A nonexecutive director and advisor in the technology and media sector, she is also an advocate of "giving back" being a member of Angels4Women and Angels4Impact, networks of Business Angels. In 2019 she was honored as one of the Inspiring Fifty Most Influential Women in Italy for technology and innovation, in 2020 she was recognized as one of the most successful managers within her industry as part of the Best Leaders Under 40. Veronica Diquattro is also an Alumna and part of the Executive Committee of "InTheBoardroom," Valore D's educational program.
Last month she was among the speakers at the first Italian TEDx dedicated to Venture Capital and the Italian innovation ecosystem sponsored by Italian Angels for Growth with Azimut and Fondazione Golinelli (Here is the link to see her talk). Let's get to know her better.
In innovating, the risk of making mistakes is inevitable; the important thing is to retrain a mistake and turn it into an advantage. What is your experience?
That's right, precisely because, by definition, if you are innovating, you are probably doing a lot of things for the first time. During my professional, but also personal journey, I experienced how sometimes 'Fail better' could lead to unexpected and sometimes even more interesting results than linear success. That's because failure forces you to go through a problem reformulation exercise, a step back, examining weaknesses and finding new solution spaces. And, many times, the reformulation or ' pivot' leads to redefining your view of the situation as well, allowing you to leverage your means differently and retrain the error. In this way, the time and resources already used are not entirely wasted.
How do you figure out what is the "measure" of ambition? How do you find the "balance"?
Ambition, understood as a drive toward continuous discovery and new goals, can also become an irrepressible force, and sometimes lead to risky decisions and actions, and not always successful. It is therefore necessary to learn how to manage it, to find the right balance point, one's own personal measure of ambition, which is precisely different for each of us. It is indeed up to the individual, starting from a deep awareness of his or her own capabilities and limitations, to figure out how to combine his or her own resources and passion for his or her aspirations, always having in mind the impact that one's actions have on the people and the environment around us. This will enable you to live a healthy, sustainable ambition that leads to growth for you and others.
Lover of mathematics who almost always looks to numbers for answers, even answers to the big questions of humanity. Is it possible to counter the gender gap by starting with Stem disciplines?
Absolutely yes, in fact more than a possibility it is one of the fundamental drivers that is allowing positive changes to be triggered, with a view to reducing the gender gap precisely. We know how crucial it is to eradicate behavioral and cultural stereotypes and how important it is to do so through education from the very early years of young girls' lives. Stem disciplines, which are becoming increasingly relevant in today's employment landscape, still see only 18.9 percent female graduates, and although the latter demonstrate better academic achievements, the data then report lower employment and pay rates than men. Therefore, in both the public and private sectors, there must be an ongoing commitment to raising awareness and education on these issues so that women are not left behind but, on the contrary, can become leaders in the scientific and technological changes of tomorrow.
Tenacious, stubborn, and always on the move, you owe much of your character to your choice to step out of your comfort zone and travel extensively. What is your formula for success?
Perhaps at the base is really a rational awareness of one's starting point, of what I know and what I don't know, and then a willingness to learn more and more, to grow in knowledge and experience. Always returning to the concept of balance, in my case, the approach that has allowed me to come to be satisfied with what I have done so far has perhaps been just the right mix of curiosity, which has made me launch into new adventures, and 'calculated' and planned risk management, to respond best to unexpected changes in trajectory.