Hello Everyone and welcome to this new episode of the MACE PODCAST!

I am excited to share this epsiode that we recorded live from Milan at the Italian - German Chamber of Commerce (AHK) having Diana Brandl as a special guest, with the collaboration of Irene Linguari (Assistenti dalla A alla Z) and Carla Stefanut who collaborated with me to organize this amazing initiative.

Diana is an author, a coach and an international speakerthat helps EA and Admin professionals to grow in their careers and master critical skills in the Admin role.

Diana has a strong background in Communications and is a dynamic networker. She continuously supports the role of the management assistant by speaking at internationalevents and publishing various articles in Germany and abroad focussing on Digital Transformation, Personal Branding, Strategic Networking, Mentoring,Diversity and Social Media. Diana writes her own blog The Socialista Projects and is influencing the industry with her creative initiatives such as launching the hashtag #WeAreInThisTogether.

In this episode we are going to focus on Goal Settings, Performance and Career management, with Diana sharing tip and tricks that can help us set up strategic goals and connect them with our career.

- How can we connect strategic goals with career progression? Where is the intersection to let our goals help us move on in our career?

- What are some practical KPIs that we can measure to make sure our goals are aligned and set up well?

- How can EAs and Admin Professionals be successful in setting up strategic goals with Leaders that are not valuing the role as we expect?

Enjoy our conversation and stay tuned!

MM

Welcome to the new episode of the MACE PODCAST!

Today's episode is special as I have a special guest joining me from the United States: Victoria Hill

Victoria has 15+ years of experience in the human resources marketplace. She is skilled in all aspects of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), Leadership Development and HumanResources Management. Her focus is the human experience and building inclusive relationships. Victoria is currently working as the Sr. Director of Global Diversityand Social Impact for Advanced Group.

Victoria also facilitates Neurodiversity, Conscious Inclusion, Interview Bias, Bystander Intervention, Building Inclusive Relationships, and many other DE&I trainings for her organization as well as external partners. Victoria and her team develop diversity programs to promote unbiased decision-making while creating a safe space for employees to thrive.

We are going to speak about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion broadly, from strategy to leadership.

- Where is the Intersection with Mental Health and DE&I?

- Why thousands of professional are speaking about Mental Health and why do we have an entire month dedicated to it?

- Which is the new leadership reacting to the challenges DE&I has in the new workplace?

- Why speaking about Mental Health is more than a simple conversation?

Enjoy our conversation and stay tuned!

Welcome to this new episode of the MACE PODCAST!

Our stop is Italy and my new guest is Cinzia Zanin.

In 2015 Cinzia landed her job at Fondazione Fiera Milano, and today she is Coordinator of Accademia Fiera Milano, educational centre for the exhibition and event industry.

Cinzia has worked with more than 300 millennial and gen z students that enrolled in Accademia Fiera Milano courses to become one day Exhibition and Event managers. She supports their path since the very beginning and follows their first steps into their new careers. Her job gives her the unique opportunity to observe all the changes next gen talents are going through from a privileged position.

I met Cinzia when I coordinated with her and my friend Carla Stefanut the event in Accademia Fiera Milano with Bonnie Low Kramen, in October 2024. You can find the recording of this event/episode in the MACE PODCAST library, but I was invited again by Cinzia to speak to the master PROGEA, organized and hosted by Accademia Fiera Milano, where I shared my experience, my background and my insights to almost 20 students attending the master.

It has been a great experience and the room was LIVE!

I invited Cinzia then to share more about the master PROGEA, which are the pillars and goals of the Master programme and what is this all about in the exhibitions and events' world?

Which are the things that students can now take on in order to develop their curiosity and shape their careers as professionals?

Which are the takeways from Bonnie Low Kramen's event and how this can have an impact on the future of these students?

Enjoy our conversation and stay tuned!

Welcome to the new episode of the MACE PODCAST!

Our stop are the United States with my new guest: Rob Lion!

Rob Lion is a dynamic professor of human resource development at Idaho State University and the co-founder of Black River Performance Management, where his motto is "Work should fuel the spirit, not drain it." With over 20 years of experience in leadership, organizational development, and performance improvement, Rob is renowned for his innovative, people-first approach.

Holding a PhD in Training and Performance Improvement, he specializes in creating human-centric systems that drive growth and success within organizations. Rob leverages his deep understanding of human behavior and workplace psychology to simplify leadership complexities, equipping clients with science-backed strategies to enhance organizational culture and strengthen teams.

As a captivating speaker, Rob brings complex ideas to life with relatable stories, humor, and infectious energy. He has been featured on numerous podcasts, authored several academic papers, and is celebrated for bridging research with real-world practice.

We are going to touch base on amazing topics such as:

- Leadership: which are the most critical skills to be a better leader in this workplace?

- Working environments: Hybrid vs in Person vs proximity. Which model can help leaders to adapt to the changes our workplace is bringing to us?

- AI and the the power of connection vs the human touch as differentiator

- Business speed after, during and before the pandemic: the busyness and its consequences

Link to Black River PM: https://blackriverpm.com/

Stay tuned!

Welcome to this new episode of the MACE PODCAST!

This is a special episode with a special guest: Bonnie Low-Kramen from the USA.

We continue the pathway started last month in the second season of the MACE PODCSAT which ethos is that thousands are the stories but there is #OneHeart beating in the MACE PODCAST.

I dedicated this episode to a celebration occuring this month and that brought me two years ago, when Bonnie Low Kramen joint me in February 2023 to release the episode for her book launch, STAFF MATTERS.

Two years later, I catch up with Bonnie on the trends and updates we've seen and we focus on 4 key topics:

- Leadership: Which is the role that Leaders play when building the new workplace? Data show that lack of leadership is still of the main issue and concern from the staff, all over the world

- People: the Staff is the backbone of the companies but why people leave or stay in an organization? Which are the drivers that move the people taking those decisions? Bonnie made a TedTalk on this matter, the link is below for reference.

- The Sweet Spot: The ideal place where people would like to be and feel

- 2025 Trends: AI (Artificial Intelligence), Technology and the people: Humans matter and that's what data show when talking to people dealing with the technology

Enjoy our conversation and stay tuned!

Link of the former episode made with Bonnie in February 2023: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7B5BohIfPVFGADtRjBApgU?si=0QRp12miSE-my4PM8QHkng

TedxTalk by Bonnie Low Kramen: "The real reasons people Quit" - https://youtu.be/UHdoxXtOLss?si=uPu5uMK92fo_gP0f

Welcome to this new episode for of the MACE PODCAST!

So excited to kick off the new season with a new, fresh LOGO that the MACE PODCAST has from this year. A new LOGO but same ethos: Many stories but #OneHeart beating in the MACE PODCAST, the heart that is passionate about the stories, the experiences and the insights shared by all the guests.

And how exciting starting January 2025 with this episode where I invited the amazing Joan Burge, from the USA.

Joan Burge is known as the pioneer of the administrative training industry. Joan is an accomplished author, professional speaker, consultant, and corporate trainer.

Joan dedicated herself to inspiring excellence and encouraging administrative professionals to reach for the stars! Her company, Office Dynamics International, is a global industry leader that offers a broad range of solutions and provides high-performance, sophisticated executive and administrative assistant training and coaching Joan has authored four groundbreaking books for administrative professionals including the Amazon Best Seller Who Took My Pen …Again? Secrets from Dynamic Executive Assistants and Her administrative-career “bibles” entitled Become an Inner Circle Assistant and Underneath It All.

We will discuss interesting topics such as:

- Business partnership: how can the partnership be strategic for admin professional when working with Leaders and Executives?

- Communication in Style.. with Style: Which are the communication styles we need to encounter when being effective interacting with others?

- AI and Technology: Which is the role AI is taking in our workplace?

- Reset, refocus, recenter: A process to set things right. What is this all about?

Stay tuned!

Joan Burge website (Office Dynamics International) :

https://officedynamics.com/

Communication in Style, with Style article:

https://officedynamics.com/communicating-in-style-with-style-post/

I am excited to invite for a second time Chiara Invernizzi, from Italy!

Chiara holds a master degree in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. She has 16 years of experience in the CRO branch in various roles mainly related to site contracts including as a Contracts Specialist, Lead, Manager as well as Director. Prior to joining the CRO industry, Chiara worked for 3 years in pre-clinical research and communication/contracts and investor relation in a small Italian biotech company.
Chiara’s passion for excellence in client management and effectiveness in completing negotiations rapidly as well as a natural focus on metrics and analytics have always been traits that distinguished her work and approach tonSite Contracts.

I made a former episode with Chiara earlier this year and we discussed Site Contracting and the trends we were seeing in 2023 and beyond at that time.

Now we are catching up with what we'd left to explore what's new and what's has changed.

- What are the trends and the updates in 2024 and beyond in the pharma industry from SSU and Site contracting point of view?

- Which is the so called "Site Centricity" when approaching sites in SSU? Which is the role that networks and partnerships play in the clinical trials dynamics and progress?

- Payments: how we can make them seamless for sites across the studies?

- AI and Technology: which is the impact they have in the SSU and Site contracting?

Enjoy our conversation and stay tuned!

MM.

This episode is entirely focused on Talent Acquisition and HR and I am happy to welcome, again, my guest: Mariusz Stokowacki from UK.

Mariusz was born in Poland and he moved to UK where he was able to build his career as talent acquisition professional, with more than 20 years of professional work experience that includes 15 years in pharmaceutical recruitment and sales environment.

He Worked with leading staffing firms within life sciences, at world’s leading CROs supporting stakeholders across all levels . Also, he is a qualified Professional Performance Coach supporting those who want to make a change in their career or develop personally.

We explore the new trends on TA from what we've left in 2023 and what we've seen in 2024 and beyond.

- How can companies retain the talents within their organizations? Which are the trends and what can be done better?

- How can young talents enter into the pharma industry and which steps they can take to make this step seamless?

- Which is the role of Technology and AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the TA world in 2024 and beyond?

Enjoy our conversation and check the former episode in the MACE PODCAST library!

MM.