Leaders in Finance: Gelsomina Vigliotti – BEI

Be Curious, Embrace Failure, and Never Stop Learning.

These are the main messages left by Gelsomina Vigliotti, Vice president at the European Investment Bank, for students of the SDA Bocconi Master in Corporate Finance at the 4th Leaders in Finance Series event.

During the interview moderated by the MCF Director, Prof. Federico Pippo, Mrs. Vigliotti went through her 30 years of professional and academic experience that lead her to her current prestigious position at the EIB.

Her journey began in 1988 when she joined the Treasury Department at the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Italy after finishing her studies at Luiss University. She shared with the students some of her successes and moments of hardship, expressing how both were critically important for her personal and professional growth. She said that she has felt lucky and proud to have participated in the creation of the primary and secondary bond market in Italy, the European monetary Union, Italian convergence program in 1997, and much more.

She highlighted the importance of failures, saying that they can happen, and you need to be ready. If you have put in significant time and effort to reach specific goals or achievements, why stop when things get tough? It is not enjoyable to deal with situations that make you feel embarrassed or overwhelmed, but those moments are when you can really learn about the relationships you have with others, develop skills for handling new situations, and use these feelings to come back stronger. She also spoke to the students about how new opportunities may arise from these failures and provide new angles for us to look at things. Keeping a wider perspective is important, as things can change, but we must prevail.

Mrs. Vigliotti also highlighted the importance of following our dreams. Some opportunities may be purely out of luck, but there must equally be an effort to be in the right places at the right time. You can create your own opportunities for growth and achievement if you ensure that you express what you believe in and speak up when you believe opportunities are right for you.

Finally, questions from students fostered a discussion about sustainability and gender equality in the finance profession. She expressed that she is optimistic for younger generations of women in finance and that it is crucial that sustainability be a priority in the minds of future finance leaders.

Written by Federico Pippo and Megan Lily Osborne

SDA Bocconi School of Management