In Stockholm Promoting Made in Italy and Leading Local Bocconians

Maurizio Fausti, 60 years old, graduated in Business Administration from Bocconi University in 1988. Today he works as a strategic consultant advising companies both in Sweden, where he has been living since 2012, and in Italy. For instance, he helps Italian companies enter the Swedish market. In Stockholm, where he lives with his family, he has led the local Bocconi Alumni Community since 2014.

➜ How did you get to the job you have today?
After graduating from Bocconi I worked for five years at Pwc and then was CFO of several US multinationals, all this in Milan, although I traveled a lot. Then, in 2012, my wife, who is Swedish and previously was Country Manager for Disney Italia, and I decided to move to Stockholm. At first I worked as controller in a financial firm and today I work as a consultant in business strategy.

➜ You help Italian companies get a toehold in the Swedish market.
Sweden always comes on top of innovation charts and Stockholm is one of the best breeding grounds for startups. The labor market is very dynamic and digitization here is a pervasive reality not only in institutions but also in everyday life. For example, it is becoming a practically cashless country: even the bakery near our place no longer accepts payments in cash.

➜ What are the difficulties of Italian companies dealing with this market?
That of low visibility. However, since certain Italian sectors, such as food, enjoy high consumer recognition in Sweden (also because of outdated stereotypes), this kind of Made in Italy could act as driver for the lesser known companies in other industries, which nevertheless have excellent, high quality products. My job is therefore to make these other marks of excellence known in Sweden. Not only that, but also making Italian companies understand that Sweden is a much more interesting market than they might believe. It would be wrong to conclude that this too small a market for direct foreign investment, simply because this is a country of 10 million inhabitants spread on an area that is three times Italy's.

➜ Among the Italian marks of excellence there is the wine industry, of which you are an expert.
Yes, it's my passion. I've been a sommelier for 20 years, certified by the Italian Sommelier Association. The Swedish wine market is dominated by Italian products, which have a 65% market share. Recently, in collaboration with the Italian Embassy, we brought several wine producers from various Italian regions to Stockholm, precisely to promote the kind of knowledge and awareness which I mentioned earlier.

➜ Let's get to your role as Bocconi Alumni chapter leader: what kind of activities do you organize?
The activity of networking companies and businesses continues also through the work of the chapter of the Bocconi Alumni Community. We organize many public events, in close collaboration with the Italian embassy. Furthermore, we are very active in welcoming Bocconi students who come to the Sweden to do their internships.