Simone Cellini, Executive MBA
10 November 2019A long career in the human resources sector, before starting the Executive MBA, which marks the start of his career for Simone Cellini, transforming running from hobby to business project.
What is your course of study and which professional path do you come from?
I have a degree in political science and for almost 15 years I have worked in the human resources sector covering various roles. I have always cultivated my passion, running, practicing it, studying to become a coach and managing, since 2014 Runner 451, a blog dedicated to the hobby of running. I always told myself that at 40 I would decide whether to continue with the managerial path in large companies or create something of my own and everyone thought I was joking. A year in advance, in 2017, thanks to various situations, I published a book on running “D.O.C. Obtusely diverted for running “and I started to transform the blog into a brand and a service platform dedicated to amateur runners, offering online training services, campus and running holidays, running lessons: in parallel I continued to work with companies offering experiential training (which goes beyond running and welfare activities, redirecting the accumulated experience.
Why did you opt for Bologna Business School?
I strongly believe in continuous training, and when I chose to attend the Executive MBA I felt the need to acquire new skills in line with the professional path I was taking and to have confirmation on others. The BBS EMBA proposal had immediately seemed very interesting to me both for the proposed programs and for its ability to combine local reality with an international scope, a perspective that I find suitable for facing today’s reality.
Based on your experience, what are the strengths of the program?
The Emba was for me first of all the birth of many new friends and also professional collaborations. We are always in contact with friends from Emba XIV, we frequent and share successes, difficulties, advice. It may seem a secondary aspect, but these relationships born in the classroom have enriched me a lot and I think they have made us all stronger. We must not forget that we are talking about many professionals, coming from many different realities, who got involved and who for almost 2 years have made sacrifices and shared many experiences to get to the bottom of the path. As for the educational program, for what I do now it was important to be able to deal with all aspects of a company and compare myself with the team for the final project work, without forgetting the experience abroad in Silicon Valley.
How did your career develop after BBS?
I entered convinced of doing one thing, and instead today I started my own business. This shows that one must always be ready to consider what is happening around and the experience of the EMBA has given me tools and enthusiasm to take a not easy step. Today Runner451.it has about 2,000 unique viewers per day, more than 40k followers on social networks and a community of hundreds of runners between those who train and those who come to Runner 451 Experience, my running campuses. Also, I collaborate with various companies for welfare projects dedicated to employees and for team building and team experience training days.
What are your short and long term goals?
In the short term, 2020 will be a year of consolidation of the business; in the long term, a growth of Runner 451, which translates into the creation of a team and the development of some services currently still in an embryonic state
What is your advice for a future BBS student?
I advise those who are considering to specialize with a BBS Master to choose their course of study not only thinking about what seems more logical to do than the professional process that is being followed but to choose what they are passionate about, as well as get completely involved, taking part actively in the community and always looking forward with curiosity and optimism.
Simone Cellini – Italy
Executive MBA – Class 2015/2017
