Shorter than others, a little overweight, with Italian roots. Both parents immigrated to Switzerland from Italy in the early 1960s.
I grew up in the 1970s in an environment in which it was rarely a matter of course for children with a migrant background to assert themselves in the society and education system of the time. Bullying, exclusion and racist remarks were the order of the day.
Our financial resources were limited. Branded clothes, sports equipment, musical instruments or ski camps were luxury and always demanded a special financial effort from my parents.
I was often the outsider. Because of my name, my origin, my appearance. And because of the abundantly topped mortadella rolls at break, while my schoolmates ate healthy fruits.
But I had something that can’t be bought and amazed those around me again and again:
Ready wit. Obstinacy. Curiosity. Always an unmistakable gleam of hope in the eyes. And a good dose of intelligence.
I was able to express myself eloquently in different languages, I was strong in football and I felt the need to prove myself. To myself, but also to the others.
I was the first Italian in my community to attend secondary school.
Later, he was one of the first in the city of Bern to be admitted to high school with a migrant background and successfully passed the Matura (Abitur).
And, as far as I know, the first student of Italian origin at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Bern, which even encouraged a journalist from a daily newspaper to conduct an interview with me at the time.
Many of my colleagues from the past took different paths:
Skilled trades, simple jobs, some unfortunately also into the drug milieu or crime.
I have often stood at forks in the road where I could have turned.
But I stayed. Steadfast and with goals in mind.
I went where no one expected or expected me to. I studied, did my MBA, worked, learned. Learned a lot.
Worked in Bern, Zurich, Geneva, London, New York and Chicago.
I have led boards of directors, international brands and teams, advised banks, led trainings, founded a company.
And I’ve never forgotten where I come from.
Today I am a successful entrepreneur, coach, mentor. And when I look back on my story, I know:
I’m not the loudest. But one who fights his way through, one who has learned to fight. Someone who stays. Someone who goes through life with principles and optimism.
And sometimes that’s exactly what is needed, in a world that is constantly in motion and where certain values are often trampled underfoot.
“Unleash potential – celebrate success.”
