SILVIA VIANELLO: TOP 100 FORBES ITALIAN WOMEN

THE ITALIAN TOP MANAGER IN MIDDLE EAST

 "If you want to succeed you have to be brave"

Dr. Silvia Vianello​ is the award winning of the ​Top Middle East Woman Leader Award​ at the Asian Leadership Awards, she got featured in 2018 in the prestigious ​Top 100 Forbes Italian Women​ list and won the award as ​Pioneering Woman Leader Award​ at the World Woman Leadership Congress. She is the example of how ambition, perseverance and dedition can lead to success. She has always been ready to challenge herself with new adventures working around the world. She has been a journalist, a TV presenter, a Professor in Bocconi and in SPJain Global School of Manegement, Marketing director and she has recently founded BDB NETWORK(​ www.bdb-network.com​)​, an international network of professionals present in over 20 countries, that supports companies in internationalization processes.

Which are your educational experiences? 
"I have a PhD in economics and a specialist degree with honors in marketing, plus an executive training course in Innovation and Smart Cities at Harvard. Then, I have "real life" experiences from which I learned beyond books​. The most important thing is intellectual curiosity, this is what can make the difference, every single day.”

Which are the obstacles you faced?
"​I had many challenges to face, mainly because I am a woman​. Being able to turn difficulties into opportunities is the turning point. Unhappiness is the biggest push we have for action, to change something wrong in our lives. I have spent most of my life abroad because in Italy I think there is a big income gap between a woman and an equal grade man. This gap is much smaller abroad”

Which are the experiences that have enriched you most in your travels? 
Do you miss Italy? "Italy is the country of my heart. I go to Italy every two weeks. In my life I travelled around the world as Consoler and Professor: I lived in Houston, New York, Paris. Then I accepted to work for Maserati in Dubai, where I currently live. I love my life and in Dubai you can breathe innovation and do it, literally. At a certain moment I realized that I was not having fun anymore and it was time for a change. For this reason, I returned to work in the education sector. I accepted the challenge as Director of an Innovation Center and as a Professor at the award-winning Australian Business School, SPJain Global
School of Management (​www.spjain.ae)​ where we provide many scholarships for outstanding students from all over the world."

Do you have projects for the future?
"My future projects are aimed at the growth and expansion of the BDB. It will not only help companies to internationalize their business but it will also become a meeting point for entrepreneurs' know-how. In fact, we will give them the opportunity to share their ideas with potential industrial and financial partners interested in finding innovative formulas. We will also support those entrepreneurs who are willing to make a difference in the world, for example by protecting the arts in danger or by helping to improve the quality of life and work through their technologies. In 24 months, BDB will cover over 60 countries in the world and will have a global coverage of all the main industrial and product sectors. We can also count on hundreds of specialists ready to respond to all the specific needs of those who contact us."

What message do you want to spread to young people? 
"Everyone who wants to realize himself can do it. To be what you want, you must forget who you are and become the better version of yourself ". How many times we don’t give up a job that no longer satisfies us just because we are afraid of not finding another? And how many times do we stay in a city that has nothing left to offer us? If you want to succeed you have to be brave.  Never stop learning is the first key, the second is to share what has been learned and transfer it with happiness to others. Don't be afraid to explore. Finally,​ start with a first step. Every big company starts with a first step, a first contact, a first interview, a first customer. ​Today​ is the right day to take the first step."

                                                                                                     Sofia Di Filippo 

@LADYCONA TEAM