Adama Sanneh

Moleskine Foundation CEO, Milan

«I like to think of myself as a part of an ecosystem therefore, I cannot consider my personal successes if they are not connected to the advancement of the people around me».

Tell us about a memory that is important in getting you to the point where you are today professionally.

I have a memory of my dad. I had an unconventional, very particular father, and there is one thing that has always remained in my head that for me was linked to a very abstract dynamic which is my Senegalese surname. I don't remember on what occasion but I was little and the conversation came out maybe because I didn't make a decision or something, and he goes "Adama remember you're a Sanneh, and us Sannehs, we take the leadership." And somehow that clicked something inside of me, saying if something happens, you need to do something. And this idea of leadership is not an idea linked to power, or to the desire to be the boss, it's more of an idea of responsibility and action and this has always stuck with me.

What is your definition of success?

I must say that the word success, I don't know why, always puts me in crisis as a word, as a concept. It takes me to external or performative expectations that I find uninteresting. But the things that come to my mind are that I cannot disconnect the idea of personal success from the idea of collective success. In my head, I like to think of myself as a part of an ecosystem therefore, I cannot consider my personal successes if they are not connected to the advancement of the people around me, - of my family, friends, my community,  up to a national scale. So somehow my definition is an idea to understand how much my personal & individual activity is contributing to the many dynamics of which I am a part.

What would you tell your 13 year old self?

I would say to be bolder in one's dreams, in one's desires. Believe more in these instincts and be more brazen in reaching them. To dream big, and to dream with a very strong sense of awareness. Another thing is to work on your fears, try to understand what are those invisible barriers that block your growth and work on yourself.

What changes do you hope to see in your sector in Italy in the next 5-10 years?

I would like my country to be able to change the main elements of the equation that our society has, and I say that because  until we manage to change the composition of the decision-making groups, we will probably always have more or less similar results, while instead I would like the Italian society in a few years, with a process which starts today, to express a creative and original thought, and an institutional creativity. However, to do this, the initial ingredients of these mechanisms need to be changed.