People are the centre of every industry, everybody knows it. And that is exactly what suits Orazio Stella, senior partner at Loriga & associati, one of Italy’s most specialized head-hunting and HR consultancy companies within the logistics and transportation industry. In our search for an inspirational Italian partner, it was almost inevitable to knock on Orazio’s door. He’s more than happy to talk about his business experience, his daily drive, the future of his company and the collaboration with Experts4Experts.
A people industry
Orazio has made his mark with thirty years of experience in a corporate environment. His career started in Human Resources in different industries. Around fifteen years ago, he rolled into logistics and transportation by chance, joining Maersk as their Human Resources Director.
“What really astounded me is that this is a people industry, with the capacity to motivate and engage to rethink. The people make the difference, that’s always number one for me. Also, supply chain and transportation are always more international than other industries. And that international approach was appealing and exciting.”
People make the difference
After that, Orazio made the move to business management. He became General Manager with Maersk Italy and after working with two other companies within the last five years, he felt it was time for a change. Orazio decided to combine his knowledge of business management and his love for people management. He talks about it as if it were a form of art. His main driver in managing business is getting to know people and making them the strongest asset a company is building on. Especially in the logistics and transportation industry, where the products are commodities.
“Almost everyone in the industry is more or less doing the same thing. People are the differentiator: they have the capacity to take care of a customer issue, the capacity to solve a problem. And you must get them in the right place and give them the feeling they’re in the right place. Not only because they get a salary, but because they want to be there, because they like what they’re doing. We are talking about people simplicity, that’s my opinion. When I realized that, I decided that I wanted to start a consulting career.”
Becoming a partner in consultancy
Working in logistics and transportation for years, Orazio obviously knew Loriga & associati. The company plays a prominent role in head-hunting, organisational development, management, and mergers & acquisitions in Italy. He met the founder and part of the team before; they even helped him find the right people for the company where he used to work. For Orazio, it was important to work in a place where he could leverage his specialisation. Not just to provide HR services but also to focus on a specific industry as well. In this case, the logistics and transportation industry.
In September 2021 Orazio joined Loriga & associati as a senior partner. With this new step he was able to work in a company where he could be part of the decision centre and put a little bit of his own vision in the company as well. That’s the reason he made an agreement to become shareholder. For Orazio, this company is a long-term plan and that’s why he feels he’s still in the learning phase, as with every new job.
“I’m a senior partner and with my age I have a lot of experience. But when I talk about the technical details of the way a specific job is done, the only thing I need to do is to avoid saying too many things. I listen to the people that have been here for a while. I want to make them feel they can tell me if I’m not suited to help them with certain tasks. Of course, I manage them, but I still have so much to learn in this field.”
Knowing what your customer wants
Loriga & associati distinguishes itself through real industry knowledge. Most of their competitors are much bigger international companies. For them it’s harder to know the local transport and logistics markets on the level of detail and competence that Loriga & associati does. The company can provide the right support at the right moment. Not something that is very easy, but they can achieve it through a personal approach and the ability to act quickly. It’s all about knowing people, knowing what a company is going through and knowing what their customers really want. That way Orazio’s company can come up with thoughtful solutions in a very short time span.
“For me, the experience of helping a customer impact the culture of their company, putting a senior manager in a company or work around in mergers and acquisitions is fantastic. It’s a matter of understanding what a company is aiming for. It’s a matter of looking to the future and putting things together for a customer. And looking back after a few months to realise we’ve made the right decisions and the right moves, that is absolutely exciting. Of course, we make mistakes, and we assess our jobs very extensively, but being able to look back and seeing we’ve done more things right than wrong is very rewarding.”
The need for international partners
Loriga & associati is already a major player as a consultant in the logistics and transportation market in Italy. That doesn’t mean every single opportunity comes cheap. There is still a lot to win in terms of visibility towards European or worldwide importers. They are looking for every opportunity to present themselves as a company that is well equipped to work outside the Italian borders. It makes a huge difference, because in most of the cases customers are ready to listen if you’re a global player. It’s harder to reach international parties if you’re just focused on a specific market. So, there was a huge task for Loriga & associati to become more global and international.
In that regard, Experts4Experts is exactly what Orazio needed. The opportunity arose when Experts4Experts was looking for a partner in Italy. In this industry Loriga is a rather well-known company, so the decision was easily made. Orazio was approached on the day he joined the company, what a coincidence!
“I appreciated two elements of their competence in this industry in particular: to provide feedback and their international network. For me, Experts4Experts is a network of partners that are very knowledgeable about their own markets. With the ability to connect the dots and provide their global service to potential customers. This combination was the reason for me to accept their proposal to join.”
Knowledge in service of everyone
The capability to provide specialised services and solutions with industry focus, in Europe or even worldwide, is a must for Orazio. That’s why this network of partners with knowledge of their local markets is so fortunate. The partners within Experts4Experts are able to provide Orazio the kind of feedback his company needs to solve customer issues on a global level. In order to increase Loriga & associati’s representation in the world, he must invest time and attention in the network. To eventually provide their customers with a portfolio that covers not only Europe, but also North America, South America, North Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, and the Middle East. And to become the reference partner for customers on a global level. Orazio is confident that being in the network is the right solution because he can use his partners’ knowledge of their own market and put it in service of everyone.
Keeping focus on people
Orazio believes his company must build on what they do today. Increasing the span of coverage around the world and increasing the number of services they provide to customers, without losing focus on the industry and on people. Investing in human capital has never been as important as it is today. It’s about having the right people at the right place in the right company. But the difference with the past is that the availability of candidates was so big that you could afford to make mistakes and replace them. We don’t have the same opportunity today. If you make a mistake, recovering from it will be extremely difficult.
His personal view is that generalist consultants in the industry will have to manage the following issues in the near future: customers will require more services that are focused on a specific industry and the right people for the right job are harder to find. That’s why an international network of trusted partners, with true knowledge of their local market, is so important. And because of his partnership with Experts4Experts, Orazio sees the future bright.