Diego Vaccaro, our Export Manager, has logged nearly 1,000 hours in the air, flown 600,000 km, landed in 46 different countries and passed through more than 90 airports throughout his time at Pakelo. All this despite the two-year global pandemic that drastically reduced his international travels but not his workload! Between trips, we asked Diego to tell us his story. He decided to immerse us into the realm of the company’s foreign relations, telling us about his passion for travel and interest in people and cultural exchange.

I have always been fascinated by different cultures throughout the world. Even as a child, I enjoyed travelling and meeting people from different countries. My passion for travelling has never faded and the job I do today has allowed me to truly fulfil my dream.

I began my career as an administrative employee at a winery, where I was then able to grow and become an Export Manager. Thanks to this opportunity, I began to nurture relationships and build a solid network of contacts. I organised and participated in my first trade shows abroad, where I honed my skills and came face to face with new realities.

Pakelo was one of these contacts, a business well known for the high quality of its engine oils and lubricants. They offered me the role of Export Manager, a challenge I willingly accepted.

So I went from wine to oil!

Our goal is to build lasting relationships with our importers, distributors and customers, not to make quick or easy sales. To achieve this, one of the things we like to do is welcome our customers here in Italy. This gives them the opportunity to experience the typical hospitality of our culture and get a first-hand feel for our business. We want every foreign customer to be involved and feel part of the family.  And this becomes a mutual process. When I travel abroad to meet with our distributors, I am always made to feel welcome! This is another reason why I love my job. Every trip is an opportunity for professional and personal growth. This might also be why I struggle to bring home souvenirs; the things I take home from my travels are primarily relationships and experiences.

It’s difficult to summarise my work at Pakelo in just three points. If I had to narrow it down to my three most important tasks, I would say:

• The first is to help our existing foreign distributors expand their markets by providing technical and commercial support.
  
  
• The second is to listen to the needs and requirements of the customer. It may sound trivial, but putting oneself in the customer’s shoes and understanding what they genuinely need with empathy and a view to finding a solution, is perhaps the most crucial aspect of the sales role rather than simply pushing and proposing products.
  
  
• The third is in-office Team training and coordination. This is because obviously, only a close-knit team can produce genuinely unrivalled results.