Zur Karriere von Giuseppe Palma

What were the major landmarks of your career? I am strongly influenced by my traditional upbringing. Both of my parents were teachers. They moved from Sicily to Rome in the late 1930s and used to lead their lives in a very traditional way. I attended Liceo Classico High School in Rome and graduated in Classic Literature. Then I joined the University La Sapienza of Rome, where I graduated in Mechanical Engineering prior to joining the Italian Army. The first major landmark was my experience with an American engineering company named Foster Wheeler Corporation. After my military service as an officer of the Army Corp of the Engineers, I joined Foster Wheeler Corporation and was immediately involved with the design and construction of turnkey chemical and petrochemical installations. I was employed in Milan and Rome as project coordinator for several refineries and chemical plants in Italy, Poland, Africa and other countries. I was highly motivated to work for this company because the organization and the management of the company were extremely professional. The next major landmark was when I was hired as the Director for Italconsult SpA, a huge Italian engineering and construction company with more than 15 offices around the world, including South America and the Middle East. In 15 years of service there, I managed a variety of different projects, including a turnkey project in Libya and Saudi Arabia. These were difficult tasks but I enjoyed much personal and professional growth in understanding different cultures, managing business relationships in a joint venture, and maintaining good relationships with my colleagues. I still keep many friends from this company even though I left in 1988. That is when I started to work for Autostrade, SpA, the largest concessionaire of toll operators in the world, because I could utilize my previous experience in a higher management position. With Autostrade I have also worked abroad in Algeria, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom and the United States, where I was a resident for three years. Most recently, I started to work in Austria as the Managing Director for Europpass LKW-Mautsystem GmbH, the company of Autostrade Group that implemented the new electronic toll collection system for the heavy goods vehicles.

Zum Erfolg von Giuseppe Palma

How do you personally define success? Success really means to maintain consistency with what you believe in. I believe in myself, in my life and in certain aspects of it as family, integrity and the reputation of the companies that in the course of the years I was asked to represent. Even when I was young it was very important to me to reach my goals. And I strongly committed to succeed. Always.Would you regard yourself as successful? I would regard myself as successful, only because I have reached most of my goals, personal and work related. Which were the decisive factors of your success? Commitment, sense of responsibility, balance, support to the reputation of your company, loyalty and respect to the people that work for you; those are to me the most important values in business and life as well. I have always preferred to cooperate with people even if coming from different cultural backgrounds. Being flexible was as important to me as to become always more expert in my profession. I never quit learning. And, as I mentioned before, I had always been highly motivated in order to reach my goals.From which moment on did you regard yourself as successful? I felt successful, when my company asked me to assume more responsibilities and be engaged in difficult tasks. When I realized that I was able to achieve that, I was confident to be able to do more. This was a turning point and led me to an inner change. Did anybody have a special influence on your career? When I was still young, I worked for two bosses who had high confidence in my abilities. They had been my mentors and gave me the opportunity to develop my personality and my career. Then other people that I met during my working life also influenced me. I would say all of them: I was able to get the right experience, and no matter if they were good or bad. Some were really outstanding, and I received a special benefit in working with them. Which kind of appreciation did you receive? I received appreciation for my work from my bosses, respect and loyalty from the people that worked for me, not because I was the boss, but because they understood the feeling of respect and friendship I offered as a mentor. The company appreciated my experience in managing people, too.Which criteria do you expect your employees to meet? Our employees are requested foremost for technical jobs. We are happy that the level of fluctuation is not high, and we keep in close touch with the majority of our staff. It is also necessary to speak English, but this fact did not limit so far the quality of our relation.How do you motivate your fellow employees? If you want to motivate people, you need to be very careful, correct and fair. Sometimes you have to put efforts in mediating between people, and respect their personality in order to get an high level of motivation. How do you arrange your occupational activity with your private life? It is impossible to strictly separate the two aspects. If you want to give your best in your profession not only in terms of commitment but also of time, you could take some risk in your personal life. My wife is a teacher in Italy, and my three children have now almost grown up. But, in my experience, it was not easy to reconcile work and family, and to be always balanced.Do you have any advice for the next generation? According to my opinion it is important to pursue your studies in a serious manner. When you have a solid knowledge in the area of your expertise, you feel more supported and confident in managing the work. If you are serious about your work, you will be successful at any rate.What are your goals for the future? It is my goal, in my position as a director of Autostrade, to capitalize the Austrian experience, support Autostrade to gain more successes abroad, and have the opportunity to be engaged in new important projects.