“Determined, empathetic, dreamer.” Asking Giovanna Ceolini to define herself and her attitude toward life and work, one gets an optimistic trifecta of adjectives that conceal the many challenges she juggles day to day.
As entrepreneur at the helm of the Parabiago Collezioni footwear company she founded in 1999 with Karl Schlecht and Thierry Rabotin, Ceolini has to navigate tricky market conditions and find solutions to face the increasing competition in the shoe arena.
And as president of Assocalzaturifici — the Italian association of footwear companies — she must amplify the concerns of 500 firms and commit to further raise the profile of the made-in-Italy footwear industry, which generated more than 14 billion euros last year and averagely exports 85 percent of what it produces.
Yet the key challenge is to keep the sector productive, said Ceolini, pointing to the pandemic’s impact on the category and its current woes, encompassing the increasing costs of raw materials, transportation and logistics.
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“At the same time, my focus is on accelerating the sector along the double binaries of sustainability and technological innovation, without forgetting the importance of professional training of younger people, who represent the generational change,” said Ceolini. “But my dual role allows me to better understand the needs of companies and therefore ensure that the association is proactive on multiple fronts.”
To this end, listening is paramount for Ceolini. “Leadership for me is the ability to authoritatively guide a team, empowering all members and sharing the same strategy,” she said. “Of course, corrective measures are a must, so a good leader is someone who has a great ability to listen and is able to get the best out of the people around her and with whom she establishes a relationship of trust and loyalty.”
While Ceolini acknowledged that an increasing number of women are finally getting to the top posts of businesses and organizations in the industry, she underscored the importance of collective work in raising awareness around the gender pay gap. She encouraged fellow women looking to make a career in this business to “take a bold leap of courage, commit and work hard for a wonderful sector that embodies the made-in-Italy creativity and craftsmanship.”
A version of this article appeared in the June 3 print issue of FN, as part of the “Women Who Rock” special section. On June 5, FN and Two Ten Footwear Foundation honored these women at a live event in New York City.
