Valeria Cattaneo: “Me in Lugano? A… Marble dreamer!”
The young Lombard broker recounts ten years of great successes and minor setbacks in Switzerland, with the typical honesty of those who have always given the best of themselves
In Lugano there is a young woman that people like.
She is an insurance broker with a big heart and a remarkable competence, a “made and trained” professional, tempered by the sporting spirit of swimming that she has practiced since she was a young girl, as well as animated by the enormous desire to improve and modernize the stale “product sector” in which she is called to exercise her activity.
At the service of the customer, or “what do you need?“, as she likes to say, an expert in security and related matters.
Valeria Cattaneo is thirty-four years old, ten of which have been spent on the Ceresio shore. She comes from Busto Arsizio, Lombardy, and has a degree in law obtained with a vote of one hundred and ten cum laude at the “Libera Università Carlo Cattaneo” in Castellanza with a thesis entitled “The responsibility of financial intermediaries”. he has found in Switzerland a second homeland, if not the first, and not only because of a homonymy with the great federalist thinker who accompanied him in his studies and life.
Mainly in Canton Ticino, although promoted to “financial advisor” at the end of a course attended in Zug, she has worked successfully, since June 2016, for SwissLife Select, Energy Trading International Swiss, for the lawyer Andrea Prospero, Corner Banca and FDL Consulting, until the crucial and determined decision to set up on her own in December 2019.
Today very popular in the Lugano area and not only for her professional and communicative skills, Valeria Cattaneo tells her story in an interview in which she reveals who she is and where she gives the best of herself.
Externally and abstractly speaking, Valeria Cattaneo seems to combine multiple personal qualities: successful entrepreneur and influencer of Lugano. Who is she “really”? How would she describe herself to those who have not already had the opportunity to meet her?
“Should I talk about myself in the third person? So, let’s see… Valeria is a great ‘marble dreamer’. She has character and determination. She has well-established values, the result of some excess suffering that life has given her. And thanks to this, she was able to have a very clear idea of who she absolutely wanted to be. And who she hoped to become day after day“.
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On your business card, in addition to the addresses of today’s indispensable social media accounts, the term “Dr. Iur”, so to speak, “German style” appears significantly. How important was the law degree for you, where did you get it and why?
“In the German way I like it. I find the Germans a fascinating people. The law degree is very important to me. To this day I understand very well how university is crucial. Not so much for the title or the ‘piece of paper’ that comes with it, but for the imprinting that it gives you in a general sense. A degree is an exercise in patience and an awareness of one’s own stubbornness. In short, it’s also a way to gain self-confidence and the conviction that you have the right skills to overcome the obstacles and challenges that work and life in general present. I have never been a lover of labels (I only read wine labels with pleasure…) because every human being is special in his or her own way, but I recognize that a course of study certainly facilitates the value of culture, meant as knowledge. And this has a fundamental role: it makes us free, it allows us to make choices, it allows us to be conscious and responsible in front of the world. Especially for today’s world. I had the opportunity to attend the LIUC ‘Carlo Cattaneo’ University in Castellanza. The same surname is just a pure coincidence, no correlation. Since I was a little girl, I’ve always liked the idea of being a ‘champion of justice’, a sort of Sailor Moon in a toga, and from there the idea of becoming a magistrate. I enrolled in law school, completed my studies and am now an insurance broker. It begs the question of why I’m not a lawyer? Well, because change is the winning key.”
This year you are celebrating ten years of life in Switzerland, where you arrived at a very young age, as it happens to many Lombard people from the border area of the Italian Republic. What do you think of your first two lustrums of life abroad and what job and professional prospects do you see for the future?
“A more than positive balance sheet. I fell in love with Lugano the first time I saw it. And like any self-respecting great love, it gave me joy and pain, smiles mixed with tears. I was immediately greeted with warmth and distrust. I consider myself lucky and I’m very grateful to her. As far as job prospects here in Switzerland or elsewhere are concerned, I believe that it all depends on the man and his spirit of innovation, his propensity for change, his flexibility and, above all, his desire to work. It occurs to me that workplaces will be characterized by greater autonomy: fewer routine tasks and more intellectual tasks. The skills needs of the labor market will change again and new skills will be required to meet the evolution of new demands. The pace of innovation in the application of information and communication technologies will accelerate further. These will require an increase in intellectual and social tasks. These, in turn, require communication skills, entrepreneurship and other key skills in many areas, such as sales for example. If one is willing to learn and remain inclined to evolve, I think the prospects are good.”
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Do you think that women are treated differently in the Swiss Confederation than in their home country? If so, in what way? What is the useful recipe for a woman entrepreneur to succeed in either country?
“A complicated subject that deserves respect and knowledge. I can only share my experience and I consider myself extremely lucky. I’ve always been in purely male workplaces and I’ve always done well in both countries. Being a woman has never been a source of discrimination for me. I think it’s a matter of how you position yourself. Being humble, firm, but above all respectful of the people around us. The real problem in modern society is the lack of female solidarity. I’ve often seen women ready to unleash the scepter of envy: what a great waste of energy! The useful recipe for an entrepreneur? It’s training! No one helps entrepreneurs. No one teaches them how to best carry out this ‘risky’ profession. Because it’s a real profession. Entrepreneurs become by working in the field. There are no shortcuts. I’ll quote a phrase from Jordan Belfort, which I personally heard during one of his speeches: ‘Learn to fail gracefully, because when you act you will never get it right the first time. When you fail you grow, and it’s not true that we are the mistakes of the past: we are the way we approached the mistake. The only recipe is to constantly acquire skills in almost every field, no shortcuts.”
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“Insurance Broker”: would you be so kind as to explain to us what your job consists of, making the characteristics of the profession understandable also to those who should read us from abroad? Why are security activities in general so decisive in Switzerland?
“My job consists in creating a tailor-made suit for the customer. As if I were a tailor sewing the right shirt. Technical definition: An insurance broker is a professional whose job is to mediate between various insurance companies and clients. Generally, the aim is to find the most suitable solution for someone’s needs in the vast market. Switzerland has always looked at the insurance world with interest and I believe this is due to its prosperity. As a prosperous country, the need for insurance is a logical consequence. It is a ‘rich’ nation and wealth must be protected, made safe from risks and losses. During prehistoric times, human beings felt the need to provide for their own security, accumulating food reserves to face winter or difficult times. This is a clear metaphor for understanding the importance of insurance in Switzerland”.
If we are not mistaken, one of your strengths is your rare ability to adapt insurance and pension solutions to the true desires of your clients rather than proposing “pre-packaged” automaton-style formulas or policies. What does it mean for you to approach a client, asking them the question “what do you need?” first and foremost?
“We are at a crossroads today. I think it’s time to move from the price/pre-packaged solutions field to the value field. The fundamental point is to understand if I can really help my client or not, and what value I can possibly give him. The figure of the classic insurer ‘distinguished man with briefcase in hand, kind, family, nice, but with a good product’ no longer exists. Competition has raised the bar to very high levels and this has led to a lack of customer care. Focus is on selling, closing deals, saying goodbye and running to a new prospect. This way of working is no longer sustainable in a saturated and fully aware market. It is absolutely necessary to change course, do something different, or simply go back to the basic principle: the interest of the customer. We need to focus on interesting topics, to bring innovation in satisfying the customer’s needs in the best possible way”.
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Her business card seems to qualify as revealing different facets of the owner’s personality, almost as if it were a sort of passepartout for the soul: why the drawing on the back of a triangle that is not perfectly closed, and why all on a black background?
“The triangle is one of the first geometric shapes that was used in the ornaments of ancient peoples. In the various traditions there are numerous interpretations, but as far as I’m concerned it’s much simpler than it seems. Since my school days I have always been fascinated by geometric shapes. They are linear, simple, pure. Free of superfluous decorations and seemingly perfect. I use the term seemingly because perfection doesn’t really exist. It is nothing more than a purely subjective mental construction that finds its foundation in the individual perception of truth. Hence the idea of leaving it open. Openness to change, to the ability to adapt to indeterminate contexts and unusual situations. As if it were a continuous evolution, necessary for progress, for the attainment of true perfection, which for me consists in the best version of myself: according to my parameters, according to my strengths and weaknesses. The choice of background, on the other hand, finds inspiration in color. I am inundated with millions of business cards. Those of clients, colleagues, professionals…all white. I wanted something that wouldn’t blend in, almost a symbol of innovation, as is my approach to work. I kept tradition, black and white, the typical palette of business cards, but reversing them. Black is a color that is taken seriously. Classic, elegant and sophisticated. It’s a great base to bring out the real content. The real protagonist. The triangle not triangle…”.
What do you expect from your co-workers and friends and what attitudes bother you most about others? Are you a tolerant person or do you find it difficult to forgive misunderstandings or insults? What “sanctions” do you adopt, if any?
“I consider myself a person who has understood the importance of tolerance. The attitudes that most annoy me are the ‘teasing’. Not so much for the deception that is the master, but for the low consideration that one has of one’s interlocutor. Let me explain: when you want to deceive someone, you do it assuming that the other party is limited, obtuse, underdeveloped or, in any case, lacking in something. I think this preconception is extremely serious. I have always been a sportswoman and, consequently, a competitor. Competitions are beautiful to win or lose if done on equal terms. Because it is precisely in this way that you can learn something, that you “must” learn something: otherwise, I wouldn’t see the point. It happened to me that I was cheated and from there I realized that the strongest suffering came not so much from the cheating itself, but from the low esteem in which I was held. The epilogue does not provide for sanctions, our conscience is the supreme judge, and it does not allow for any reduction in punishment. I will only leave: life will take care of the rest…”.
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The Valeria Cattaneo of this interview, certainly does not lack clear ideas, about others and herself. Regrets? Regrets? Is there something she has done and would never do again and something she would have liked to do and let slip through her fingers?
“I’ve had people think about the past and analyze some of the decisions they’ve made, imagining that everything could have turned out differently. I think it’s a common thought that sometimes brings up real regrets or remorse. With hindsight it all seems more, easier but with ‘if’ and ‘but’ you don’t make history. I am of the opinion that these feelings are an indication of good character and an honest personality. I try to limit them, aware of the fact that there is no going back. You shouldn’t waste precious time trying to make up for things that have been lost, or that aren’t worth fighting or mulling over anymore. Life is full of surprises, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but they must be faced with the right spirit. What matters is learning the lessons. It’s fundamental, for me, to remember that a few mistakes or wrong decisions cannot affect the rest of my existence. You have to start from that point and try to rebuild what you can rebuild. If you never make a mistake, you don’t learn. So, I would say, that I’m glad I had regrets, that I didn’t do and say, and regrets, that I did and said, otherwise I wouldn’t be the person I am today….”
Isolating the “public” Valeria Cattaneo, at once a successful businesswoman and a hotshot influencer, what’s left? How does she fill her free time? Is there anything she would like to do that she has not yet had the opportunity to accomplish, the famous “dream in the drawer”? Lastly, does she dream of a family of her own?
“I remain a 34-year-old girl who has run out of drawers because of too many dreams. Joking aside, the real dream in the drawer that I haven’t realized yet, but that I’m slowly getting closer to, is the “Vale that I would like”. Surely at first glance I may seem crazy in the eyes of the reader, but then it will not seem so bizarre what I’m about to say. In the most difficult moments, when I felt lonely or unable to resolve complicated situations that brought me unhappiness, I began to think about how I could change my behavior and, consequently, my not-so-positive feelings. The realization of a dream brings with it an intrinsic sense of lack and, therefore, of little satisfaction. I started to analyze, making a real list, all the things I didn’t like: about myself, about others, about everything around me. I started to think about the ‘Vale that I would like’, which is a better version of myself. Which is not perfect, because in the version you would like to be I don’t think anyone would want to be one hundred percent perfect. Also because ‘perfect’… By what standards? By your standards, my standards? I thought to myself: in situation X, how would the ‘Vale I would like’ have acted? Would she have been kinder, tougher, more honest… or would the ‘Vale I would like’ not even be interested? I struggled to react in the same way. This exercise helped me so much to feel better about myself. There is no point in dreaming about the moon if you are afraid of the dark. I soon realized how it’s all about mindset. The crowning of a dream is only the final destination, the hard part is the journey and, most importantly, how you deal with the journey. I’m not saying it’s easy: absolutely not, but certainly very effective. Then the dream comes, whatever it is. Do I dream of a family? Yes, the ‘Vale I’d like’ would definitely like that.”
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