The Dataviz Business w/ Stefano Maruzzi
Q: Let’s start with a very general question: tell us about your career path and how it’s begun.
A: By chance. Or maybe not. Before graduating in Agricultural Economics, I got passionate about computers and writing. They were the very early days of the personal computer revolution, and I understood since the very beginning learning how to code was an essential part of my skills and who I wanted to be. Same for writing. Despite being a terrible writer at high school, I found a constant source of inspiration in technology, which ultimately led me to publish 16 books for 20 years. Consequently, I graduated with top marks but never took advantage of my university studies and funneled all my energies in Microsoft products and technologies. That led to the creation of Microsoft University in Italy, followed by MSN Italy, relocating to London as President of Condè Nast International Internet, back to Milan as Google Country Director and again in London as GoDaddy Vice President EMEA. That’s in a nutshell what I did in the last 30 years!
Q: How did you get in touch with Paolo Guadagni? How did the idea of opening a TVA office in Dubai come about?
A: I met Paolo in the early nineties. In those days, I ran Microsoft University, and I was looking for a teacher to launch LAN Manager courses. I honestly don’t recall if Paolo was still at Microsoft in those days or had already left (FYI, he later rejoined Microsoft and eventually left for good in September 2000). So the partnership developed around Microsoft and reached its apex with a very elaborate and successful launch of Windows 95 in September of that year. I eventually joined Microsoft to run MSN Italy, and Paolo was the Italian sub marketing director.
I moved to Dubai over one year ago, but in previous years I used to spend extended periods in the country for business reasons. When I decided to leave GoDaddy my original plan was to take some time off and travel all over the world. Like almost everyone on this planet, external factors forced me to revisit my dreams and to get involved in something fascinating such as DataVisualization, great learning, and business opportunity. Dubai is a thriving hub, one of the most dynamic places in the world. Living here is perfect eight months out of 12, and it’s an ideal outpost to expand the business internationally.
Q: Let’s talk about business: who is interested in buying data visualization products or services in a particular location like Dubai?
A: Hopefully, an endless list of local and international corporations! As proven by the broad spectrum of TVA clients, data visualization solutions apply to many industries, sectors, and businesses without any specific restrictions or limitations. The case study section on the TVA website presents multiple best practices developed in recent years, probably the most eloquent illustration of the applicability of data visualization principles to almost everything. Dubai is a thriving hub and an incredible source of open data. In addition to that, Expo 2020 will further propel the local economy into the future where data will play a crucial role. We are confident that TVA’s expertise and skills can help several companies operating in the Middle East and South Asia extract valuable insights from their dataset.
Q: Since we are talking about clients, here is a classic question, is the customer always right, and how is your relationship with clients?
A: While our mission is to support clients in their decisional processes thru the development of bespoke solutions, we have a more ambitious goal: generate a wow response when sharing the deliverables of the joint efforts between the agency and each client. Not sure “the client is always right” represents the agency’s philosophy. We see any project as the convergence of our internal skills and the client’s knowledge of specific subjects, from renewable energies to retail, from TV audience measurement to sales data, from charities to corporate social responsibility communication.
Q: Which are the differences between Italian and international markets?
A: In the last 20 years or so, I run international organizations with business responsibilities across Europe, the MENA region, and even Asian markets. I loved traveling from one corner of the planet to another., an incredible learning opportunity. And an enriching experience. One of the first learning has been the variations and nuances of business meetings etiquette. I can assure you it varies a lot from Tokyo to Istanbul, from Dubai to Cape Town. Embracing local variations and getting a full immersion of the local culture, business drivers, and locally relevant trends were part of my acclimatization process, an approach enormously appreciated by media and business leaders. Over the years, I have become less emotionally attached to the Italian market (in my early days, my only market of reference) and simply considered one of the many under management.
Italians tend to be self-deprecating and hypercritical about our country, not necessarily a quality. This attitude often reflects in how meetings are run, decisions made, and organizations set up.
Q: If a reader wants to develop his business activities abroad, what are your suggestions?
A: The essential requirement is to be bilingual. Trilingual is even better. I consider being in command of the English language a must, a status as Italians we do not get by birthright but has to be earned the hard way. Working for a multinational organization is a big advantage and a simplification, but not necessarily the only option. Companies are obsessively looking for talents, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or gender. In these sad days of forced revisitation of our lifestyles and business rules due to Covid, greater flexibility is like;y to be considered a top requirement in this new uncertain, continually changing, and dynamic environment. Digital competence is even more relevant due to travel restrictions: being fluent in “everything digital” a must.
