Riccardo Rossinelli, Brand and Merchandising Manager, Hugo Boss

To help current students and recent graduates navigate the world of work, several USI Alumni shared their career paths and career story. Here the story of Riccardo Rossinelli, Brand and Merchandising Manager Footwear Specialist Men at Hugo Boss in Coldrerio (CH). USI Degrees: Master in Management, 2017 and Bachelor in Economics, 2015.

How did you start your career?

After master degree in Management, I started as intern at Capgemini consulting group in Milan. At the very beginning, my idea was to explore the consulting world, work in different environment and industry and then after 4/5 years, choose one industry and work for a specific firm. I started there working on project for Dolce and Gabbana and there I came up my interest for fashion Industry. This is the reason why after only 6 months I decided to apply for an intern role in Hugo Boss.

Why did you choose a career at Hugo Boss?

As I mentioned before one of my passion and interest was and is the fashion industry and in particular the Footwear world. This is a passion that I had since I was young and it increased after the experience in Dolce and Gabbana.

What is your current role/duties?

After 7 months of intern role, I became a junior in Footwear department and I had the possibility to grow fully supporting my manager. After 2 years I had the role of Brand Manager managing dress and casual category in man sector. Now I’m a Footwear specialist of the entire man collection: dress, casual and sneaker as well. Basically in my role I’m the responsible of collection building, starting from the briefing to design to product sale, from pricing architecture to store assortment selection, from brand strategy to market position. I can sum up saying that I touch all the 4P of Porter in order to realize the brand strategy with a combination of product, distribution, promotion and price.

In your opinion, what are the qualities necessary for a successful career at Hugo Boss?

I think that for sure curiosity, passion and entrepreneurial spirit are the main ones together with team spirit and leadership.

What positive aspects and qualities meant most to you during the study programme you attended?

In general, I think that the master in Management was well structured with a correct balance between theory and practice. Moreover, I cannot forget to mention the amazing Erasmus experience that I have done in Sweden during the master. The Erasmus program helped me to grow not only in an academic but also in a personal way.

What competences and/or skills acquired in your USI Study Program have been useful/are useful to your professional career?

For sure the team works, especially in the master period help me to create my current team spirit. In general, I can say that all the strategy and management courses helped me to understand better the market, the consumer behavior and strategy behind some decision.

What is your advice to USI students entering the job market?

In my opinion the best advice that I can give to the new graduates is to follow their passion and their interest. In this way you can easily reach your goals and build a solid career path.