Portrait Mario Marchi

Mario Marchi (MBA 2007): “A manager is a manager because he has to choose the best solution from all the available options.”

Mario Marchi is Executive Officer of Fibrotermica, a multinational operating in the production/distribution of insulating panels (XPS - polystyrene), whose head office is in Italy.

What do you think about entrepreneurship in Italy versus France?

• In Italy, there are more SMEs and a lot more very small businesses. In France, SMEs are present (though less so than in Italy) however, alongside the SME's, there is a very high presence of big companies. The result is that there are more managers in France, but more instinctive entrepreneurs in Italy. In France, the state also plays a predominant role in planning the country's economic and industrial policy. Thirty years ago, this was true of Italy, but today I feel like state presence is non-existent. The result is that the flexibility of Italian entrepreneurs is hard to come by in France, but French companies are better structured than in Italy.

What is the best advice you would give a current EMLYON student?

• Always work as part of a team with the determination to see the company succeed. I have worked in a company where the only interest of the CEO and some top-level managers was to survive at the top for as long as possible. Some offers to buy out the company remained unanswered simply because passing the company over to another would have put their jobs in danger.

Is there an entrepreneur, a director or other person who inspires you?

• The CEO of a company where I worked in the past. He was capable of balancing professionalism and an ethical approach by showing that it is possible to be successful without crushing people along the way by being respectful of the individuals and the roles they play. Sometimes, managers are tempted to recreate manager types seen on television or in US cinema i.e. making decisions irrevocably and rapidly. We should celebrate managers who succeed while preserving a balanced and honest approach that is ethical and respectful both morally and legally.

What pitfalls should a future employee of your company avoid?

• Proclaiming that I'm always right: a manager is a manager, not because they are always right, but because they have to choose the best solution from all the available options (whether they stem from an original idea or from a member of their team). In my opinion, a manager has a duty to listen to his team with a positive attitude. His team has a right to be heard in an active way; the manager is appointed by the structure to take decisions in the event of a disagreement and is responsible for that decision.