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Thursday, 25th April 2024 |
| A Day in the Life: Stefano Vaiani, managing director, UniCredito Italiano Bank (Ireland) p.l.c. |
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| Stefano Vaiani came back to Ireland in 2004, when he assumed the role of managing director of UniCredito Italiano Bank (Ireland) p.l.c. Although living in Dublin, he keeps in close contact with Italy via satellite tv, lunches with fellow Italian colleagues and traditions such as morning espresso and evening aperitif. |
7.00am Very slowly I wake up, shower, shave, dress and catch up on the latest Italian news via satellite in my kitchen while I enjoy my breakfast: a nice home made cappuccino, with toast generously buttered and topped with my preferred home made jam. Only after those ‘essential elements’ do I start to feel ready for the day ahead!  | | Stefano Vaiani, managing director, UniCredito Italiano Bank (Ireland) p.l.c. |
7.45am Due to the recent traffic disruptions on the Rock Road, I have decided to travel to work using the Dart. I must say that I am getting used to catching the train and I do not miss the car at all. Actually, to be honest there is something that I miss; the 30 or 40 minutes of listening to Lyric FM in the car. It was a great start to the day!
8.30am Arrive at work and log on to my PC, check and reply to emails. I am always amazed to see the number of messages received… 50 per cent of those are useless, coming from the most unheard of counterparts… and the products offered range from shares to pharmaceutical goods. Sometimes the spam filter does not stop such messages and my mail box is filled with time-wasting messages. After cleaning up the ‘electronic correspondence I grab an espresso with Patrizia Ribano, my PA. With her I review my schedule and plan the priorities of the day.
9.15am I start my various rounds of calls to the head office in Milan, market contacts here in Dublin and in London. It is a nice way to keep in contact and to be updated on matters related to our Banking world.
10.30am I have a brief meeting with Paul Murphy (financial controller) regarding issues related to the financial statements and to our external auditors currently in our company carrying out their usual activity related to the end of year closing.
We also take this opportunity to clear some issues related to our next board of directors and audit committee meetings. Receive a phone call from the central treasury in Milan to discuss liquidity issues related to the cover of our assets. Problem solved!
11.30am By this time the regular mail has been delivered and I proceed to review it, planning any eventual reply to be given. It is incredible how many events are happening in Dublin. It is impossible to accept all the invitations, although it would be nice to be able to. I find Irish events extremely interesting for the friendly way they are planned.
12.30pm Lunch and a quick walk to catch some fresh air. Often I use my lunch time to meet other Italians working in Dublin. Today I meet Pierre Arena, managing director of SanPaolo Imi Bank in Dublin for lunch.
1.30pm Back to the desk to return some follow up phone calls (mainly from Italy) and answer important e-mails.
2.30pm By now Sarah Watson (risk manager) has produced, in conjunction with the treasury department, a market risk position report for me to review and sign. I speak with John O’Farrell (head of treasury) to clarify a position. A few more calls arrive! I talk with Sarah about Basel II and some related issues.
3.30pm Adrian Deane (head of credit and structured finance) meets me to review his credit report. This report is produced on a daily basis and it is a summary of all loans, bonds, IRS and other products held in the credit and structured finance portfolio. Adrian is always looking for some new deal opportunities to propose to our Alco Committee and to our board of directors.
4.30pm Place a call to our legal advisors in New York to ask some clarification on a business opportunity in the USA. Positive feed back…… very happy about this!
5.00pm Answer a few emails and take the last espresso of the day. We intend to examine the possibility of installing a new front office system for both treasury and credit and structured finance. Iain Wilkinson (IT manager) is going to be in charge of the project. A plan is drawn-up and a possible trip to Milan scheduled.
I keep Iain a little longer to talk about his other duty within the company: charitable events and donations. I like to talk about the major event for the Italian community: the dinner to be hosted in Trinity College by ‘Club di Dublino’ to raise funds for two designated charities -this year ‘One Family’ and ‘Children in Hospital’.
6.00pm Review the diary for tomorrow to check if I have any early meetings and have a last minute brainstorming ideas with colleagues about possible strategies for the forthcoming days. In particular, I refer to a medium-term note program where UniCredito Italiano Bank (Ireland) p.l.c and UniCredit Luxembourg Finance S.A. are both issuers.
6.30pm Getting ready to go home. Usually I manage to leave at the time I say but today I am being kept by last minutes phone calls. Intentionally I don’t look once more to my e-mails, I will use the Blackberry to see the latest messages while sitting on the DART. My gym club is still waiting for my presence, but also today no… success!
7.00pm Finally I manage to leave and I am on the train thinking about the highlights of the working day just finished.
7.35pm Enter my apartment and the tension starts to disappear. I open a nice bottle of prosecco for an aperitif. Only one glass! I have to host a dinner with some customers of an Italian bank belonging to our group. They need some feedback about the Irish business environment, as they are thinking about opening an insurance company in Dublin.
8.20pm Back on the road, this time on foot the appointment is in the Purty Kitchen in Dun Laoighaire. Italians love this venue: informal, lively and at the same time discreet.
10.30pm After a good meal, a couple of pints of Guinness…(maybe three!??!!!) it’s back home for a well deserved rest.
11.00pm I have a quick look at the latest Italian TV talk show about…politics….. for a change!
Midnight In to bed without forgetting to set the alarm for the morning….. No alarm no wake up! |
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| Article appeared in the November 2006 issue.
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