BARBARA MARIA CORTIELLO
GLOBAL HEAD OF TRAINING DEVELOPMENT
Barbara enjoys being a blonde… although she has brunette roots! Her dual Italian-Swiss nationality has never distracted her from believing in her Latin blood, which has contributed to her successful career as a “people person”.
Barbara explains her philosophy when it comes to education.
Having travelled the world and met so many people, most of the time in an adult-educational context, I clearly see that in many ways we are all simply seeking the recognition of the others, if not self-love. Education means, above and beyond anything else, learning to appreciate one's own knowledge and skills, feeding one’s passions and opening up to positive, new horizons.
"I once came across this old Cherokee proverb that sums it all up:
The old Cherokee told his grandson: “My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all.
One is anger, fear, greed and jealousy.
The other is joy, peace, love, empathy and kindness.
The boy thought about it, and asked:
“Grandfather, which wolf wins?”
The old man quietly replied: “ The one you FEED!”
This is a guiding principle Barbara has followed ever since attending University of Bologna, where she studied Foreign Literature and Anthropology. This notion has stayed with her throughout her career, while working in education and training at the La Prairie headquarters for over 10 years, when she was at NESCENS Cosmeceuticals - Genolier Swiss Medical Network, and now at Swissline.
Barbara admits that the beauty industry appeals to her both from a personal and professional perspective.
I find it a genuine pleasure to take care of my own skin, and show others how to do the same. Being a happy woman means feeling good in your own skin after all, right?
The new Age Intelligence Recovery Serum and 4 Boosters will be a real pleasure for me to work with, as they contain time-proven ingredients, like vitamin C and hyaluronic acid, to mention only two. I won't need to explain too much about the efficacy of such ingredients and will instead be able to elaborate on how the new formulas address a more contemporary lifestyle that comes with mixing and matching! Tailoring solutions to individual needs… and playing a bit the sorcerer's apprentice… that’s how I like to think of it.
Tapping into her expertise, Barbara regularly conducts presentations for, and interviews with, the media; working as one of the brand's spokespersons. At the same time, she is also involved in the development of new products and brainstorming with both the creative team and the R&D team, adding her valuable consumer-insight into the mix.
Beauty and travel aside, Barbara also loves creativity and the arts. This multi-talented woman, is passionate about painting – playing with the pigments to convey a feeling or mood. – practicing piano and, believe it or not, playing the ukulele.
Barbara confesses:
It is a personal secret, but when I travel for work over longer periods of time, I pack my ukulele into my luggage. It is perfect to play when recovering from jetlag as the music energizes me.
For Barbara, it’s all about making people beautiful, and music is needed for this.