Italy

Lorenzo De Grandi
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I graduated in economics and before becoming a trainer and coach I worked in sales and marketing for Farmitalia and for Unilever as a brand manager for Knorr stock cubes.

While I was employed, I started training for fun. After a few months what started as a hobby become an intense and very satisfying activity. So I had to decide what I was going to do with my life.

There is no doubt – understanding client needs and building competencies are my real interests and I believe I have a talent for training. In fact, I could say it’s part of my DNA. All my family members were involved in teaching; my mother and my grandfather were university and high school professors, as were my great grandparents before them.

So my training career started when I became a distributor for one of the largest training companies, Wilson Learning Corporation, in Italy, Greece and Turkey. I was responsible for developing projects which included:

?- Competencies assessment and measurement
- Training academies, concentrating mainly on soft skills
- Planning and prospecting, also hard skills in the sales and marketing area

In January 2001 I founded my own company, Choralia, with a colleague. Choralia is a Latin word that means “many voices together produce a single sound”. The idea is to combine our talent, skills, knowledge and different approaches in order to obtain the best results. This is also why we teamed up with Snowball.

I focus on :
- Personal coaching
- Internal communication - I facilitate sessions to gain commitment after a major change such as a merger, or any other organisational change. I also provide content for web television
- ? Events: I facilitate conventions and also organise outdoor team building (e.g. sailing)

Clients and colleagues consider me a curious person. What I love about my work is that I never stop learning, even from a single participant. For me, relationships are one of my most important values: I believe that results come from competencies and a strong, friendly, long-lasting relationship.

I live in Milan. I have a fantastic family with two beautiful daughters who are the joy of my life.

Sergio Di Giorgi

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Since 1988, I have been involved in the field of training and human resources development. I worked for many years as a trainer and project manager for a major Italian bank and then started to work as an independent trainer and consultant in both the private and public sectors, as well as for non-profit and educational institutions. My professional skills are mainly related to management - from interpersonal communication to team development, from problem solving to leadership.

In 1999 I started to specialise in cross cultural training and management, designing and delivering courses for managers of the ENI Group world-wide. For me, interaction with people from different cultures, learning new things and recognizing new perspectives is the most exciting and challenging of experiences.

Although I was born in the US, I am originally Sicilian and speak both Italian and English. I currently live in Milan. In my free time I like going to the sea (since I miss it…).

Roberto Esposito

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I became a trainer because I love dealing with people and sharing what I have learnt as well as my thoughts, values and behaviours. In the last 15 years the vast majority of my reading and personal development has been on human relations, emotional intelligence, communication, persuasion, coaching, team management and organizational development.

I believe that when I facilitate a training session I succeed in making participants feel free to express themselves spontaneously and honestly. We talk openly, sharing all our strengths and weaknesses, enthusiasms and worries. These discussions often create an “aha” effect and help to build relationships. What participants learn in the classroom motivates them to improve things in both their private and professional lives.

Before going independent, I was an HR Director for 4 different multinationals (Bolton Group for 6 years, DHL for 2 years, Warner Lambert for 3 years and Guidant for 2 years). During this time I learned how to combine human behaviour with business objectives, organizational issues, financial constraints, career expectations and work-life balance. My experience as HR director has given me a solid background and I believe participants see me as a valid partner and consultant, rather than a theoretical teacher.

As well as training, I’m also a coach. Coachees appreciate my ability to listen, suggest, make them think and find alternative behaviours.

I should have become a lawyer because my parents told me I was good at talking and persuading. So I took a degree in law in 1989. But after 1 year of working in the Milan Courts, I discovered that I preferred to deal with people, contracts and unions in a different environment. I therefore started my HR career and discovered that HR was not only contracts, pay-roll and unions but also training and development. And this is the aspect that I really like to focus on.

I consider that I am and always have been lucky as I love my work and my clients tell me that they appreciate what I do.