What has your journey to Edelman looked like and how did you get into the communications industry?
I grew up in Italy and moved to London for university. Soon after, I began working in TV production, with the likes of MTV and CNN. Eventually, I became a journalist and ran the international desk for a hybrid TV and online channel owned by ex-Vice-President Al Gore – who was a big inspiration to me for his environmental activism. It had always been a personal goal of mine to work with him and achieving that was a huge step both in my career and my personal growth. Those years were incredibly foundational for me as my work enabled me to travel the world – reporting from every continent, but especially Africa. I covered a variety of important topics, from human rights to climate change.
Eventually I decided to complete a master’s degree in International Development at SOAS, School of Oriental and African Studies here in London specialising in Public Health. I then had the chance to work with numerous companies such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and UNAIDS on public health and communications projects, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Another very foundational moment of my career was leading the communication efforts for Doctors Without Borders in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was very challenging given the volatile security context and the outbreaks of Ebola and COVID-19 that we had to deal with.
When I got the call from Edelman, I was working with the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, with world leaders such as Biden, Macron, and Trudeau. Edelman asked me to come aboard and set up a new offering around Global Public Health – which presents a fascinating challenge and a great opportunity to have a positive societal impact. Edelman has a real desire to work at the intersections of the complex issues humanity faces and play a role in connecting the dots internally and externally, with the public and private sector.
What excites you most about your role as Head of Global Public Health?
Given that Edelman is a global organisation, what excites me the most is the chance to look at how we communicate and to explore the opportunities we have with the talent within the company. I think that everyone, whatever their job title is, has something to offer when it comes to Public Health. Whether that be from their academic knowledge or their own lived experiences, it’s important to give the freedom to each member of the team to do their best work.
You also cannot discuss Public Health without confronting issues such as climate change, geopolitics, and human rights. I’m interested in shaping the conversation around what Public Health means in 2022 and beyond, and broadening the parameters of what our remit should be.
What do you what do you do to outside of work to relax?
As you might be able to tell from my career, I am very passionate about travelling – and I’m particularly passionate about Sub-Saharan Africa. I also love the Middle East, Brazil and just recently got to spend time in Palau, a small island nation in the Pacific. When the conference I was there for ended, I got to spend a few days on a hammock looking out into the sea in complete solitude, which was memorable.
Recently, I also went to see the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition in New York which I was very eager to absorb. For me, I find that relaxation cannot be detached from culture and creative growth.
What advice would you give someone considering a role at Edelman?
When applying for a role at any agency, the most important thing is to not feel intimidated by any potential lack of agency experience. Your own perspective is an incredibly valuable currency, so try not to shape yourself into what you think they want from you and instead retain your individualism. No agency will benefit from similar personalities mirroring one another – but instead they’ll benefit hugely from a diversity of perspectives and how they can effectively collaborate.
How do you stay motivated?
What is important is having a vision and staying true to it as much as you possibly can. In my case, that’s connecting the dots between health, climate, geopolitics, and human rights, and fostering a healthy conversation on that. Secondly, I think it is crucial to nurture empathy within your work. What I mean by that is believing in the positive impact your work can have and making that connection. It is easy to believe that systems cannot change or evolve, but I think that by setting yourself goals and pushing the envelope you will quickly realise that is not the case.
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