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La storia di successo di Antonella Pizzolante, Chimico Industriale BASF

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Antonella

FMA Storytelling – The Story of Success of Antonella Pizzolante, Industrial Chemist for BASF.

Interview with a Champion of Chemistry.

 

Antonella Pizzolante is Account Manager Biopolymers for BASF, a worldwide-leader chemical company. Her story is full of success and satisfaction, being Antonella a tireless hard-worker. Pizzolante graduated from University of Bologna in Industrial Chemistry and continued her path as a research assistant in Biopolymer in Spain. Afterwards, she participated with great deal of enthusiasm to the Young Graduates’ Program of BASF, a program that identifies young talents and forms them profesionally; thanks to this project, they acquire skills and in multiple and diverse fields, both technical and commercial. Thus, through this program, Pizzolante had the opportunity to experiment in the customer care and in client relations spheres, combining specific necessities with her excellent background as an industrial chemist.

FMA contacted Pizzolante to ask her some questions in order to shed light over the dynamics of a successful and eclectic career.

 

Goodmorning Antonella, thank you for accepting this interview! We are sure that it will prove extremely useful for all the young talents ready to start a career path similar to yours.

 

  • Considering that you have been working for BASF for almost four years, we can assume that you found a positive environment within the enterprise. But let us start from the very beginning: why did you decide to participate in the Young Graduates’ Program of BASF?
    I have decided to participate to the Young Graduate Program of BASF because I was looking for an opportunity that could consolidate my expertise in the field of chemistry but also in an international and global context. What attracted me the most about the program was the idea of Job-rotations, in fact I was attracted by the perspective of getting to deepen my technical and scientific knowledge, but also to challenge myself in fields that are apparently very far away from my academic education, such as Marketing&Sales.
  • You arrive from a research background in Biopolymers. How was your “landing” on the Commercial area of BTC Division and Business Development? Candidates that like you may have such a technical experience are often attracted but also scared by the idea of having to deal with the market, its new trends, and commercialization of the products. Which new skills did you develop through this experience?
    Among the different skills that I developed in the area of Business Development and BTC Division, I mention the most important ones: the capacity to manage time, resources and priorities together with the learning of negotiation techniques and strategic bargaining. These skills have been fundamental for the development of my professional profile within the company and for the continuous comparison with the external stakeholders, such as clients, suppliers, trade associations, and others.
  • Today you came back to your first love, Biopolymers, as an Account Manager. What do you specifically do?
    Yes, today I deal with Biopolymers, that has been a big passion of mine since university. As an Account Manager I am in charge of the management of the Italian market of Bioploymers and its relative BASF products. The two main activities that I perform are to look for new clients and to consolidate the market that we already are in. I am in charge of the coordination of the work-team in order to make sure that projects are implemented and tasks are conducted within the right timescales. Moreover, I take part in the strategic decisions of Business and development in R&D Projects with the objective of leading the market towards solutions and trends of the future.
  • What would you like to suggest to someone who wishes to start a career similar to yours? Do you have specific advice for young women that like you have decided to study STEM subjects at university?
    Yes, my advice is to bet on yourself and trust your abilities! Nowadays, we are all ambassadors and heirs of the efforts carried on by many female doctors, chemists, engineers that have preceded us and that with their qualities have opened the door to a more equal academic and work environment. Today we as women have the responsibility to make sure that their efforts were worth the struggle and we must celebrate all these wonderful women with initiative and determination. I remember the day in high school that I solved a chemistry problem in front of the whole classroom. I was the only one that managed to solve it. At that moment, I realized that chemistry was my subject and no one could have stopped me from studying it and mastering it!

 

We thank Alessandra Pizzolante for her inspiring story and we wish her all the best for her bright future!


BASF – Young Graduates’ Program 2022

BASF Italia has announced the 2022 edition of the Young Graduates’ Program. This program is aimed at hiring 8 young, talented, and recently graduated profiles. If you are interested in challenging yourself and growing in an international environment, then come and join us! BASF needs you! Found out more about this project on: Scopri di più