Graduating just before the whole world shuts down for a global pandemic is not the most auspicious start to anyone’s career, but for Glion alumna Marina Bozzo it provided the thinking time she needed to settle on the right path.
And while opportunities were scarce, there was no chance the former Sports Ambassador and later Student Ambassador would sit and wait for something to happen. After helping out on marketing and social media duties for a friend’s sustainable retail outlet, Marina took an internship in Geneva with the Italian Swiss Chamber of Commerce, where she tackled the challenge of organizing events against the backdrop of ongoing Covid restrictions.
It was there, nestled in what many regard as the center of the luxury world, that Marina chose to pursue a career with the internationally renowned luxury goods conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH).
Leaning towards luxury
“While at the Chamber of Commerce, I carried on looking for full-time roles and ended up receiving two simultaneous offers, one for The Four Seasons in Miami and the other as an intern with high-end watchmaker TAG Heuer in Switzerland,” says Marina. “That's when I took the decision to pursue my career in luxury retail.
“I had already worked in hospitality during my two internships and, while I enjoyed both experiences, I wanted to try something new. What’s more, TAG Heuer is part of LVMH, which is such a large and diverse group that includes clothing, accessories, drinks and even hospitality, so I thought there was more potential to challenge myself in this position.”
Now based in Paris and working as EMEA Customer Service Team Manager for Christian Dior Couture, Marina oversees a team of around 12 advisors who form part of the wider 80-strong customer services center.
“There’s an option in the LVMH Group where you can request mobility after two years in your role,” says Marina. “I saw there was an opening for this position and I knew it was the Group’s second biggest Maison, so I decided to apply for another new challenge.
“It turned out they were opening a brand new internal customer service function that was starting completely from scratch, which felt like the perfect opportunity to have a new start myself. So I applied and, three years later, here I am.”
A focus on development
Marina’s current role sees her managing and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Customer Service Center team, where advisors deal with customer requests across multiple channels such as WhatsApp, live chat, Instagram, Facebook, email, web form and telephone.
She is also specifically responsible for her own team’s performance, development and growth, monitoring KPIs and objectives, supporting motivation and ensuring continuous improvement.
“I like to think of myself as a people developer,” she says. “I’m actually here to support my team members in their growth. Many of the advisors we have are young and this is often one of the first experiences they have in the workplace. What really helps here is that we touch base with many different departments in the company, so the advisors get a genuine 360-degree view of the organization and therefore can make more informed choices about where they see their future careers going.”
While creating the environment to keep her team motivated and delivering great results is Marina’s current focus, she also has her sights set on her own personal development.
“I would like to keep on growing within the luxury industry, specifically in project management, which is an area I’ve become passionate about since I started this role,” she says. “As managers, we take on many side projects, which I’ve really enjoyed working on. In particular, they have helped me develop skills such as planning, forecasting and designing a clear path from where we are to where we need to be.”
How hospitality helps
So how has a Bachelor's in hospitality management from an institution such as Glion helped her fashion a career in the ultra-competitive luxury industry? In more ways than you would think, according to Marina.
“The thing most people don’t know about hospitality is that it’s relevant to so many different areas of the business world,” she says. “When people tend to think about hospitality, they view it as just hotels at first, but it’s so much more than that.
“I think what really stands out from my time at Glion was the mixture of theory and practice. We were not only studying in the classroom, we were also working on real case studies, for example, pitching a business plan. At the same time, we were doing practical courses such as cooking and wine tasting. And then there were the internships, which gave us a great opportunity to put what we had learned in the classroom into practice in a real-world working environment. When I look back, that was perfect preparation for the world of work.”
While the program content has clearly been beneficial for Marina, the overall experience has made a lasting impression on her too.
“If I think about my personal highlights, the connections I was able to make during my time there have to be up there,” she says. “It was also great to become a Sports Ambassador and later a Student Ambassador, which gave me the opportunity to represent the school at events and meet lots of different people. That’s a role I haven’t really stopped carrying out, because I recommended Glion to two of my cousins, who went to the school and became Student Ambassadors themselves, so it’s become a bit of a family tradition.”
How to get ahead in luxury
But what really made a difference to Marina when she was trying to land that critical first post-graduation role was the Glion name on her resume.
“Glion is really well known around the world and that was actually a huge factor in me getting a foot in the door at TAG Heuer.,” she says. “The Glion name and its reputation – as well as the fact I had studied in Switzerland – was a great door opener. It’s what many recruiters are looking for and a name people trust when they’re hiring people.”
In her career so far, Marina has learned there is more to getting ahead in luxury than a trusted name on the resume and a good degree from a reputable school. So what advice would she give to those seeking to carve out a career in this competitive field?
“Embrace curiosity and stay resilient,” she says. “The luxury world is constantly evolving and is a real mix of heritage and innovation, which is not always easy to manage. It’s all about building genuine relationships and attention to detail, which you need to be able to deliver exceptional experiences.
“You also need authenticity and emotional intelligence to navigate such a competitive environment. And I think that Glion gives you a really strong foundation in developing these soft skills that are highly valued in this industry. So I would advise aspiring luxury job-seekers to use every opportunity to build connections, learn from their mentors and explore different roles to discover where their strengths really lie. And remember, luxury is all about creating emotion and memories, so you have to always put the human experience at the heart of what you do.”
Photo credits
Dior at Cannes: Scott Barbour/Getty
Dior storefront at Christmas: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
