I started in the meeting industry as hostess and tour leader, and it was love at first sight! After three years as a multilingual guide in the cathedral’s museum during my university period and a post-graduate master’s degree in Florence in cultural international events organization, I joined the Italian chamber of commerce in Melbourne, organizing international events for the promotion of “Made in Italy” in Australia. This had such a huge impact on my professional life that I decided to go back to Italy and work for a PCO first and then an incentive house in Milan.
Two memorable parts of my career were the decision to start my own business back on my island, Sicily, in 2011 (the starting point of a new life) and, two years later, creating a network of meeting industry professionals working together around Italy to improve our quality.
One of my goals is to improve my knowledge of international protocol for institutional, cross-cultural events. I have always loved this part of my job, and one of my dreams is to put this knowledge at the service of international organizations to make concrete our MPI refrain, “When we meet, we change the world.”
My biggest challenge is balancing my personal life with my professional one as a woman, daughter and wife—and, I hope, future mother. This job takes 90 percent of your life if you do it with passion, and this is a huge problem if you want to build a family and have a baby in terms of stress, travels and clients—who don’t allow you to live a normal life.
Working in the meeting industry has allowed me to travel a lot and get to know different cultures. It has given me the opportunity to set and reach hard new goals every day in terms of organization, timing and the patience and to learn a lot of new things (from art to technology, from medicine to engineering). It has also helped me learn how to work in a team in an inclusive way.
With each company I’ve worked for there have been colleagues and partners who made an impact, and today I still learn a lot from my young employees or students at the meeting industry academy where I tutor. Giovanna Lucherini, past president of the MPI Italia Chapter, has a very good heart and is a good friend, and was the one who really trusted in me and gave me the right suggestions to go ahead in this field.
I got involved with MPI for the first time during a 2010 convention in Venice, and it was an incredible experience. For the first time, I felt like I was in the right time at the right moment. The atmosphere was full of energy, culture and strong relationships. I grew so much in the association, at first participating at educational and networking events and later being part of the MPI Italia Chapter Board of Directors, first as VP of education, then president-elect and now president.
What changed the most in my MPI chapter during my tenure is a new and “fresher” way of communicating what we do and a bigger sense of community among the members. There’s a real sense of family inside the board of directors, with everyone having an equal voice and showing respect.
I am passionate about my family and my husband—lighthouses of my life. Without them I would have never had the possibility to do what I love with the passion I show every day. I also love theater and acting on the stage—which has always been a passion of mine—as well as flowers, concerts and volunteering to help those who have not been as lucky as I have been.