Claudia Cividino

There’s a Tibetan proverb that says, ‘If you fall down seven times, pick yourself up eight.’ Resilience has been the key factor in my success.

Claudia Cividino is an established executive of Italian origin who lives in the United States, and has had a stunning career in the fashion world. She was Senior Vice-president of Miu Miu at Prada and held executive posts at Yves Saint Laurent. In February of 2015 she was named CEO for the Americas of Bally, the world’s second-oldest luxury brand.

“My professional career has given me happiness and a sense of accomplishment in life. It has challenged me spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically, and has allowed me to fulfill myself. And ironically, that career hasn’t been a string of successes. I’ve had my share of failures,” says this executive. She regularly engages in meditation and mindfulness, and is even a member of the Governing Council of the Shambhala Meditation Center in New York.

Claudia Cividino defines herself as a professional who loves to learn and prefers those projects that allow some kind of personal transformation. At Bally she is surrounded by a team of executives who enjoy the idea of beginning fresh every day. “It’s an enormous pleasure to be able to discover the possibilities in continual development,” she says.

She is a seasoned executive capable of acting in a spectrum of 360 degrees, “with a strong inner compass, who inspires confidence and who can lead a business successfully through complex realities.” For Cividino, strong, friendly and wise leadership has never been as important as it is today, in a world constantly confronted by change, insecurity and complexity.

“As a business leader I must be self aware enough to hold to my personal True North while being outward focused and leading an organization to achieve extraordinary things,” says Cividino. “The old way of doing business is over. I think this offers us enormous opportunities!”

This executive recognizes that her MBA at IE allowed her to achieve her initial objective, which was to strengthen her analytical and business skills. In addition, and unexpectedly, she was able to familiarize herself with two aspects of management that at first she had not fully appreciated, but which ended up making a big difference in her career: the selfless spirit of teamwork and a huge improvement in self-confidence.

“Years after the MBA, I realized that confidence is just as important as competence. Confidence is critically important to successful leadership. The best communication emanates from a stance of confidence; Confidence in our fundamental goodness, confidence in the message, and confidence in those receiving the message,” says Cividino, who considers it an honor to have been selected as a finalist for the EPIC Awards.”

“I would really love to use this opportunity to tell my companions how honored we all are for the chance to lead people and businesses that can act as a force for good in the world. Business touches the lives of everyone, and I think that through it we can really change the world,” she concludes.

Indeed, besides her professional activities, Cividino has brought to Bally a charitable project in collaboration with the global CEO, Frédéric de Narp. Bally Crafting Futures is a philanthropic program that supports organizations that work with needy children and young people in the field of education.

In addition, this executive is in charge of tutoring female leaders and has created the Council of Women Fashion Executives at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), which promotes meetings and seminars between women executives who work in fashion. Finally, in 2017 Cividino received the Creative Leadership Award from the Otis College of Art and Design.