Roberto Grassi, a life dedicated to work, but not only. After an international experience Roberto Grassi, in 1996 he joined the Fidinam Group and after five years he was appointed CEO, Member of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Crafts of the Canton Ticino and Vice President of the Lugano Commodity Trading Association, Grassi has numerous interests that lead him to follow the Ticino reality with great enthusiasm. Vice President of Swiss Wine Promotion, he believes in the potential of this land, not only from a production point of view, but above all in terms of research.
Little is known about Roberto Grassi, at least as far as his private life is concerned. I arrive at Fidinam on time, it's raining. In the elevator I wonder if I'll be able to speak colloquially with the CEO of Fidinam, also because if a person decides not to put anything on the Internet... it's not a coincidence.
I would like to talk a little about you, your life... where you were born, your family... without seeming too intrusive...
(He nods and begins to speak calmly.) “We are all custodians of our lives, I am of mine, for this reason you will not have found much private information about it. I care a lot about my privacy, I do not use social media… I only have Linkedin, which I check every ten days.”
(A pause) «I was born into a Ticino family, born and raised in Massagno. I attended high school in Savosa, while high school in Lugano (at the time it was only three years), so, after graduating from high school, I continued my studies in San Gallo where, like the rest of the Ticino people, I had to deal with German (smiles). Mine was a typical Ticino family, four children and a life, let's say, quiet. What wasn't very Ticino was my parents' past. In fact, my parents got married in New York, where my dad worked, we're talking about the '50s, you couldn't go there and come back in two days, my mom instead was a hostess at Swissair, an extremely modern job for those years and it was in New York, during a dinner among Ticino people, that they met and fell in love. For me they were and remain an example of great courage, my mother's work frowned upon by my grandmother, my father's audacity in moving to America... I still remember their photographs, it seems like ages ago."
But you were born in Ticino…
"Yes, also because after the American civil wedding there was the one in church in Bellinzona, my mother's hometown. Even though I was born in Ticino and feel very attached to this region, my parents' experiences influenced me a lot. After university I didn't stay in Switzerland, I went to France for my doctorate and to London for my first professional experiences. The same goes for my two brothers and my sister, but this doesn't mean we lost our roots, and when I had my children I decided to move here, the ideal place for a family."
Do you still travel a lot?
"Maybe a little less than in the past, but my job also involves a lot of travel, I have to and want to keep international relations alive and there are meetings where it is essential to be present. However, I have to say that taking a plane has never been a burden to me."
A great passion for travel, discovering new cultures, why did you choose to study economics?
«It was a thoughtful choice. The advantage of economics is that it allows you to range in all areas. I can be passionate about cooking, aviation, anything and find a job in this area as an economist or start a company in the desired area. Economics is magical, it allows you to combine passion and work, what more could you want?
So what was his passion?
"As you can imagine, I don't have just one passion and I'm lucky enough to have a job that allows me to be active in multiple fields both in my role as director of Fidinam and in consultancy, a job that allows me to be present on various boards of directors of companies active in the financial-banking sector, construction, and even wine where I am vice president of Swiss Wine Promotion, which deals with wine at a Swiss level. Every morning is a new challenge for me, I can think about the consultancy market, the financial markets or the real estate market, the wine market, the construction market and of course Fidinam, also because we have three hundred employees".
She has been in Fidinam for almost thirty years and still talks about it with surprising enthusiasm…
«Certainly, we should all do it, regardless of whether we stay in a company for a short or long time. It is essential to have stable figures, with experience, a historical memory of reference. Today we ask young people for flexibility, the ability to adapt, but this does not prevent internal, satisfying growth, also because at the base of the success of a company there are relationships of trust, the speed of reaction, the immediacy with which people communicate and understand each other, an irreplaceable baggage. I am absolutely convinced that if on the one hand we must regularly look around, inform ourselves, on the other hand if a person continues to change jobs they necessarily have a time of adaptation in which they cannot exploit their maximum potential. For this reason I believe that the wealth of companies lies in the staff, in how this is managed, in the internal choices made. When I speak I am referring to us, to our staff, with whom I manage to do an excellent job and with whom I am very satisfied».
She has an intense bond with her profession and so I spontaneously ask her if she manages to disconnect, not think about work…
(Smiles) «It's not that I live to work, but yes I really like what I do. We all spend a lot of time working, so it's important to do it with passion, at least I hope so... that's why I always say that if someone is not satisfied with the context they find themselves in, they must change, and I mean it seriously, even if change is scary and involves sacrifices. We can't spend a lifetime in a job that's not for us! Nobody likes to step out of their comfort zone, but not doing so generates deep dissatisfaction. I belong to a generation where there was no talk of work-life balance, or maybe we balanced our energies alone, I don't know... today we try to work eight hours to maintain a quality of life, but after half the day many start thinking about how many hours are left before going home, this is a shame, living in a situation like that is negative for the person and for the company. This is a person who has given a lot to his work, but also has a big family, I have five children, three older and two younger; so, I am fully aware of the values of life and true satisfaction. I am a man of economy, but the good of my children, of my family, remains in first place, and therefore I feel like saying that a person must seek satisfaction both in his private life and in his working life».
I understand, but it is not always easy to reconcile private life and work life, especially when you have many responsibilities…
"In a certain sense I think it's like this for everyone, when time is short we focus on the quality of the time spent together and, above all, we need to learn to manage tensions, conflicts, in short, keep work-related problems outside of our home. If someone manages to do it, well, this is the best benefit that he can give to his family, if instead someone comes home nervous, irritated, he starts to cause damage. Also because when I say leave work in the office I also mean worries: being absent and silent during a dinner does not mean dedicating time to your loved ones".
She cares a lot about her privacy, her private life, so she has chosen not to be on social media, when most of the world spends hours scrolling through their cell phone screens…
"I don't feel like judging, but yes, actually, I see many people wasting a lot of their time on cell phones, young and old. But twenty years ago we were told that we spent too much time in front of the television (ironic). What worries me about social media is their influence: we are conditioned, channeled and we follow the masses, without delving into any topic. In a certain sense, social media takes away a bit of curiosity, the desire to look beyond, to be attentive to what is happening outside the window. Ultimately, I have to go back to my parents, who left me the greatest treasure: the desire to know the world."
A question dictated by curiosity: what do you think if we decided to give everyone an unconditional basic income?
"For me it's a chimera, a utopia, if I work and the other is out all day on a bike why should I continue to work? The economy cannot continue only with the desire of those who love their work, we must all contribute, we need some sort of reward for those who generate value by making an effort. This does not mean that the capitalist economy is the fairest, but probably the most functional, it is the one that allows growth, general well-being, practically for all people. Just think about how we lived fifty, a hundred years ago, when illiteracy affected many families and food was not guaranteed. Then it is true that there can be economic instability, there can also be injustices, so we should improve by addressing these points to continue to guarantee stability for our country".
You use positive words, about growth, about development, but don't you think that the increase in the cost of living could actually put Ticino families in difficulty?
"We have always experienced periods of high inflation, even in Switzerland. In the 70s and early 80s, inflation had reached almost 10%, and this had no impact on the generation of wealth. I therefore think that we must look at the market in the long term and believe in the future, commit ourselves, leaving our knowledge as a legacy to young people."
She believes a lot in young people, but not everyone is able to trust the new generations…
«I spoke just this morning with a lawyer friend of mine about this topic: young people. It is said that they do not want to take on responsibilities, to build something, to have a family, it is said that the world is becoming increasingly individualistic, much more comfortable, choices are made that lead to comfort, rather than seeking solutions that imply commitment. Here with this lawyer, a few years older than me, I was laughing, because my grandfather said the same thing about us. In fact, I cannot pretend to identify with today's young people, it is society that evolves. I do not even know how we will be able to guarantee well-being with a forecast of a slowdown in work, the arrival of artificial intelligence and robotization. Will automation be able to compensate for that lack of desire to commit? I do not know, but history teaches us that every event has a consequence. The problem is not in young people, but in society as a whole. After the war in people's minds there was the desire to grow, to create value, with well-being this need has gradually disappeared. But this does not mean that it will be like this forever».
Alongside the young people, she believes in the potential of Ticino, in its strength, even on an international level…
"Ticino is a rich land, more international than ever, I often happen to walk in the evening in Lugano and hear other languages being spoken, twenty years ago it wasn't like that. We are central, without even realizing it. Then I understand that if we talk about the Financial Center, things have changed, but we must also say that Ticino has made its fortune with neighboring Italy and I believe that we have been good at managing this fortune while it lasted. What we must recognize in Ticino is that it is reinventing itself: in recent years important entities have arrived, I think of the University, but also of the various Research Institutes in Bellinzona, but it seems to me that not everyone realizes what is happening in our territory. We also have one of the most powerful Computing Centers in Europe and we are only three hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, this is incredible to me. Without listing the researchers and professors who live in Ticino, world-renowned luminaries, as well as the traders of raw materials linked to Commodity trading".
Where does this energy and this optimism come from?
«I am an optimist by nature, but in any case, you only have to look around to understand that what has been said is true. I went to St. Gallen to study, in German, today young people have the opportunity to choose universities all over the world, to study in English, even in Switzerland. We have incredible physical and data mobility, which we can use to our advantage. (Pause) The other day a forty-year-old asked me to use the informal "tu" with him, I replied that it is usually the older ones, since I am sixty-two, who ask that. Do you know what the joke was? "How lucky, he is retiring soon". I wanted to tell him to retire himself, because I would gladly start all over again».
An unlimited good, without borders, that of knowledge. Once discovered it is difficult to do without it and not try to take advantage of every moment to grow, not only at a professional level, but also as a human being.
