Ilaria Doria

"My life is all a programme"
An interview with Ilaria Doria, Head of Internet and New Media, Pirelli Sistemi Informativi

Ilaria, information science is one of those professional sectors where the female presence has progressively increased in recent years.
Yes, that's true. Even in relation to about 10 years ago, the number of women employed in the sector has grown notably and the population of Pirelli Sistemi Informativi reflects that evolution. The composition of our management is typical, with eight sections heads, four are women.
You see, involvement in informatics requires an increasing ability to multi-task, which the men certainly know how to develop, but for us women it is as if it were inborn or at least acquired over centuries and centuries. Our history has taught us to take care of the house, the children and work all at the same time: and that gave us our multi-tasking capability.

The Internet and New Media projects of the Pirelli Group are developed by your team. What is the most enjoyable aspect of your work?
I'll also go back in time to answer this one, too. Today, working on Internet projects is much different than 10 years ago, because the cultural level has generally progressed. Let me explain.
All the company functions know that the Internet is a widely used and effective marketing and communications channel, requiring smaller investments in relation to advertising by the traditional means. There is a great demand, which means a lot of work for us. And the demand is "erudite", because our internal customers know the potential, the way it works and the impact of new media, which are all part of the working day.
But not always. This not only makes things easier for us, given that now our work is a little more in the common domain than in the past, but it even becomes a catalyst that pushes us into more daring initiatives, to keep pace with the avant garde , because out clients are behind us.

And that is amusing.
Certainly, because it enables us to work on innovative, stimulating projects, implementing the new frontiers of technology.
Another thing that I enjoy about my work is the training. I run a team of 22 people, of whom 12 are inMilan and 10 are in Craiova in Rumania. Once a year I select a theme, bring the group together in a pleasant location and organise one or two days of training.
Let me give you an example: last year, the concept of our meeting was multiculturalism and working at a distance from each other. Young people from Craiova joined our group: it was necessary to share information, models and procedures. And, above all else, there was a need for us to get to know each other.
So, with thanks also to a number of our specialised suppliers in this field of activity, we asked the participants what were the most widely diffused ideas in Rumania about the Italians and those in Italy about the Rumanians.
I'll leave you to imagine the kind of replies we received. From there, we started to freely discuss the two identities and that encouraged dialogue, the contradictory, exchanges of ideas: all indispensable elements in the training of a team. The second day was devoted to the project: its origination, development and implementation. A way to establish a uniformity of practice between us, whether we are in Bicocca or our colleagues in Rumania.

With regard to projects, which do you remember as the most stimulating of your career with Pirelli?
Without doubt, the first: the reconstruction of the Group's sites in 2000. There was great enthusiasm; all of us were fascinated and passionate about the New Economy: I joined a group created within Pirelli SpA in May (Pirelli & C. SpA from 2003, Ed). I worked, naturally, with Sistemi Informatici, but we were a small corporate division, very, very well integrated. We were already online in January with all the Group's sites renewed. Record time!

They say that the dream of all those who work in informatics is to restructure a farmhouse in Tuscany and live in the country. How do you escape from technology?
With the many interests that I try to progress during the weekend, motivated by a taste for a challenge and the desire for well being. Take golf, for instance: that is one of the activities I enjoy during my free time, on the one hand because it is a continuous commitment to attempting to outdo myself and on the other it is the chance of a pleasant walk in the countryside.
But if we really want to talk about escapism, then I must tell you about an undertaking of which I am really proud. One evening about 18 months ago, my husband and I were chatting and the subject of New York marathon came up. I blurted out, "Hmmm, perhaps I could actually do it.". My husband entered me in February. I did not have a moment's hesitation; I accepted the challenge and the organising mechanism began. I took advice on how to set up my training, what my diet should be and earmarked nine months for my preparation for the 'marathon of all marathons', just like a perfect programmer.

You mean you were among the 3,000 Italians who crossed the legendary finish line in Central Park last November?
Yes, that's right. I did it; I finished my project, even if it had been years and years since I last raced. I was completely out of training. How did I do it? By following the process that I had designed for my preparation: about 1,000 kilometres and hundreds of hours of running, three pairs of sneakers worn out and, naturally, muscle pain and contractures carefully handled and cured, with new arch supports on my feet.
I had never previously trained for a marathon and it was an enormous satisfaction: and I can say that the keys to my personal success were: planning, determination, orientation towards the result. When all said and done, the same abilities that I put into practice each day when doing my job.

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