MARA DELL’ANTONIA: WHY IT’S ALWAYS A GOOD YEAR

When we hear the phrase “a good year”, what comes to mind right away is the grape harvest. It’s a wish. It’s a hope. It’s an expression we all would like to have occasion to use.

And Mara Dell’Antonia, Head of Subsidiary Financial Control at De Rigo, uses it a lot. Because there are a lot of analogies between what Mara does (and is) in her work and the world of wine-making. This association of ideas is not only a result of the fact that Mara is also a sommelier, and her parents make an excellent raisin wine which has been in production since the 17th century. It’s her attitude to doing and sharing things that makes the analogy with wine-making so fitting. To make a good wine, you have to love what you do. You have to take good care of things. You have to realise that if you can say “it’s been a good year”, this is not just a result of factors beyond your control, such as the weather, but a product of your constant commitment and determination to make progress.

This is Mara Dell’Antonia’s attitude to her work. In a profession like hers, as a controller, where prompt identification of economic and financial data, its clarity and its interpretation, allows the people who make strategic decisions for the company to make them with the smallest possible margin of error, it is essential to do everything with the utmost professionalism, the utmost attention and the ability to take pleasure in what you do.

Working in Financial Control means talking about strategies, goals and results in terms of numbers. And this is precisely what Mara and her team do. Through long and short term planning. Through monthly analysis of results. Through simulations, feasibility studies and preparation of consolidated financial statements. In De Rigo, it means constantly working on management of branches all over the world as well as the Group’s activities. Management reports are prepared on sales and on marketing costs. Then there’s preparation of statutory financial statements and management reports. Preparation of the budget and the three-year plan.

The job requires relational skills, the ability to speak several languages, technical know-how, curiosity and flexibility: just a few of the qualities of the people who work with Mara Dell’Antonia. Mara adds two more factors to all this: enthusiasm and sharing. This perfect alchemy allows Mara to do her job well, enjoying what she does and conveying her enthusiasm for her work to her entire staff, because the job is, and always will be, a matter of teamwork. This is what happens in the vineyard. And in the office. And if we add a pinch of sunshine, it’s clear that it will always be a good year. A year worth remembering. A year when we all drink a toast to life!