set limits for yourselves”

“I am a cautious person, but I was lucky enough to shadow my father – a courageous and forward-thinking man. He pushed me to be brave,” says Cristina Zucchetti, President of Z Holding and Head of Human Resources at Zucchetti, as she recalls what she learned from her father. Her message to the younger generations and to young women especially – those same young women who, as they enter the workforce today, dream of becoming an executive – speaks to this courage. She adds that it refers to “the ability to avoid setting limits for yourself, beyond those already imposed by societal biases.” 

“We must present positive role model leaders who have made it and reached success,” suggests Zucchetti. The Bocconi alumna believes that education in STEM subjects plays a fundamental role in this, and that companies can be an effective ally of institutions and organizations: “We must work together to promote education that deconstructs, as early as high school, biases where young women are represented as less capable in the sciences.” “I myself,” continues the alumna, “try to be a spokesperson for this fight. Our sector is high-tech, and there is already a shortage of STEM graduates. In Italy, we need roughly 40,000 graduates in these subjects; women furthermore do not typically pursue tech.”

After she graduated from Bocconi with a degree in Business Administration, Cristina began working in accounting and even enrolled in the register of accountants. However, she wanted to carry on the legacy of her father and the company he created – one that has since evolved into an industry giant: “A solid work ethic and development of appropriate leadership are some of the values which have always inspired me and that are part of our corporate culture.” Leadership is something that “everyone understands differently and can require diverse qualities depending on the type of company and its size.” However, Cristina Zucchetti emphasizes which ones she believes are a must-have: “A leader must be innovative and think outside the box. They must be detail-oriented so they do not miss any changes in the market, and must be able to empower people so that the entire team benefits from the positive qualities of each member.” The leader must also be empathetic, though, and focus both on listening and emotional intelligence, ensuring that their decisions are ultimately a combination of everyone's ideas. Inclusion is another related element, and in 2023 the company received the the certification of gender equality for its adaptation to UNI/Pdr 125:2022 practices – the only standard in Italy on gender equality. For the Zucchetti executive, this symbolizes not just a principle, but also a “true competitive advantage for businesses.”

Moving on to the qualities of new recruits, Cristina Zucchetti – with a wealth of experience as an HR manager – emphasizes the importance of acquiring certain soft skills, including “first of all, the ability to adapt to change, but also humility and capacity to listen. The younger generations are in a rush to learn and professionally grow, but the first thing they discover at Zucchetti is that results depend on teamwork, with the best ideas originating from dialogue among ‘blended’ teams in which diversity – including gender, age, work experience or others – represents an added value. 

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