Hello Readers, so last week’s interview was with Thomas Benz from Switzerland, this week I caught up with Fabio Pascali, who heads up our Italian operations. I’m slowly meeting people from around the globe with the #LifeAtVeritas blog series. In this interview with Fabio, he talks about his first experience of IT which was BASIC programming at High School to leading the Italian team at Veritas. He reveals his highlights, what motivates him and how he motivates his team and why people should join our diverse Veritas team. Read on to find out more about Fabio and why he is passionate about IT value creation.
Zoe: What made you choose a career in IT?
Fabio: Well, when I was at High School my maths teacher created an optional class introducing coding. At the time he rented a few Olivetti M20 machines and explained to us PC architecture and BASIC language. I fell in love with this and I started to create programmes to calculate Pi and to help me speed up doing my maths homework ;). So, I studied Computer Science at University, being attracted to how IT could help the business is what got me started in IT.
Zoe: What advice would you give to those trying to secure their first IT role?
Fabio: IT represents a galaxy of jobs, from R&D to sales. However, in every company and in every role, I’ve held I’d advise first jobbers to be creative, passionate and curious. Make it your job to be the best, but at the same time look for more space and more challenges.
Zoe: Thanks Fabio, that’s great advice! What has been your career highlight to date?
Fabio: I’ve spent much of my career at EMC and most recently at DellEMC, where I spent in total nearly 20 years. I’ve challenged myself year after year, taking a leadership role more than 10 years ago. Most recently, I’ve been really happy to step into the Italy Country Manager role at Veritas, to increase my level of responsibility and drive the plan for the entire country. Well, I would say that my highlights are related to all the talented people that I’ve been, and I currently have the honour to manage and to coach in order to create value for our customers.
Zoe: So, what do you enjoy most about your role at Veritas?
Fabio: My role as Country Manager for Veritas in Italy is amazing! We have a great talented team here, who are proud to serve our main asset: our customers. The best time I have is meeting customers, listening to their challenges and representing the great transformation that Veritas has recently done and bringing value to them.
Zoe: What leadership traits make a good leader? And what’s your leadership style?
Fabio: That’s not an easy question to answer! In my experience, a good leader has to drive the team, with the right vision, the right strategy and the right execution. He needs to be a good listener, able to share and be near to the people, but at the same time, he needs to be responsible and take decisions at the right time. He needs to be solid and consistent over time. Finally, he needs to be at the same time ambitious and humble, frank and a companion. So, my leadership style tends to be a mixture of that.
Zoe: Who are your role models and influencers?
Fabio: My point is that every leader that I’ve met has given me good inputs that have helped me foster my leadership style. And here at Veritas, I've found exceptional leaders to follow and to be inspired by.
Zoe: What motivates you?
Fabio: Value creation. Value for our customers, value for the corporation, value for the team and for our partners. Every day I know that I have the time to plan something new, something unique to make a difference between today and tomorrow even in the small stuff.
Zoe: How do you define success?
Fabio: Reach a target above the initial expectation. However, everything for me is related to my team's success. I have success through my team’s success.
Zoe: Why should people choose to work at Veritas?
Fabio: Because Veritas is like a startup with 25 years of history!
Zoe: What’s your favourite Veritas solution? Or product?
Fabio: Veritas’ long-term retention strategy is incredible. This is a game changer in the Data Protection strategy for our customers. Thanks to Veritas’ integrated approach, including NetBackup Appliances and Access Appliances, along with intelligent software capabilities we are in the best position ever to take out tapes from the data centres, providing better total cost of ownership (TCO) and increasing service level agreements (SLA) and compliance.
Zoe: Describe Veritas in one word?
Fabio: “Unique”! Considering Veritas’ history, including merger and de-merger, the recent robust investments in R&D and being number one in market share for both Data Protection and Archiving. I consider all this to be unique in the IT market. I’m proud to be part of it!
Fabio: Regarding my passions, I like cooking, but I realised that I don’t have a picture of that to share, and I enjoy travelling with my wife and two kids.
Zoe: Finally, what technology can’t you live without?
Fabio: I can’t live without my smartphone. I do everything possible with an app. Everything in my day to day working life, supporting my mobility. I use it for news, banking management, ordering products and booking holidays. I use my smartphone for everything that could save me the most critical resource I have; time.
So, that wraps up my interview with Fabio Pascali, it was great catching up with him. What stood out most for me was Fabio’s view on motivation “Value creation. Value for our customers, value for the corporation, value for the team and for our partners. Every day I know that I have the time to plan something new, something unique to make a difference between today and tomorrow even in the small stuff.” Making a difference each day is a great motivator.
Did you enjoy this #LifeAtVeritas blog with Fabio Pascali post? I love doing these #LifeAtVeritas interviews, as it provides an insight into what it’s like working at Veritas and I uncover various hidden talents our staff have. Stay tuned as there will be more interview style posts published shortly. If Fabio’s experience has inspired you and you’re interested in joining our sales and marketing team, then check out our latest job vacancies and apply today. There are plenty of opportunities at Veritas! Why not join our growing team?
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