From Her Room with a View to Italy's Forbes Top 100
WITH HER FAMILY, VALENTINA DE SANTIS RUNS TWO OF THE MOST LUXURIOUS HOTELS ON LAKE COMOAccording to Forbes Italy, she is one of the 100 most influential women in the country. From her office in Grand Hotel Tremezzo, set in one of the most beautiful locations on Lake Como, Valentina De Santis, with two Bocconi degrees (on in Management of Arts and Culture, in 2004, the other General Management, in 2007), displays modesty. She is CEO of the Meta Spa Group, the family company that owns two of the best luxury hotels facing the lake (the other is the Sheraton Lake Como), and says: "Honestly, the nomination has pleasantly surprised me. I knew I was in the running, because I had been contacted by a journalist of the magazine, but being inserted in such a prestigious ranking is really a source of pride ".
For Valentina, working in the family business was in a sense a moral duty, although it wasn’t imposed on her: "I represent the third generation of a family that has owned the Grand Hotel for 50 years, and I am the only child. Here is the air I have breathed since I was a child and we have employees who have been with us for many years: the human side in this line of work is predominant. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that family and work are the same thing, but they inevitably end up mixing together». Before taking the reins of Meta, however, Valentina traveled on paths, one in particular being important: "I worked for four years at Bain & Company immediately after the university, and it was a fundamental experience for my personal growth. Indeed, I recommend a period of consultancy for everyone; it is very formative ".
The two hotels owned by the group employ around 250-300 employees in the high season, and caters mainly to the international clientele in a sector, tourism, which is crucial for the Italian economy. «Tourism is as healthy as ever in Italy, especially luxury tourism. What we need to do now is take great care of the Italian essence of the service we provide, which is the value the customers who come to us are looking for. Culture is still what makes our country one of the most attractive in the world today". Talking about her alma mater, Valentina De Santis remembers not only the theoretical notions learnt, but the practical approach to solving problems: «Bocconi teaches you above all to work in groups and to face real business cases that introduce you to the real world of management jobs. It forces you to think of solutions: later you realize how important this is».
by Davide Ripamonti
Translated by Alex Foti
