Tell me a little about yourself:
Ciao! I’m Andrea, I’m Italian and six years ago, right after the Brexit referendum, I catapulted myself into London and what seemed to be an increasingly faltering United Kingdom.
It turned out to be a successful and fortunate last train for me – while the effects of Brexit are still pretty much unknown or still need to be fully priced in, the positive effects that this country (and its people) had on my personal and professional development have been far beyond imagination since then.
Today I’m married to Katy and we have just given birth to our daughter Ginevra. We live in London and often travel back to Italy because as much as we love this country, we also want to keep alive the memory of great food and landscapes.
What motivates you?
The relentless pursuit of a better understanding of the functioning of our economic system and its evolution through time. Here the learning curve is steep, not linear and punctuated by continuous back and forth with yourself.
If Thomas Sowell was right in saying that ‘it takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance’, then what motivates me is to keep wanting to study and learn from, through and with others.
Being part of a team on a tough journey is what brings the best out of me.
Where is your favourite place to go to unwind?
My beloved Dolomites. Either in the summer by hiking and rock climbing, or in the winter by skiing and enjoying the snow and freezing.
We live in hectic towns constantly surrounded by things and people endlessly moving. Unwinding for me means staying active but surrounded by infinitely silent and immobile natural beauties such as my beloved mountains.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
My grandpa always used to tell me “Remember to keep the tiller to the centre” – meaning ‘make sure you navigate your life in a well-balanced manner, both physically and mentally’. That not only fully embraced the concept of body-mind harmony of ancient Greeks’ memory but also very wisely advised me on how to approach our modern world. For instance, make use of technology, learn about it and grow with it but never become dependent, and instead care about human relations, self-education, physical and mind training, trying to balance out as much as you can.
How would your wife describe you in three words?
Non-practical. Great thinker.
(Only two words but being at the extreme opposite they already encapsulate quite enough of myself. What’s in between is still a work in progress).
Name a thing you do that is totally unrelated to work
I write poems from time to time when inspiration kicks in and I’ve learnt from experience that we are the primary trigger and driver of that inspiration. Perhaps we are just too lazy and deaf to hear it mounting.