Peo
ple
Besana is a company made of people.
This is why we wanted to collect the testimonies of some historical employees, the protagonists of our growth. To all the others who we have not been able to include, we express our sincere thanks. Because each and every one of them has contributed to making Besana's history great.
A big family
I arrived in Besana at the age of 28. What I immediately appreciated is the familiar atmosphere among colleagues and with the owners. The hours of work are many and much is also the commitment required: friendship and mutual esteem allow us to work together as a single team. Pino Calcagni believed in me: he spurred me on, he helped me, he gave me so much. Today Riccardo, who has taken his place at the helm of the company, is allowing me to grow further and become independent.
MELANIA ABATE
PROCUREMENT OFFICE
Innovate to face the challenges
Innovation has always been one of our major flagships. 20 years ago, when I joined the company, our President Pino Calcagni had a hunch: link R&D tightly with our commercial perspective, take up cues and develop new ideas with an eye on consumer trends and market demands. The privileged relationship we have with the English market, which is particularly evolved from this point of view, has allowed us to put this to good use. The opening of the Besana UK branch was a real challenge. Won, like so many others over the years.
GIUSY AMBROSIO
DIRECTOR FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOR THE UK MARKET
Success, with simplicity
I entered Besana right after finishing my studies. In these 30 years I have had the pleasure of working in various company departments; I treasured every single experience until reaching the role of sales manager for Italy. I was immediately fascinated by the simplicity and ability with which Mr. Pino Calcagni was able to make this company grow. He has always been a farsighted, optimistic and commercially aggressive man with a strong sense of belonging to his home territory. Today the fruit of his effort is visible: Besana, with its 100 years of history, is a player of international profile. It is nice to see how tradition is being renewed thanks to the determination that Riccardo and Vittoria employ in their daily work to give further prestige to this company.
MENA CASORIA
COMMERCIAL MANAGER
Find an opportunity behind every difficulty
I joined the company at 19. I was a switchboard operator when there were only two central land lines and orders came in by telex! Now I am responsible for the commercial development of the main Food Industry, but for several years I was the executive secretary of Pino Calcagni and I accompanied him on several trips around the world. Pino is a guide and a beacon, with his inexhaustible energy he transmits to everyone a great desire to improve. He taught me that behind every difficulty there is an opportunity. It is this extra gear that has allowed Besana to grow constantly and adapt promptly to any new situation.
ANNA CIRIELLO
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Thinking out of the box
5. I met Pino Calcagni in Russia, when I was working in a completely different area, in the technology sector. A few months after our first meeting, with his characterizing mental openness and his view of “thinking out of the box”, he asked me if I wanted to start working with him. Even if the sectors were so different, the business dynamics are very similar in the end. And the fact that I was not familiar at all with the world of “nuts” would have guaranteed me a new point of view. This is how I joined the company in 2010. The experience in Besana has given me a lot; for my part, I believe I have brought enthusiasm, wilfulness, creativity and, with a tad of pride, also results.
RENATO DE GOYZUETA
EXPORT DIRECTOR
Nothing is impossible
One of my best memories dates back to the beginning of my experience in Besana. One day Pino Calcagni came to the office and announced that I would soon have to leave for China. The project I was following would have ended on Friday, but the President proposed that I stay a few more days, to visit and learn more about that wonderful country.
For Pino, in fact, every trip teaches us something and allows to open our mental horizons; that possibility, he knew well, would have enriched me beyond the mere working activity.
That fortnight in China, alone, was for me one of the strongest experiences of personal growth.
As Pino repeatedly told us, we must be not only always active, but proactive. When you valorize any aspect of work and life as an opportunity, anything can happen and anything can be done. And this is his most important lesson: nothing is really impossible!
GIANPAOLO GENTILE
PURCHASING MANAGER
A company made of families
I have spent the majority of my working career in Besana. After almost 20 years, I can say that I know very well the day to day activity of this company which has always been characterized by a strong link between the owners and the employees. Entire families work here, from generation to generation: some colleagues were preceded in the company by grandparents and parents. And for many of us, the point of reference has always been Pino Calcagni: a mentor and guide, demanding but also able to support and motivate people. A master, who still remains a role model for all of us.
AGOSTINO IMPROTA
DIRECTOR OF QUALITY ASSURANCE
Find a solution beyond the obstacle
My dad worked and lived in Besana, he was the production manager. I was born and have grown up here. Open your mind, Pino has always said since the beginning, go beyond the obstacle, find the solution. A valuable suggestion still today, in my role as CFO, a world in which women are only recently no longer seen as black swans.
MARCELLA NETTI
CORPORATE FINANCIAL DIRECTOR
Discover a story behind each number
In 2021 I celebrate my 13 years in the company. I arrived in Besana after an experience in a multinational enterprise in Milan dealing in electronics, and I noticed immediately the enormous difference between a depersonalized company and a company characterized by a family of entrepreneurs. In Besana I found a greater human closeness, combined with great professionalism and a vision of a company constantly projected towards the future. In my role as administration manager, I normally deal with “cold numbers”. But in Besana I am stimulated, just like everyone else, to a “lively” and transversal participation in the company activities and also to leave my area of competence. This helps me understand every day that behind every number of this company there is always much more: a goal, a challenge, a piece of history.
GIOVANNI PETITO
ADMINISTRATION MANAGER
Thirty years in Besana: harmony in order to win the challenges
I have been in Besana for over thirty years, and I can safely say that I feel part of this “family” company. I’m German but my heart also beats Italian. I’m feisty, something that I have always fought for, because I firmly believe in human relationships, respect and warm-heartedness. I have always had in my heart a phrase of Vincenzo Besana that mentions “dedication” and “harmony” as the secrets of a courageous and successful company. In over 30 years of work there have been obvious ups and downs but in the long years that I worked beside Pino Calcagni as management secretary, I have learnt how to face countless challenges and at the same time I have become very fond of, through the people, the complex but fascinating world of Besana, to which I have always responded, with great spirit and willingness, to its great potential. And it is certainly with that sense of harmony that “uncle Enzo” emphasized.
NICOLA RICHTER
MANAGEMENT SECRETARY
11. Pure adrenaline, every day
I have been in Besana for about twenty years. Initially I had the role of Export Manager for the Northern European market working closely with Pino Calcagni, but only three years later Pino and Riccardo Calcagni asked me to become responsible for the purchasing of raw materials. Although the proposal was rewarding, I had just returned from maternity leave and I had some doubts. In the end I accepted the challenge, and I must say it was the right choice. I am fascinated by the rush of adrenaline that this job gives every day, the idea of taking care of procurement from more than 40 different countries in the world, of being able to travel and learn about different traditions, of supporting the sales network in the most difficult negotiations, of overcoming every logistical or procurement difficulty. I am satisfied with my work and the professional growth it makes possible. Despite the great sacrifice it requires every day, I can say that I do the job I have always dreamed of. And I thank Pino and Riccardo for believing in me.
PIA STARACE
PURCHASING MANAGER
