A big portion of my time and experience in the full time MBA has passed managing the SDA Bocconi Luxury Arts Club. Early into the program, I campaigned and was elected for the presidency, which was unexpected all around and especially for my peers in the luxury academic track, who typically had control over the club. I applied for the track, separate from the MBA, but was not accepted.
Nevertheless, my intent was to design and execute an inclusive, well-rounded program for the club, along with a board of nine members, including representatives from other Bocconi masters programs—MAFED (masters of fashion and experience design management) and MAMA (masters of arts management).
The LAC at Villa Necchi-Campiglio, a historic mansion hidden in the center of Milan
And so far, I think we’ve succeeded:
- Holiday Market: aperitivo and shopping at SATOR Milano Bespoke
- 2016 Kick-Off: aperitivo and CEO speech at Dondup flagship boutique
- On-campus speaker: Sterling International executive recruiter partner Patrizia Ciompi
- On-campus speaker: Valentino CMO Dante D’Angelo
- On-campus speaker: L Capital managing director Fabio Cadeddu
- On-campus speaker: Attila&Co. (luxury & fashion PR firm) founder Andreina Longhi
- On-campus speaker: GFK eyewear market-research manager Dario Lorizzo
- Boutique visit: Bottega Veneta Home
- Boutique visit: Felisi Bags & Belts
- Boutique visit: Frederic Malle (Rome)
- Boutique visit: Amouage (Rome)
- Boutique visit: Base Blu multi-brand boutique (Varese), including franchised spaces for Dior, Saint Laurent, Valentino, and Gucci
- House visit: Il Ponte Casa D’Aste (auctioneer)
- Museum visit: FAI Villa Necchi-Campiglio
- Case Competition: Bea Bongiasca emerging Italian jeweler, strategies to grow business (5 teams participating)
- Partnership/Trip: with Divino Club to Bordeaux, visits to Chateau D’Yquem and Chateau Angelus
- Partnership: with Divino Club for rare venissa wine tasting at Chateau Monfort Hotel
- Public event: free tickets to the Affordable Art Fair 2016
Our budget for the year is—was €2.000, to be spent however we decided, as long as it was for events open to all masters students.
Originally, our plan was to do a few store visits, a few on campus talks with executives, and some art thrown in for good measure. My personal style is to be collaborative, to work with other synergistic clubs so attendees don’t have to choose between one of our events or another club’s conflicting event. SDA Bocconi has quite a few other clubs, so the calendar proved to be a challenge to neatly arrange.
Venissa wine tasting at Chateau Monfort with the Divino Club
At Base Blu in Varese
At this juncture, most of our program, and usable timeframe, is over. The bullet list above is what we’ve already done, from boutique tours in Milan to trips to France to taste €500 bottles of wine.
For the fall, when we resume classes to focus on concentrations and welcome the new class of full-time MBAs, there are a few more events in planning. I don’t want to jinx myself or the club, but am very excited about our potential to continue bringing diverse players across luxury, art, fashion, and retail to the audience of SDA Bocconi masters students, alumni, and faculty.
- Boutique Visit: Buccellati
- Boutique Visit:Â Burberry
- Boutique Visit: Bottega Veneta Maison (Uomo, Donna, Gioielli)
- Company Visit: Kering Eyewear (Padova)
- On-campus speaker: Bivio Resale founder Hilary Walker
- On-campus speaker:Â Pisa Orologeria marketing director Alessandro Bucchi (a watch multi-brand boutique in Milan with franchises for Rolex and Patek Philippe)
- Partnership: wine and spirits tasting of Möet Hennessy brands with Divino Club
- Farewell event & handover to new leadership: Bvlgari Hotel aperitivo
The kickoff party at Dondup Casa in Porta Venezia
Felisi Bags & Belts in Brera
Bottega Veneta Home on Via Borgospesso
Il Ponte Casa D’Aste (Auction House)
Holiday Market at SATOR Milano Bespoke
More photos are here on our Facebook page. We’re also on Instagram @bocconiluxuryartsclub.
Many thanks and kudos to the rest of the LAC board for leading the effort on many of these projects:
- Krasimira Byalkova (Bulgaria), VP
- Elad Plotnik (Israel), Careers Chair
- Luisa Baeza (Mexico), Events Chair
- Ananya Madhavan (India), Social Media
- Sannam Chopra (India), Experiences Chair
- Stefano Elizondo (Mexico), MAFED
- Francesca Carabelli (Italy), MAMA
- Valentina LoChiatto (Italy), Events Chair
- Emiliano Rossi (Italy), Treasurer
2 comments
Bravissimo
[…] simple store visit for the start of the new school year, this past September. As part of my role as president of the SDA Bocconi Luxury & Arts Club, I have arranged visits to a handful of fashion and luxury boutiques, which are fun and informal […]