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Lorenz E
Hello and welcome to the podcast. My name is Martin Hamel and today we are going to talk about the International Management Trainee program of Riva International. What does it look like? What is it like participating and what do your career chances look like after finishing the program? That's what we are going to talk about today. My guest today is a real expert on this topic because he has already completed the program. Gianluca Venturi, he is process manager for Penny Italia. Hello and welcome.
Gianluca Venturi
Hello, Martin. Hello to everybody. Thanks for the for this opportunity. Very happy to be here.
Lorenz E
Nice to talk to you, Gianluca. Just to start with, could you describe yourself for a little bit? How has your path in Riva looked so far? What are you doing right now?
Gianluca Venturi
So currently I'm working in Italy, my country of origin. I'm working as a process manager. Since March. It's been actually, I would say a really short time. It's been only nine months. But I would say that it was already full of things to do. Pretty happy of the where I'm currently living.
Lorenz E
What do you think? What made you decide to start your career as a trainee? What made you say, okay, I want to enter this. I want to participate here. And instead of answering directly in the company. Why is it different?
Gianluca Venturi
I started with the with a trainee program in November 2021. It was actually right away the right after the Covid pandemic. So it was really a weird period, a different periods. You I started working for six months just before the pandemic. Then I wanted to change. My background is really connected to international and international management. I didn't want to. I was not looking just for let's say normal position. Also, it was really difficult for, for my background being having done the international management, it was really difficult to find a normal job because managers you don't you don't start as a manager after the university. And I found that the trainee program with Revit was really interesting for the opportunities and for the fact that you are able to move and visit a lot of different units, a lot of different countries in the group, it was unique experience to take a look at the inside of the group something that is not really easy to look when you, when you start in when you just enter in the company.
Lorenz E
So a good start for you at if you had to pick three words, just three words to describe the program, what would these words be?
Gianluca Venturi
I would say diversity. Because, yeah, it's true. It's a multinational company. But being in the retail fields, you are actually really connected to the tradition and the culture of one nation. So every nation has to bring their their own aspects or their own specific traits. You cannot be really a multinational company as it could be an Amazon or this kind of companies. Another objective I would use for the, for the program was pertinent, important ness. That's not the right one. I should, but I find a real synonym. Yeah, I think we know what you mean.
Lorenz E
Yeah.
Gianluca Venturi
Yeah, but as soon as I started, I was one of the few international trainees, so I had I wouldn't say all the eyes on me, but I was really taking under consideration every step that I was taking. Every thing I want to do was considered was viewed as an opportunity for me or with a with a possibility to add an opportunity for me, it looked like you you had multiple doors to open and then at last, for sure, for me it was a really, really new experience. It was I had for the first time the chance to see a lot of different people, a lot of different fields. It was kind of the chance to to, as I said, open several doors and experience several different opportunities. I would say you were kind of driven to to new opportunities. So every time you would meet people that you probably have never met in your life, or it would have been difficult otherwise to meet because of that, I felt I was growing a lot. I could discover more aspects of people and then for this reason, also discover more aspects for myself. Even by coming back in Italy, I discovered aspects of myself that changed in the last years.
Lorenz E
So you entered the program. You had a lot to do. You started to see a lot of stuff. Can you think of any moments or any, I don't know, a situation or something where you said to yourself, yeah, I chose well, that was a good, a good decision to enter the program. Any any specific moments that made you say this?
Gianluca Venturi
There were multiple, honestly, because as I said, being really well considered by the by the responsible of the program, you always had the feeling of being important for the group or being important for the also then for the, for the company. So it always felt like really valuable. But I would say that actually the, the this moment happens probably a few months ago when I started in Italy because I have to be honest, initially when I started the program, my first objective, my first aim was not to come back to Italy because I, as I said, I had an international background and wanted to pursue an international experience and that therefore outside of Italy. But when I, I decided then to come back to to to to my country because here knew my story, knew my experience, and of course the chance to to meet me and work with me. And they were really happy to have me on board so I could see the interest of them to to have me in the, in the company, have me in the, in Italy. And since I've came back, it was my, my my approach, the, the the way I work, the way I bring value was always really well valued especially my by my boss and, but also by my co-workers. And so it felt like my previous previous experience had a real value to what I became in the, in the in these last months, in these last years. And in the end, I spent 16 months learning, practicing talking, communicating, communicating, improving and growing to bring a real value to the to my job.
Lorenz E
What would you say was the biggest challenge participating in the program? What were some hurdles that you had to clear?
Gianluca Venturi
Definitely for me it was the frequent change of job, of tasks, of people around you, of countries. So in the beginning, when you look at it, you feel like, oh, it's actually the best part because you change every time you, you, you have the chance to see a lot of new worlds. But in the end, I would say that when the program was finished, I was actually relieved that I found a position in which I had to stay for a while because changing every three months, four months. You have to change relationships. You have to change the the the apartments or the the house in which you're living. Also, the maybe you're getting used to a specific country. I remember, for example, getting used in Austria to the case of Krajina. I really liked it.
Lorenz E
Yeah, yeah. Good one. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Gianluca Venturi
It was the perfect thing to eat when you were out. Yeah. And then really, really weird. But I went to the to Germany. I didn't find the case of Krajina, even though I don't think they have a lot of. Yeah. These little things as just details. Not so important. Probably for the for for for the life of a human being. But definitely it is a challenge after a while. Because you're always. You always move, you always change, you always lose. I would say some important points or trademarks of the of your life. And you have to, let's say, make a step back and try to settle down again every single time.
Lorenz E
What would you say was the most interesting phase? There are a few phases in the program, like the project phase, the rotation phase. What was the most interesting for you.
Gianluca Venturi
The fact that you change every time. Yeah, it's the biggest challenge and the most interesting part. By changing you, as I said, made a lot of people, a lot of also you change every time boss or people that you work with in the, in projects. So you see a lot of different approaches to work which could be more data driven, more business driven, more customer driven. There are a lot of approaches you can, you can decide to, to go with when you when you follow a project. It really depends on your personality. And by moving in the, in these projects, you, you discover all the benefits, the also perks, perks and cons of of an approach. But at the same time, also you meet a lot of bosses, so different leaderships. So there are definitely. So also the difference in leaderships in Germany, in Austria and in Italy. So you have people that are.
Lorenz E
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Gianluca Venturi
Some people give you more freedom. Some people give you less freedom. It really depends on the on the person you have on the other side.
Lorenz E
So when we look at our company at, at Penny, maybe especially. What do you like about the company? What fascinates you about retail industry in general?
Gianluca Venturi
The thing that that I like the most about retail is the connection that you have with the country itself. When you start doing retail, maybe this is a characteristic that is really important in Italy and maybe less in other countries. I would just bring my my experience as, as an Italian, but when it comes to retail, you really touch 80%, 70% of the tradition and culture of the of a country. If you want to be if you want to succeed in the retail, you have to be inside The the culture of the that country. Understand it and be part of it. You cannot provide in your store products that are not meeting the need of the customer. And to meet the need of the customer, you have to talk with them, understand them, and sometimes you have also to foresee what they want and what they don't want. So you have to get a culture. Yeah, yeah, you have to. Yeah, yeah. Understand? Meet them in the halfway.
Lorenz E
So you did the program. You had a lot of success, as I'd say. And what was the next step? What did you do after the program was finished? And why did you choose this position?
Gianluca Venturi
So after I finished my program, I got in contact with the CFO of Venice, Italy, and he heard my story, but I also talked with him when I was for for a little period in Italy, and he wanted to bring me into the company for a position that was pretty new. Actually, it was not. There was no one before me. So it was a position in which he he wanted me to grow, understand, and see the company. I, I cannot say he tailored for me because it would be probably too much, but definitely he he gave me the also the freedom to work in some projects while working just some operative aspects of the, of my job and give me also the freedom to understand what I could where I could bring more value.
Lorenz E
Do you have any final message for our listeners who may be considering joining to the program? Yeah. If you have someone listening to this and they say, oh, that sounds interesting, what would you say to them right now if you had the chance to say something to them?
Gianluca Venturi
The the program definitely is a real opportunity to challenge yourself to, to, to see and experience. It is for me, the way I handle it, it was this is an investment that I'm making on myself, on the on the way I want to grow. They want to the way I want to learn. I have in the whole period a lot of freedom and a lot of opportunities. This was every time in my hands it is really difficult to find even a traineeship in which you, you can decide by your own or you can bring so much value by yourself. Definitely. I didn't try another, another trainee program, but I would say that my experience is really difficult to have this much importance and freedom in when you participate.
Lorenz E
So you think people should do it if they get the chance?
Speaker3
Yes, definitely. Very good.
Lorenz E
Thank you very much for talking to me today. Gianluca Venturi from Penny Italia.
Speaker3
Thank you. Thank you.
Gianluca Venturi
Martin, it was a pleasure.
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