Alessandro Cristiano. From Navy submarines to Amazon's supply chain management

DEPUTY COMMANDER OF A SUBMARINE, THE NAVAL LIEUTENANT DECIDED TO EMBARK ON A NEW ADVENTURE, CHANGING EVERYTHING FROM JOB TO COUNTRY. HIS STORY RECITED LIVE DURING THE CLOSING EVENT OF THE SVOLTE INITIATIVE BY SDA BOCCONI AND CORRIERE DELLA SERA

Taking a new direction, perhaps one never considered before. Taking stock of one’s existence and putting oneself back in the game. The Svolte project by SDA Bocconi and Corriere della Sera has told many stories of change originated by the new skills obtained through study. From the stories of individuals, who have turned their careers around thanks to upskilling or reskilling, to stories of transformation and reorganization of entire companies, thanks to targeted training. These are many different stories, told in 12 videos published during this academic year, but also told in the form of a theatrical script and recited live at the closing event last April 21. Here, the story of Alessandro Cristiano.

Leave the comfort zone. You always hear it said.
“Try things out, take risks, dare. There is only one life. It cannot be wasted”.
Ok, all very nice to hear and say, but then there are real lives. Those paths that take you to chase a dream you have had since you were a kid. I'm talking to a generic "you", but I'm talking about me.
My name is Alessandro and for a long part of my life I have been underwater. Yes, I worked and lived inside submarines. Both in the Mediterranean Sea, but also some anti-piracy missions in the Indian Ocean. Movie stuff.
And that was my comfort zone. It might make you smile, but military life was my comfort zone. Rules, hierarchies, procedures, full focus on work. Absolute concentration, there was no space to insert many other things into thoughts and actions. It could happen you spent a whole month in the open sea, or rather immersed in the open sea, in the company of the same people. And I can assure you it is not easy. It takes a lot of preparation, logistics and technique yes, but also psychological and relational skills. It is like living in the same gym, you know? Body and mind adapt to careful actions and reactions within those specific contexts. It is a kind of existential transformation.
And in that setting, which all of you can perhaps imagine as uncomfortable, I was totally at ease. Procedures, objectives, organization: making sure that everything fitted, that was my greatest satisfaction.
And the satisfaction became enormous thinking of me, a child, who dreamed of the sea in my small village in the province of Matera. I told my grandmother Rosa that I wanted to spend my life at sea: she smiled, but I understood it from the smirk on her lips, that she didn't believe in it too much.
But then I took that track, very straight and with a specific goal... life at sea.
And so I moved from Basilicata to Livorno, to the Academy of the Italian Navy ... Degree in Maritime Sciences, then specialization in submarines, and then absolute concentration on work, the very long periods at sea... it is somewhat unjust to summarize years of life, of commitment, effort, enthusiasm and frustration in a few seconds.
And all this path leads me, around the age of 30, to become second-in-command. In short, after the submarine commander, there was me. And if I had followed that career track, straight and determined, the path to command would have been well laid out.
But then you arrive at 30, the nights beneath the waves also make your thoughts fluctuate, to move, you wonder what's out there... You are not disappointed, you are happy, this was your dream and this is the world where you wanted to spend your time in. But the question of meaning emerges like an iceberg from the ocean: could I be doing something different?
You look inside yourself, initially shyly, you think about being abroad, of the still somewhat nebulous desire to work in a large company, the thought of putting yourself to test in the tech industry... in short, life had followed thus far a precise track, strongly willed and with a clear destination. But in life there are exchanges. Trains may change tracks. It takes courage. It takes discussion. Talking with others, hearing about other possibilities, expanding the spectrum of potentialities in the field of hypotheses.
Then you get to a point where that little flame of doubt and unresolved questions you had inside flares up. And you can't hold it back. Even if the world is in a moment of stagnation. Even if a pandemic has just broken out and frightens and paralyzes everything. The urgency to change, to take that turning point becomes your destiny.
March 10, 2020. Lockdown has just started. Do you remember? Then, on that day I delivered my official letter of resignation from the Navy.
Yes, it took courage. Courage to take a step into the unknown. Unknown yes, but remember who I was. An organizer, a problem solver, one who has learned to work calmly and with a clear head even in the most intricate situations. And clarity told me to take a break from my daily occupations to acquire new tools and design a new future.
Let's get to today, April 2022. My name is Alessandro, I work in Madrid and I am a supply chain manager for Amazon.
Man, how much life has changed. In just two years. Yes, my turning point was three-dimensional: I changed industry, I changed country, I changed my function.
And in between that, there was the Bocconi Master. Reading, studying and comparing myself to others I understood that this was the right step to take to give shape to the unknown: there you meet many people, you see people who have taken very different paths, you make a decisive leap in your life and career, where everyone wants to get back in the game and redesign themselves.
I breathed new air, I added depth to my gaze, I was able to see myself from the outside.
And now my transition is complete. All the question marks have disappeared. I have a new comfort zone, composed of Spain and a company in which difference is a very important value, with a very strong team made up of many diverse people. I go to the office every day happy and ready to face operational challenges in which I immerse myself completely. Almost like before, when I was diving into the seas.
And to grandma Rosa, who said to me, “But who’s forcing you to do it? Stay in uniform, you look so good,” today I can say: grandma, I found my new uniform. At the office.
In Madrid I feel so good that sometimes it’s like I can see the sea... and that’s a turning point!
 

by Lorenzo De Belli
Translated by Alex Foti