Ferdinando Bocconi's Questionnaire
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Ferdinando Bocconi's Questionnaire

AN INTERVIEW WITH CRISTINA SCOCCHIA


If you weren't Cristina Scocchia, who would you like to be?
I would like to be a doctor. Scientific research, innovation, the human dimension of the doctor-patient relation, I think these things give a sense of personal fulfillment that is hard to find in other jobs.

Music, books and movies: which ones would you associate with your Bocconi student years?
There are so many films and songs that remind me of those years..  And it’s nice to consider how I shared all these things with friends of a lifetime I met right at the University.
I guess that in music brit pop would be prevalent, with Blur, Oasis and the Cranberries that exploded on the international music scene in those years. As for movies, those were the years of cult pictures like Forrest Gump and Philadelphia.

Of all the people you met through Bocconi, whom would you travel with and where to?
I made the most beautiful journey of my life by going to South Africa and Namibia with a group of friends. Our team was headed by a boy I had met in a Bocconi classroom. Twenty years later he is still one of my closest friends: I would retake that trip one thousand times!

What if Bocconi were a dish?
For me, Bocconi is not a dish, it is the full menu! A menu on which you can choose formative experiences that will help you become who you’ll want to be tomorrow.

Who is your hero? And while you were a Bocconi student?
I have always liked unsung heroes, so-called normal people who without fanfare, but with great courage and determination, are capable of extraordinary gestures. I've seen and met many people like that over the years, and have tried to learn from each one of them.

What are you most proud of in your private life?
Definitely my son. It may seem banal, but becoming a mother is the one thing that has really transformed and enriched my life.

And in your professional life?
What I’m most proud of in my job is to take on complex situations that require a strategic and operational turnaround and then implement it by working with a strong and close-knit team. I feel the honor and responsibility to shape the future of the company from the point of view of the business and its organization and to motivate people so that they all work in the same direction.

If you were a character in a fairy tale, which one would you like to be?
I'm not very knowledgeable about fairy tales, so I can't think of a character on the spot, but I definitely know who I wouldn't want to be: Cinderella. The idea that my happiness and fulfillment should depend on meeting prince charming has always annoyed me. I think it's important to believe in your own abilities and work hard trying to achieve your goals.

What would you never do without?
I could never give up my IPhone and Nutella. I'm addicted to both!

Bocconi for you is..
A springboard that puts your life on a better trajectory. As happened to many other students, my horizons were broadened by Bocconi and I was given greater opportunities than I could have ever imagined. But above all, it gave me the knowledge and self-confidence to understand they could also be within my reach.
 


CRISTINA SCOCCHIA
After graduating cum laude in Business Administration from Bocconi, she completed her PhD in Business Administration at the University of Turin.
She then started her career at Procter & Gamble, where since 1997 she climbed positions in mature and emerging markets to become leader of Cosmetics International Operations in 2012. She supervised P&G cosmetics brands in over 70 countries around the world.
From 2014 to 2017, she was appointed CEO of L’Oréal Italia and oversaw the company’s return to growth in a challenging economic environment.
Since July 2017, she has been the CEO of Kiko, a company leader in the Italian and European make-up market with 7,700 employees, 900 direct points of sale in 22 countries, and an e-commerce platform that to date has been extended to 34 countries.
Speaker at numerous national and international conferences on business development, corporate leadership and environmental sustainability, Cristina Scocchia also sits on the boards of Essilor Luxottica, Pirelli, and Illycaffè.
In 2019, she was awarded the title of Chevalier dans l'ordre de la Légion d’honneur by the French ambassador to Italy.
 

by Andrea Celauro
Translated by Alex Foti


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