Global HR Leadership: Balancing Culture and Change: Luigi Bellopede, VP HR Asia Pacific at Prysmian

Luigi Bellopede: I don't believe that we can manage culture. This is my first thing, I don't believe we can manage change. I believe that we can adapt to culture and we can adapt to change. Continuously adapt ourself.

Example, if you go in Thailand, you wanna manage Thai culture, try to bring Thai people to what you believe, you will never be successful, right? The first way is really understanding, adapting to the context where you are. Culture is made by people. And if you're able to bring something to the table, you are bringing value, the other person is keen to listen.

Luigi Bellopede: I think this is the big success. In that moment, we can probably, what you call, we are managing culture. In reality, we are adapting to culture. In the moment that you start to acquire a company, or, merge with another company, you start from an assumption.

That me and you, if we try to stay together, we will not be the same. Luigi Bellopede: This is the basic assumption. I need to leave something. I give you something and you need to do the same.

And what will be the sum of this, we will never be the same. If you have this approach, I believe you are quite successful. Dorothy Yiu: Welcome to the HR Impact Show, where we have honest conversations with global people, leaders about building great workplaces. I'm your host, Dorothy Yiu, CEO, and co-founder of EngageRocket.

EngageRocket is a HR technology and advisory company that leverages on data to improve employee experience from hire to retire. Dorothy Yiu: Our guest for today is Luigi Bellopede. He is the VP of HR at Prysmian. Overseeing the APAC region across nine countries and over 3000 employees.

We're excited to dive into his very international experience that has spanned across 20 years. Welcome to the show, Luigi. We're very happy to have you here. I would love to get to know you better.

Dorothy Yiu: Tell us more about yourself and your journey in HR. Luigi Bellopede: First of all, thank you very much. Thank you to invite me. My journey is, I can say an international journey.

I start 20 years ago in GE, in Italy. Then I moved to Netherland, then I move around Europe. Then I've been back to Italy in a big pharmaceutical company. Luigi Bellopede: It was a leading company in Europe.

And then another move, out of Italy. Joining Prysmian, the current company in 2005, 2006. And from there I've been leading Prysmian HR team in different place in the world. I've been spending a period in the US, a period in China, and then finally landing in Singapore in 2017.

Luigi Bellopede: And since 2017, I'm leading the Asia Pacific, mainly the team across nine countries. In Pacific is 3000, let to say colleagues, not employees or better my operation director say we remember 3,172, you told me today then 3,172 colleagues across nine countries, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Thailand. Luigi Bellopede: I should not miss one. Otherwise they take it personally.

Philippines, Vietnam and New Zealand. Australia. And that's it. And then I'm here today.

Dorothy Yiu: Prysmian is obviously one of global leading players in manufacturing, right? You oversee APAC, nine different countries, 3,172. Today. Colleagues.

But globally as a company, there are 120 different plants across? Luigi Bellopede: Yes. We are a manufacturing company. First of all, we are the leader, not the global leader.

We are the leader in this industry. We are the number one leader in cable industry. Luigi Bellopede: A 120 plants across 15 countries for 30,000 colleagues. Dorothy Yiu: Yeah.

I'm curious to know. Is there any Trump effect this year on manufacturing in the cable manufacturing industry? Luigi Bellopede: Ah, there are disruption, of course, of value chain, of supply chain. But Prysmian from one side is a global company.

Luigi Bellopede: We are very exposed to US. Then we have a big presence in US, of our businesses in the US. We are able to adapt to any disruption. Of course, we wake up in the morning, try to understand what is the news of the day.

Dorothy Yiu: And given the amount of diversity, I've always been curious, how do you, as HR, I mean even for yourself, right? Dorothy Yiu: Nine different geographies, how do you actually manage cultural nuances, or the diversity that you oversee in this 3,172 colleagues? Luigi Bellopede: Good question. I believe the first key point is you should be global, of course we are global company.

You should be local. And Prysmian is a global, but a local company, what does it mean? Luigi Bellopede: There are a lot of global corporation managing places from far right? There are also very well known company, but there is more footprint.

Like you have five planter and then you try to manage, from Italy, US. It doesn't work, in my opinion, doesn't work. You should be global when same moment local. Luigi Bellopede: You need colleagues, at least, for HR, for example, in each site, in each country, they are your antenna.

They are your translator. They are your languages on the field. And it's not only matter of country, it's matter of cities, it's matter of geography, it's matter of religion. Luigi Bellopede: You need to be on the territory.

Dorothy Yiu: Does that explain your travel schedule? I hear you fly a lot. Luigi Bellopede: Yeah. We are spending time a lot on the site, mainly because, anyway, we are a manufacturing company.

Luigi Bellopede: Then our heart is made by our colleagues that are operator. And then in the day by day of course is the shop floor make the difference. Then the other thing, we are an Italian Guinea company despite we are a global company today the 95% of the businesses is exposed and the human relation make difference. Luigi Bellopede: I still believe that an online meeting is not the same to see each other face-to-face, like today.

Dorothy Yiu: Absolutely. I love the fact that you used the term human relation and it's that connection that truly matters. How can you then successfully build this human connections down to the ground at the factory level when you talk about global company, but local at the same time. Can you tell us more about what that looks like in practice on a daily basis?

Luigi Bellopede: Yeah. I can tell what is my approach. First of all, I'm always very sad because I believe one key point probably will come back later is always languages, right? Then of course when you miss the languages is you miss the part of this relation.

Luigi Bellopede: Of course, I try to catch some key languages. I'm in Indonesia with my union colleagues. I say. At least, you need an anchor all in any relation.

This is the first, in my opinion, you need to be curious of the other, and is a generous approach to be curious about people. And the other is a bit like before to be human, we are a bit animal. Then there is a way that you can also without the languages, but just with th e eyes, try to express your to express yourself. And I try to find these chemistry, sometimes successful, sometime no.

But anyway, we are human, then chemistry is something that is part of this equation. Dorothy Yiu: So you actually once reference McKinsey's performance through people model, and importance of treating human capital as a competitive advantage. How do you actually operationalize this people and performance model on the ground? Luigi Bellopede: Yeah, good question.

I like the idea, I've always in mind some five pillars when we talk about people performance, and since the time we start, in 2012, when we merged Prysmian with Draka, was a one of the biggest merge in the cable industry, I was the one that was in charge for talent people development at global level. And the head of Prysmian, at that time came to me and said Luigi, we have a mission, we need a common performance system for these two companies, 10,000 people one side, 10,000 people from the other side.

Luigi Bellopede: But there was no common system. And then we start the journey. You can imagine, blank page to design a performance system. The first thing that I did, I copy and paste my previous experience that in business you can do it right.

At school, no. I said to my daughter, no, but in business you can copy and paste or better copy and adapt. Luigi Bellopede: Then first of all, you need systems. Then we adopt good system that also from my previous experience.

Second, you need to, let this be out of HR as soon as possible. It's not an HR process, right? Performance is a business tool. This should be your immediate action.

Third, you need the buy-in. Luigi Bellopede: You need the buy-in of the top management. That it should be part of this journey. Then you need I think also the culture a company should embrace a certain sense and managing performance, you cannot manage performance in the same way in different business, in different industry.

Luigi Bellopede: You need to find your own, I used to say your own language. Your own internal compromise. And sometime this is also about talent. Sometime, Luigi is a great talent in Prysmian, I hope, but doesn't mean that if I change company, I will be successful the same then, but the same company has different system of how they match performance.

Luigi Bellopede: And the culture, how you do it makes a lot of difference. Dorothy Yiu: That's quite a uphill task, to roll out one unified performance system across two merging companies in 15 countries, 10,000 employees on each side. Yes. Luigi Bellopede: At that time, yes.

Dorothy Yiu: What was your most memorable, say challenge or the biggest barrier obstacle that you had to go through? Luigi Bellopede: The first memorable was, first of all is what we did our interview, right? It's the first basics that you learn on the school in HR is, okay, you have a part of performance that is result, right? Your goal, but you have a part that is a leadership or is behavior.

Luigi Bellopede: Then we start to make interview internally. At the time I was working with McKinsey. We were making our interview to monitor the Prysmian leadership model and and then validate this leadership model, now found the first agreement internally. Luigi Bellopede: What were the common value of the common leadership behavior?

This is a challenge because every time you talk about leadership, but when you start to write black and white, what should be something that we can have in common, there is a resistance. This was the first and the second was a really an episode tangible. Luigi Bellopede: We organized one of our first training where we were explaining to the management that we were having this, our performance system still today as an approach that of a huge distribution, right? We compare absolutely top performance, high performer.

Who's on the top, who's on the bottom. Luigi Bellopede: At the time was also very traditional. Green and red, right? Then if you see yourself in red, say, okay, you scared.

The first resistance was arriving also from the top margin. Everyone was at the beginning and we are human. And you see yourself not in the green, right? In the green.

You're already, you're a top margin. Luigi Bellopede: You see the risk to be in the red. And this was one big challenge. So we were with our global HR and people say, ah, we are not sure that this is the right way, the right model.

But then we went over the, of course, we make improvement today. We don't do red, and green anymore. We do light blue and light viola. Luigi Bellopede: But the concept remained the same.

Dorothy Yiu: How did you manage that resistance back then? I mean now it's a different color, right? But back then, how do you manage people's resistance towards seeing those scores? Luigi Bellopede: I remember one of first course in strategy I did this.

Okay, lot of change come from the middle management. You need to have the buy in on middle management. I'm a bit more orthodox. I think the top management buy-in become one of the first driver of the change.

We had the lucky to have CEOs around the year that they were really spending time on this. Luigi Bellopede: Now when you see the example that your CEO, your top management spending time on this, don't take it as a second end, but take it seriously. In the same way you take seriously balance sheet, right? If your controller goes there with your profit and loss, you take seriously as a CEO in the same way, it was taking serious performance then is a moment where you talk about people, you dedicate time to people, and this has been for us, a really an enabler.

Luigi Bellopede: What we have been going through the years. I remember at the beginning. The first CEO Prysmian, when I was making the change, I was spending time with him. Two hours, he called me.

I was in the level number two and level number three. We sit down with each other, look the value, look the behavior, do this kind of exercise. Luigi Bellopede: I was spending time and people feel it because then, and in the organisation, you can be very big, but the chain of communication can be also very quick. Dorothy Yiu: Leadership buy-in right from the very top makes a lot of sense.

And I caught something you said just now. So one of the things is you also wanna make sure that the culture anchors this performance rollout that you were doing across 15 countries. Dorothy Yiu: Tell me more about managing culture. Culture in such geographical diverse industry or company.

And also understanding that a lot of the growth is also through inorganic growth, right? A lot of M&A, so you're constantly integrating, merging, bringing in new people, new culture, so to speak, how do you anchor? How do you give people a single language, a common language to speak? Luigi Bellopede: I don't believe that we can manage culture.

This is my first thing, I don't believe we can manage change. I believe that we can adapt to culture and we can adapt to change. Continuously adapt ourself. Example, if you go in Thailand, you wanna manage Thai culture, try to bring Thai people to what you believe, you will never be successful, right?

The first way is really understanding, adapting to the context where you are. Culture is made by people. And if you're able to bring something to the table, you are bringing value, the other person is keen to listen. Luigi Bellopede: I think this is the big success.

In that moment, we can probably, what you call, we are managing culture. In reality, we are adapting to culture. In the moment that you start to acquire a company, or, merge with another company, you start from an assumption. That me and you, if we try to stay together, we will not be the same.

Luigi Bellopede: This is the basic assumption. I need to leave something. I give you something and you need to do the same. And what will be the sum of this, we will never be the same.

If you have this approach, I believe you are quite successful. We had some very nice story, but some mistakes that we learn on our journey. Dorothy Yiu: Would you mind sharing what are some of these mistakes and learning? Luigi Bellopede: Yeah, just to make it very basic, Prysmian is a company that was very well known from a manufacturing leader.

Company of efficiency of product. We are the old Pirelli company. We were a hundred years of history. Luigi Bellopede: We invented the fiber optical cable.

We went the first submarine cable, then our knowledge is amazing. But was a company like any industrial company where the DNA is not immediately to the commercial part, to the sales part, it's not our DNA. We are more focused on the factory, on the efficiency, on the operator. Luigi Bellopede: And this customer was not our first priority.

But then we acquired Draka in the past, then after also General Cable, one of a big company, and we learn step by step to be a company also balanced. But at the beginning, it was not like that. At the beginning we were thinking that, okay, if I'm acquiring a company. Luigi Bellopede: They need to adapt, completely to ourself in term of efficiency, in term of a manufacturing way to do the thing.

This, yes, but we were missing the other part that we need to learn from the other side, just to say it's like a car, right? You have two wheel or you have four wheel traction. We were a two wheel traction car. Luigi Bellopede: Focus on our wheel, on our certainty.

But the time we took it to learn that we could be four wheel traction car, we didn't get everywhere in the same way with the same speed. And here and there, we made some mistake, but today we are a global leader because we have been able enough to learn very quick from this mistake. Dorothy Yiu: So Luigi, in one of your reflection, you wrote, focusing on people alongside financial performance off protection from volatility. I actually agree with that, but I would love to hear from you.

Because given the amount of uncertainty that we are seeing this year, economical, geopolitical, technological uncertainty, do you think that this people-centric focus, it's even more important today? Luigi Bellopede: People remain one of the key resources in my opinion, in every kind of a business. This for me is a basics. I used to say cash is king when you do business.

No cash, no party, no people. No party the same, right? I think there are two key assets. When you want to do business, you need to have money, cash, real money.

Luigi Bellopede: Otherwise apparently has company but in reality, you don't have cash in your drawer. And the other is people. People are knowledge. People is your resources.

People is the one that they let the business go. And during volatility, I think the way company are able to protect people is the same way they protect their business and you need to do it. Luigi Bellopede: Example, during COVID, we have been one of the few company. Some company were a bit surprised there that we were making huge action of retention or we were paying the salary in our factory despite there was no production.

Convinced completely that people remain a key investment and a sustainable investment. Luigi Bellopede: So over the time, at least in manufacturing industry, like hours, people are knowledge. Dorothy Yiu: Have you seen this focus on people? What are some of the tangible business outcomes that you've seen?

Luigi Bellopede: COVID is a good example. During COVID though, we invest in our people. Luigi Bellopede: We, during COVID, we were not having a factory fully saturated. We were investing in our people.

We were retaining jobs. We were never cutting jobs. And when COVID disappeared, we have been very quick in restart. And a lot of our competitor of players, they were almost in the wrong position.

Luigi Bellopede: When you actually start your business then you miss one of your key resources, that is people. I think the way Prysmian has reacted during COVID is a good example of a key tangible investment. Not to make it too complex training, leadership, right? But to make it very pragmatic, we didn't suffer to COVID.

Luigi Bellopede: We make probably the best years during end of. Dorothy Yiu: Makes so much sense. Having the foresight, the focus on people actually was also good foresight, right? Because you didn't have to restart or rehire.

Yes. You immediately can, meet the volumes post COVID. Luigi Bellopede: It was an investment, was a risk. In that moment was a risk because we were paying salary to employee to operate.

Luigi Bellopede: We were in some case paying also more. Not to retain the people, or we were doing extra investment in safety or in earth for our people. Then other company decide to slow down to close the factory, in order to sanitize. In our case, we were completely doing the opposite.

Has been risk that time we have measured immediately after. Dorothy Yiu: Let's switch gears a little bit. What do you think are some of the capabilities or skillset the HR professionals need to have to future proof, not just the function itself, but also to future proof the workforce, to get ready for the future. Luigi Bellopede: I believe the key skill for HR is still leadership.

HR is changing across times. You have some company that are more admin, some that are more innovative, but the way the HR is responsible for leadership and to, if you embrace HR as a profession, you need to have the aspiration to be global HR. Or to have to be an HR director. I wish to everyone starting this career, you cannot start HR.

Say, okay, I wanna just do one more function. No, you should not. You should have ambition to lead HR, to lead your team. Leadership is a big topic for HR, is a different leadership.

Luigi Bellopede: I used to say it's a servant leadership or is a generous leadership is something that you need to completely take out also a bit of your ego. You need to adapt a lot. I always used to have a lot of mentorship with some of my young HR and just to say I work with different skills in that moment, you need to adapt yourself. You need to be the right HR, able to work with any kind of a CEO.

In this moment is leading the business and you have difference here. There are CEO more on people, CEO more on costs, CEO more on innovation, and a good HR should be able to adapt, from leadership perspective. Luigi Bellopede: Then I believe leadership for HR is still a big deal. Dorothy Yiu: So besides adaptability, under the umbrella of leadership, any other important skill sets you look out for.

in young HR professional that you may be hiring today? Luigi Bellopede: The other skillset, I think the capability to read figures and number. We are doing business. Luigi Bellopede: Any good HR?

Okay. We are not doing just advocacy. We are not in charge. We are in a business.

We should be always very realistic with our people and the ability of HR to understand the economical part, to lead the economical part. Luigi Bellopede: This make the function more strong. Why? Because you are not delegating, discussing about development of people, but you are not responsible for your cost.

So you don't know your cost of your people. You don't take accountability for that cost. It is not easy. You cannot drive that process.

Luigi Bellopede: And there is different school of HR. Company by company. Prysmian is still a school where HR is responsible for what we call fixed cost or labor cost. Is part of our target, is part of our job.

Then I believe each young HR that has this ambition should not forget this part. Dorothy Yiu: Very interesting. Almost carrying, these are like business metrics, as part of your KPI within HR itself? Luigi Bellopede: Yeah.

Completely. Say, I remember I was in an event in Indonesia, we were talking international mobility. Say, ah, wow, Prysmian is doing some great thing with you. Ah, you can do it.

Ah, you can move these people. Luigi Bellopede: I don't have a budget, right? Because finance don't give me money. Say it's my budget.

As HR, if I'm slowing down, a recruitment for one month is a saving for the company. That's money not saving. I'm reinvesting for some development. If as HR, I try to be competitive on the market, retaining the right people, cost is in my end, then I'm able to manage properly.

Luigi Bellopede: If his HR is not interested in this game, that is not an easy game. It has become really business discussion is impacting your profit or loss. There is a part on your profit process that is fixed at cost. It's difficult to be a good HR, and I believe the edge is the leadership human part, the capability there are really a business acumen of financial understanding is very important.

Dorothy Yiu: I couldn't agree more. And on the same topic. What, in your view, would the ideal workplace of the future look like? Luigi Bellopede: Ah, at least I can say my ideal place of the future.

The first thing is again, is the flexibility. Luigi Bellopede: This is not clear yet, this concept, no company has done meter forward by, with the same speed. They, we come back 20 years back. I still remember one of the very well known company, just to make names, they say, oh, from tomorrow we will be forever, remotely.

And then the day after the day after, or no, we change from tomorrow, we will be forever in the office. It doesn't work. Doesn't work. It doesn't work because you are missing the trust.

And in my opinion, future work is first of all is made of flexibility. I don't believe at all in anymore in the traditional workplace. It is a place where people has accountability, but everyone is a bit entrepreneur. Luigi Bellopede: Where you work on this concept then, in my opinion, trust and flexibility are two concepts that will drive the future of work.

And company are still very shy on the flexibility. And despite we are a manufacturing company. We are still a company, probably are upfront to so many other, and people appreciate. We've seen in our engagement result, in our survey, people appreciate not for the flexibility, people appreciate for the trust you are giving.

Dorothy Yiu: I'm curious to know, how do you introduce flexibility to people on the factory grounds? Luigi Bellopede: Is a big discussion. It's a big discussion, but of course, for us it's different if you talk about desk workers and non desks workers. Luigi Bellopede: Then of course in the factory we are more limited 'cause you have production site and you have some role that are we call fully on site.

But also there are the human flexibility. If I was a process engineer and during COVID to work almost five days at home, going one day in the factory, you sharply go back to five days in the factory and then the day after, I have a problem with my wife. Luigi Bellopede: What we do now, then you need to be smarter to start introduce some tools that will give back this flexibility. Example, in some factory, in some country, we introduce a care leave.

It was not there. This is a sort of, give back some flexibility, that people were enjoying of course during a difficult moment. For role that it's not needed the physical presence, it is not needed. But we are trying, of course, always to encourage to stay together, to stay in the office at least two days, three days per week.

Because this makes the difference. Also there, the common sense behind make the difference and second, try to not go completely back. Luigi Bellopede: I can say also for us it's still a journey. But at least we didn't want sharply back where we were.

Dorothy Yiu: So on this ideal workplace or future that has trust and flexibility as anchors, what advice do you have for HR professional who's trying to build towards? Luigi Bellopede: Yeah. For HR Professional, my advice is don't go back. Luigi Bellopede: The first, let me say HR should be the first one at the least to recognize what were some of the key takeaways.

We are also starting to go in generation are changing, right? Generation are changing. Our company, I imagine all the company there is generation matters. People have different values and my suggestion for HR, first of all is not go back, second focus on generation 'cause what is interesting for some generation is not for others.

Then we are human, but we are unique, then you cannot have one approach. The more you are able to diversify, to customize your approach, to individualize your approach, the more I think you will be able to retain the people. Luigi Bellopede: Otherwise people will go away. Dorothy Yiu: No one size fit all solution, right?

I think that's why EngageRocket advocates for using data. Okay. So I'm gonna switch into a fun part of the podcast, ask you a couple of rapid fire questions. What is a mindset you've learned to adopt that really helps you champion disruption?

Luigi Bellopede: Time. time, time, time, time, time, Time as a patient, time, as a resources, the right time. Accelerate when is needed. Slow down.

When is no needed. When is needed. I think the mindset I learned time. I was very impatient by definition.

I'm an action guy. I like to make things happen. Everything need time, right? Luigi Bellopede: Like a good pizza.

If you wanna do a good pizza, you should stay 24 hours. If you do a good pizza after 2 hours, you try to make it doesn't work. And everything need time and every people need a different time, then you need to keep time as one of the key resources in HR. If you give the right time to everyone, everyone can really make you surprised.

Dorothy Yiu: And if you could have coffee with anyone past or present, who would it be? Luigi Bellopede: Yeah, I confirm family. If I need to have coffee, I will not have with colleagues. Luigi Bellopede: Sorry.

Why? Because one of the major mistakes, we do it, we give too much to our professional life. Our professional life is a part of ourselves. Also, in myself, there is a part that is profession.

The part that is a personal life, right? I used to say if people are able to stay in a good environment with their family, with the lovely then and coffee for Family and lovely, right? It is a moment where you need to relax yourself, balance your personal life. You will be better also in your professional.

And I will confirm we'll be with my family or my lovely one. Dorothy Yiu: Are you a fan of work life integration or work life separation? Luigi Bellopede: I am fan of work life separation. Completely.

Yeah. Yeah. I think that is the more you are okay with yourself with your personal lobby, the better you are. One of my colleagues in HR now is diving this week likely for him, and he called me.

We have a problem. I need to ask you a last minute beside, I wanna bring my wife. Go. Run.

Luigi Bellopede: I'm sure when he come back, it will be better. He will be more motivated, more strong, then I'm really advocate of to keep a very balanced personal life. More is balanced, more you are successful in your company. Sometime you need to find also the right company, give you the right space.

Dorothy Yiu: That's very interesting because the world is advocating work life integration. But here you're advocating for work life separation. So it's very refreshing to hear. Next question is, what's one thing you wish employees understood better about HR?

Luigi Bellopede: They should understand better that about HR means about yourself. Luigi Bellopede: Everyone need to be a bit HR of himself. And it is interesting, I was speaking with one of my colleagues, we are now during merit review, right? During this big process and of course is everyone look at you.

Your first also, my first, if I look at me, I say, look, my salary, my increment, and then probably will be not happy, right? Luigi Bellopede: But everyone, I think, need to think that about HR. Feel all about yourself, then focus, be charge of yourself, understand yourself, try to compare yourself. Be okay with yourself.

Sometime I speak with some new graduate, what about my career? Luigi Bellopede: Tell me what is about your career? I can help you as HR, yes, but I don't have the formula. Whatever you wanna do is on yourself, is your motivation.

If you wanna be a COO, you wanna go across country is on yourself. And for me, the big deal is people need to think that about HR is about themself. Luigi Bellopede: Everyone need to be a good HR of yourself. It's not easy because you tend to be too good with yourself, right?

You should not be. Best exercise, make your merit review. Don't make your self evaluation. Self-evaluation is already easy to do.

Now every company does self evaluation. No. You will make your merit review. Luigi Bellopede: This is my challenge.

Dorothy Yiu: Super interesting. I agree, right? Because a lot of employees, their default mindset is, you talk about development, career path, engagement. Dorothy Yiu: Yeah.

That's HR responsibility, but ask yourself. Luigi Bellopede: Salary. Is a big deal. Salary, no one, but each survey you do know one never put I'm satisfied about my salary.

If you are a bit about a HR of yourself, this is a big change. Luigi Bellopede: Probably, entrepreneur, they do it right? If you're an entrepreneur, you are a charge of yourself. You decide your own salary, right?

Every single true story, every single week, every single month. Dorothy Yiu: True story. Okay, final question. If you could instantly master any skill, can be personal, it can be professional, what would it be?

Luigi Bellopede: I close in the way I start. Languages will be for me, my dream. I would really like tomorrow morning, wake up and be able to speak in a very good way, Mandarin, Thai, any kind language, at least in the country I'm leading in Southeast Asia. This will be my dream.

It's really, this will make my job more human. And I could catch more and more today. As I said, I have my team around that is able for me not to translate. Now Google translator also very good, but languages will be my, if I can wake up tomorrow morning and be able to speak other four, five languages.

Dorothy Yiu: I've acquired confidence that, one day you'll master this skill that you want to have. Luigi, it's been an absolute pleasure having you on this podcast. I truly enjoyed our conversation and it's been a very impressive journey that you have had. Thank you very much for your time.

Luigi Bellopede: Thank you. Dorothy Yiu: To our listeners, thank you for tuning in to our HR Impact Show. If you have enjoyed the conversation, please like and subscribe on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or any of your favorite podcasts. You can also subscribe to our community at engagerocket.

co/hrimpact. I'll see you in the next episode.