Luciana's Flight Leaves from Basilicata
A passion for technology and for challenges. Luciana De Fino, 32 years old, a Bocconi graduate in Business Administration, fully understands the decision to start a new business in such an adverse time, like now, and in a region, Basilicata, where "there are infrastructure problems, for example there's no airport, and we also have problems with broadband," she says. Yet the prospect of transforming problems into opportunities was too tempting and Luciana De Fino founded AirDrone, a company that produces drones.
It is a new adventure for her, and she also performs the role of general director at Spix, the family business specialized in managing cultural and documental goods. "The wonder of technology is at the foundation of drones," explains Luciana De Fino, "and it has infinite implications: transporting things, recreational functions, rescue operations, environmental monitoring, applications in the military, security and medical fields and others but, most importantly, it's a sector that is still relatively new with wide margins for growth." Luciana De Fino, who is the founder and President of the Italian Drones Associations and Vice President of the national committee for territorial coordination of innovative and technological services at Confindustria , knows that drones will have a wide-ranging impact within and outside Italy: " These systems will not only reduce costs by permitting more efficient operations in various sectors, but will also create opportunities for European companies to develop technologies by feeding this revolution. We have to ensure that even small businesses will benefit from this sector taking off without compromising safety and quality . Currently there are around 400 projects in this field in Europe, almost all endeavors by small and medium enterprises, so we can assess ourselves against international competition with a high potential for synergy ." This is not an easy setting because, as the entrepreneur explains, "self-entrepreneurship is almost a requirement that is a fascinating adventure to me, despite the rigidity of the financial system and the regulatory setting."
Her return to the family business was a brave decision in a certain sense, because opportunities to get ahead within and outside Italy, were never scarce: "I completed a diploma in the United States, in Portland, then another in Italy before deciding to move to Milan to attend Bocconi." An internship in Prysmian, another one after graduation at Pricewaterhouse, the fascinating world of consulting, "a challengingenvironment , which contributed to giving me self-confidence in my future endeavors." This self-confidence encouraged her to make the decision to become an entrepreneur but also an example for other young people like her: "I strongly believe that even here businesses can be started and employment and development can be created. There are limits, but also great possibilities. This is an ideas economy... ".