Guendalina Cobianchi, SVP strategic analytics and business insights, V-Nova
Talk us through an average day in your role
As a founding team member of V-Nova, my role has been evolving throughout the life of the company, always trying to contribute to the best of my capabilities, mixing business savviness with a deep understanding of our technology.
More recently, I’ve created the Strategic Analytics and Business Insights (SABI) team, aimed at analysing data to define and communicate our technology’s value proposition (namely MPEG-5 LCEVC applications ) to our customers and to the industry in general.
One of the best aspects of my role is that there’s no such thing as an “average” day. My office days are typically packed with meetings, either with clients around the world, or colleagues across all V-Nova teams, but I do spend significant time generating and analysing the data to trigger business insights.
I love presenting at events and conferences, but I also enjoy in-depth problem-solving conversations with R&D on how to address business challenges via new solutions.
Analytics plays such a significant role in my job that if you ask my kids what “mamma” does, they will half-jokingly say: “mamma looks at curves”.
How did you get started in the media industry?`
Almost by chance. I didn’t have a media background when I decided to join V-Nova as a young startup. At that time we were looking at multiple industries to create value with our video compression IP. Media, obviously, turned out to be a key one, and here I am!
What training did you have before entering the industry?
I’m a management engineer from the Politecnico of Milan and I hold an MBA from the INSEAD business school in Fontainebleau. But the core of my training comes from the 10 years I spent at McKinsey & Company, which forged some of the core skills I so much rely on in my work at V-Nova, including analytical thinking, coupled with the capability of ‘seeing the big picture’ and of course, the famous “80-20” rule.
Why do you enjoy working in the industry?
I love technology and even more, helping to solve complex problems via innovation. This industry has given me the opportunity to stretch the boundaries of what’s possible and contribute to achieving results that many thought impossible, such as the MPEG standardisation of our data compression IP, to mention one.
What piece of advice would you offer someone looking to explore a role like yours?
I left a safe path in a top consultancy firm to follow an extremely promising new venture, with people I trusted and enjoyed working with. I never look back and think “what if…” I rather embrace the journey and put all of myself to making it the ultimate and most fulfilling choice! I’d definitely encourage younger colleagues to pursue their passions and intuitions, transforming them into their own best decisions.
