Nicolò Dardi, International Executive MBA

26 October 2020

Is it possible to accelerate your career in less than two years? Yes, if you make targeted and conscious choices, aiming at a training that can provide an effective turning point to your professional career. This is what Nicolò Dardi, Alumnus of International Executive MBA, did: today, he’s a manager in a strategic consultancy firm. In this interview, he tells us his story.

Tell us about your professional career.

You might say it’s all compressed into 4 years. After graduating in Management Engineering, I had the opportunity of gaining experience first in the Logistics sector, holding posts in the Supply Chain field, then in the Food sector, going through Management Control, Digital Development and finally, I held the post of Purchasing Manager. Working in middle-size companies, alongside entrepreneurs, enabled me to build across-the-board management skills, focused on the industrial and logistics sectors.

In 2018, 2 years and a half after graduating, I felt the need to accelerate my path, but which direction to take wasn’t clear. For this reason, I called the university professor who, more than anyone else, had motivated and engaged me during lectures: Professor Andrea Zanoni. I knew about his pioneering experience with BBS, I wished to understand if what the Business School offered could fit my needs. That phone call marked the turning point. In ten days, I enrolled in the first edition of the IEMBA and, as soon as I finished, I joined NiEW, a Modena-based strategic consultancy firm, mainly working in the industrial and manufacturing sectors. In NiEW, thanks to the lean, collaborative, and measurable methods of Business Design and Design Thinking, we support companies on the way to innovation, with the aim of improving the ability to create value that can last over time.

Why did you decide to resume your education and how did you choose BBS?

Begore starting the IEMBA, the responsibility post I held didn’t allow me to have visibility on the future: it was as if the world were advancing, while I remained still. I needed an acceleration and I needed it fast. By analyzing the various possibilities offered by the market, I realized that BBS provided the best trade-off: University Professors with very high skills and knowledge, visionary speeches by the best Managers and successful Professionals, all of this matched by a positioning in an area rich in opportunities, and constantly connected to Business Schools in the whole world and a direct link to the Silicon Valley. Choosing was a piece of cake.

According to you what are the program’s strengths?

I can identify three aspects that differentiate this course from the others. The first concerns the pathway, whose aim isn’t simply to increase basic managerial skills, but its ambitious goal is to train people who can lead and manage change (“to lead the transformation”) by rationalizing methods to create value, innovation and business reinvention. The second aspect concerns the definition of a personal strategic vision, which enabled me to focus and define my view, not only of the business, but also of the world and of my life. The third aspect, and the most important one, concerns people, those who led us in this journey. All the testimonials we were offered during our course were of the highest level and of great value. In particular, Riccardo Silvi’s strategic vision, with Andrea Pia’s rationality, was crucial to my journey.

What are the added values of belonging to the BBS Community?

Besides being partner of the largest organizations, BBS is also a source of support for small and medium-size businesses, which are a vital asset for the local area. This choice enables new leaders to be key resources, right away, for emerging businesses, which will be, for sure, the large organizations of the future. Furthermore, the colleagues with whom I attended this training program were fundamental in the choice of the way to take. Whether you call it Community or friendship, is of no relevance: for those who, like us, want to make the difference, growing together means growing more responsibly, with a multi-faceted vision and with creativity.

Nicolò Dardi, Italy

International Executive MBA, Class 2018/2020