We could not be more excited to announce our arrival into the Italian market, and the opening of our new office in Milan. Rather than a staid corporate press release, we thought you would like to hear from our voice on the ground. Here’s a short interview with Sergio Sarli, our new Head of Italian Sales.
Sergio joins the Sterling team with a BA in Business Administration from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, an MA in Marketing & Communications from LUISS Business School, and three continents’ worth of experience in growing smaller businesses.
Sergio, why is the Italian market so exciting?
Corporate Italy is experiencing a generational change, with a lot of younger people joining management boards. Combined with a strengthening economy and the growing demand for Italian companies from foreign investors, and you have an Italian market that is more interesting than ever. Where there is M&A and IPO activity, there is a need for virtual data rooms, so the opportunity here is an exciting one.
What made you want to work in the virtual data room (VDR) industry?
From 2014-2018, I worked at GamePix, a leading global distributor of games in HTML5 technology. As Business Development Manager, my role was to scale the business through getting new customers and nurturing existing relationships. After four years, I wanted to put this skill set to use somewhere new, and went on the hunt for interesting industries to join.
This is when I came across the VDR industry. It appealed to me specifically as it’s a high-growth sector, actually expecting to grow by CAGR 14,8% per year. With so much happening, it has a natural attraction for ambitious technology-oriented people. I also liked the exposure it would give me to a diverse range of client types, such as legal and accounting firms, banks, and a huge variety of corporates.
What made you want to join Sterling specifically?
My passion is for working at smaller, fast-growing businesses. I much prefer being part of a small team of very motivated people that are working towards a common goal. Plus, it’s important for me to work in an environment where there are flat hierarchies and an entrepreneurial spirit is rewarded. This is exactly what I saw when I met the Sterling team.
What have you learnt so far?
The main thing I’ve noticed is that people are craving better customer service from their data room providers. Users are often bounced around the world to different support staff, depending on what time they call. Everyone just wants to have the same points of contact around the clock, so the fact that we have a centralised Italian-speaking Customer Services team is really separating us from the competition.
