EduEvo: Welcome Roberto to the EduEvolution world. We are glad to have you here. Can you please make a short introduction about yourself, tell us a couple of words about you?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: Thank you – My name is Roberto Castagna and I have been the head of the Blancpain brand at the Italian market for 19 years, and I have been working in the watch industry for over 30 years.

EduEvo: You are a Brand Manager in the Swatch Group in Italy, so tell us more about the mission of your company and its employees? What are the company goals?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: The Swatch Group (Italy) is a distribution company of miscellaneous watch brands owned by The Swatch Group, and is responsible for distributing these watches in Italy, essentially through 3 main channels: owned stores, official dealers and E-Commerce.

EduEvo: How did you start a career in this company in particular? Can you remember some experience from the very beginning of your starting working for them? Did you have a stage freight, nervousness, any fear from failure? Do you remember any turning point/a game changer which was the most significant for your work and success? How did you cope with stress and how do you handle stressful situations nowadays?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: The Company was looking for a person for the role I currently occupy and I was introduced to the top management by a colleague who was already working for them. From the beginning, the “international” dimension of the Group was clear to me in comparison to the previous work experience I have acquired by then.

No, I don’t remember any particular pressure, just a great sense of responsibility for the role I occupied and the fact of what that role represented. Since I had to relate to many people in the sense of my work, both in Italy and in the headquarters in Switzerland, it was essential to immediately find the correct way to better confront.

Luckily enough, I can manage stress quite well, so when I’m not working, I can really “switch off”.

EduEvo: How did you start your career in the Swatch Group?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: I started my path in the Swatch Group, trying to bring the know-how acquired from my previous companies, and adapt it to the new reality.

EduEvo: In what way did this company help you achieve the success you have now?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: The company, for its part, has helped me grow by entrusting me the entre management of my brand, unlike in the past where I was essentially dealing with the sales.

EduEvo: What are your future goals?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: To explore all the new business opportunities that may arise, especially in the digital world.

EduEvo: What do you consider the biggest challenge in the business-running, but also in the educational system of the times we live in?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: I think we should let more and more young people to obtain a serious work experience in the field they want, during their school taking / university career having.

EduEvo: On the basis of your experience, how do you assess the current education quality?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: In my opinion, the gap between the area of work and the entire university world is way too big, and during the course of studies, a theory must be absolutely integrated within the practice.

EduEvo: What do you think about online business-running?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: The online world is undoubtedly the future to come, and all the companies must equip themselves with the people with specific skills, thus training them to be able to grasp new challenges.

EduEvo: What do you consider the biggest flaw/issue of an educational system of 21^st century, and what might be its main quality/advantage?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: The greatest advantage of nowadays compared to the past is the ease of communication, both due to technological means currently available, and because the present children practically all speak English and at least one other language, which allows them to go to studies and work basically everywhere; a flaw could be an excessive specialization.

EduEvo: Is it mandatory that a candidate has graduated from the university or is it possible that he/she has studies and a vocational praxis in your company in parallel?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: No, it is not compulsory to have a degree; I can tell you that some of the most important positions currently in my company here in Italy, are occupied by the people who have not graduated, but who have had many years of career with us.

EduEvo: What do you expect from a perfect candidate and vice versa?

What do you find the most important with the candidate, what is that makes the final judgment with the selection? What is the joint quality you think they all have? Is it important how do you reach out to them and where do they come from, in what manner?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: For me, a good candidate, in addition to obviously basic technical skills required – knowledge of English language, computer skills, etc. – must be a very curious, proactive and charismatic person. Clearly, he or she has to embrace the company philosophy. The Swatch Group gathers the employees from dozen different countries, with dozen different studies and career paths involved.

EduEvo: In which way the companies and our educational system could achieve a better cooperation and build a joint future for the young together?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: I repeat once again: introduce students very early to the world of grown-up work, in order that they could learn some practice while studying theory.

EduEvo: What kind of advice would you give the youngsters being at the very beginning of their professional career? Did you have a role model which you looked up to for the certain aims you have set to achieve?

Mr. Roberto Castagna: I would recommend moving towards a profession (and therefore a scholastic path) which presents a mix between one’s passion and one’s predispositions / abilities (e.g., if my passion is medicine but I faint every time I see blood, I would definitely have to think about another profession). I immediately thought of a job that would foster interpersonal relationships and include my passion for watches, so I was lucky having the exact same thing I desired for!

EduEvo: Thank you for being with us, we appreciate that 😊.