Ep. 1591 Roberta Corrà | On The Road With Stevie Kim

Since two thousand and seventeen, the Italian wine podcast has exploded. Recently hitting six million listens support us by buying a copy of Italian wine unplugged two point o or making a small donation. In return, we'll give you the chance to nominate a guest and even win lunch with Steve Kim and Professor Atilio Shenza. Find out more at Italian One podcast dot com. Welcome to another episode of On the Road Edition hosted by Stevie Kim. Each week, she travels to incredible wine destinations interviewing some of the Italian wine scene's most interesting personalities, talking about wines, the foods, as well as the incredible travel destinations. Hello everybody. My name's Stevie Kim, and welcome back to Italian wine podcast. Today, we're not very far. Actually, we're not on the road as we usually are when we are doing our podcast rather the video podcast. However, today, we're in Verona and we have a new guest. I'm very excited to introduce Roblacorra, and she is of course the big cheese, the big boss of Jive. Which stands for, and it's kind of a mystery because it is I believe the largest private Italian wine company. Yes. Correct. But there are all these different estates, which is the umbrella brand. It's the GIF, and many are unfamiliar with that. But we'll get into that soon. But let's welcome to our show. Okay. Okay. So she's in our podcast booth today. I have all of my photo photographers outside. They're doing some video recording. And I'm so excited to have you here because it's been such a long time. I recall meeting you when you became the CEO of Giv, Guro Poy Taliano Vini. And that was when was that? Two thousand fourteen. Two thousand fourteen. But and before that, you were still in Jive. Right? Yes. The only one year, as a HR and the operation manager. Okay. So listen, before we talk about Jib, which is very, very important. Obviously, you have this big role, your tiny woman. I dare to say you're, like, physically more minute than I am. I'm just short. You're minute. You're compact. You're very dense. And you have this incredibly important role as the lead of this very large company in the wine business in Italy. But tell me a little bit about yourself. Where did you start? In terms of curve because you are not always in wine business. Is that correct? I'm really new in the wine business. I've worked for more than eighteen years at a multinational Germany company. What was the name of the company? Little. A little. The supermarket. Uh-huh. Yes. Eighteen years in Little and, two one and a half year in the metro, media market. Oh, one company owned metro group. Okay. So you went from Little supermarket business to another kind of supermarket business, b two b supermarket. Yes. S a HR and the correctional manager. So In both companies. Yes. I have always worked, with people, and I think, my passion and my strength is, work with people. Understand the people. And know, which people can do better, understand their capabilities, their skills, and use their skills, their ability to do the right job. Okay. So so you have this imprinting, if you will, from human resources. Yes. Okay. And did that help you? Is that usual? I mean, I I don't know. Is it usual for someone from human resources to become the the big boss of a company. Is that a natural path to, courier? I don't know. I don't know. I haven't, got any sample or, I don't know someone who had the the similar career, but I can tell you that, for me, the most important qualities that the manager have and and I think I have is, work with people and know the approaches who drive the people. Mhmm. So if you have these capabilities, is more easy to learn the other aspect of the business. I'm not totally new in the one business because my father has worked at the GIV for twenty want more than twenty years in Sandy. Uh-huh. Okay. So your father was in the wine business. Yes. Is he still in the business? No. He has passed away in two thousand eight. Okay. Boss. So he didn't see you becoming this big boss, right? Of this, of the company that he worked for, basically. Yes. Yes. I believe he he would have been very, very proud of me. Mhmm. Yeah. I I would imagine so. Most people are unfamiliar with GIF. And why is that? JD is, big. Mhmm. We have more than, twenty wineries. Tell me some of the names of the winery so that our audience familiar with. We have ten winners from Valtilina Susisserie. We have a well known brand. So, for example, Minon Agri. Of course. Was having this historic part of Upper wine. So I know that very well. And the Marano wine festival, if we want to remain in Italy. Right. Okay. And, Cabianca in Piamonte, Kabianca. In Balpolicella, we have two important wineries, one in Balicella Classic. Mhmm. And the one in Balicella got a Santa, where my father Have you stored? Yes. And in toscana, Melini. Okay, Melini. Mhmm. We have BJ in Okay. We have, in Yes. So big brand commercial names as well. Right? We have, Castella Mona cin Salento. I've been there actually. It's very nice. It's very nice. It's beautiful. A lot of Americans do their weddings at customer management. It's very beautiful, and, I think their wines are very, very interesting. Mhmm. We have received also this. They are very important, for influencer, for the most important journalist in the wine sector. Okay. We are happy. And then, and, basically, with our Raymond Freddie. Okay. This year, we took two trabecary. Okay. Twenty twenty. And the one with the Raymond Freddy. Twenty seventeen. So how many wineries in total? And under the ten. Okay. So this is probably, I believe, paradoxically, the name Giv is lesser known than the individual wineries of you will. But was this a strategy from the beginning? Because, you know, if you think about, I don't know, Antinori of the States or, you know, Frasco Baldi comes to mind. There is a clear indication or there's a clear affinity of the single estate to the winery. Right? They're all antinori states. Yes. But Chip has the opposite strategy if you will. Right? Yes. GIV is the name of the company. Mhmm. Strategically point of view, and it has always been the same since I came in this company. Mhmm. Is, not talking about GIV, but talking about the brand. Our strategies in producing wine is very, very similar to the small family wineries. For example, we have a winemaker in each of our wineries. We have someone one who take care of the vineyard. We have, every winemaker as their relationship with the territory. Every wine has a own personality So, for us, take this winery apart from, headquarter. Mhmm. It's very important to have different style, different wine. To create more relationship with the terroir. For us, it's very important. Of course, our coast. So if there are pro and cons Right. Of this, thinks, thought, but, it is still, the better way to communicate our brand. Okay. JID is only the headquarter and in It's the holding company. Yes. We have only the service. So we buy the bottles. So we buy the energy. Mhmm. We have the marketing. But also in the marketing, office, we have a brand manager We have a division also in the office. The people, I think it is the right, way to do our job because we have a lot of brand. So I think, one person dedicated to one brand, make more focus on the brand. So you have ten different brand managers. Yes. But is that in the end? I'm wondering cost efficient. We take always into a big consideration, the part of cost. But, our company have a true soil. Okay. One must market. And, I need, less work, less activity from marketing, you know, trade marketing. And that we have, the verifying wine, you know, And the forty five, brands, my priority is not cost or how many money I have to invest, but the quality of the wines. Is different approach and it depends on which kind of a brand I have to communicate. Mhmm. So I think it's interesting what you're saying. It's not simple. No. I just think it's challenging. Right? So it's a big job for one small lady, but I know you have a very big team behind it. But Rebecca, I want to ask you, you know, and I know this is a very cliche question. But as a woman, what were your main challenges to get to where you are today. I know it's a big question. I speak a question. I probably needs, an hour. Give me the skinny version. I think, woman are better than men in, okay. Stop. That's enough. No. In in some activities. Right. And, men are better in others. I can, I try to create in my company? I can give only my experience. I can, create a balance because all the two different, capabilities, are important, for a company. I work very well with a woman, because I am, smart. I, I pretend to do five things, in the same time. So woman are in this sense, more smart. Yeah. It's a My name is. Yeah. Yeah. Dynamic. I think when you say smart, Doesn't mean like yeah. They're able to do many things at the same time. Right? Yes. Mhmm. But probably for certain kind of activities, more relaxed, more thought before aging is better. I don't know. I don't know. So give me an example of your, team formation, like your immediate team formation. He was on your team on a day to day basis. My commercial director is a woman. Woman? She has a great experience. She has worked for, very big multinational company, one star for many years. So, she's able to talk with a person to manage a difficult, a complex process I'm very happy to work, with her. She take one plane, in a week. Okay. Today is, in Orlando. Tomorrow is in Orvega. Right. She's constantly traveling. Yes. And the discussion of the brain storming the idea are frequently and Continue. Talk. I have other expert manager. Mhmm. Very very good professionalist, with a big experience. I have, a lot of different kind of capabilities in my teams, independence, a woman, or man, I work, with the woman. Mhmm. I work with men. It's not, important for me. The important is the capabilities. Sure. The competence. The competence. And expertise. My CFO is, a man It's a very very Yeah. Precise. Precise. It is amazing. Well, you you have to be precise when you're working with numbers. Right? Yes. Yes. Yes. Not too many z My marketing director is a man. He's very smart in, analyze the market in, find the opportunity. I choose, the right person So this is where your HR expertise comes in. Yes. Yes. Yes. Surrounding yourself. Woman or man, is not important. The important, are the capabilities they have to do the job I have in my mind. But where are the the CF the director of marketing and the commercial director. Were they already there in place when you came to do your job? No. No. They're new people. No. Only the CFO. Was there when I came. Okay. And so did you change the the team formation once you got them in time? The first line. Yes. Okay. Alright. Wine to Wine Business Forum. Everything you need to get ahead in the world of wine, supersize your business network. Share business ideas with the biggest voices in the industry. Join us in Verona on November thirteen to fourteen twenty twenty three. Tickets available now at point blind dot net. So tell me a little bit about your typical typical day or typical week. Are you doing a lot of traveling? You have your private jet? To tell me all the same treasures. Oh, you are stuck in traffic, so I know you don't have your personal helicopter. No. No. No. Unfortunately, not yet. Not yet. May I ask my boss if for my birthday. I can receive the electricopter. It's very simple. In my day, start after the school of my children. I have two children. My son is fifteen and my daughter is nineteen. Oh, teenagers. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Teenagers. Yes. Are they good? Are they good? Yes. Yes. Maria Julia, start at the University. What is she studying. Medical and surgery, university. Oh, so she wants to become a doctor? Uh-huh. Here in verona. Okay. So very lucky. Very lucky, ma'am. I'm very lucky, Maria Julia. It's too good to have a doctor in the house. Yes. I'm a lower doctor. So we have old. Everything's taken care of. Yeah. Yes. Yes. And, Jammarco is, fifteen. It's not a simple period for him, for me, for my husband. It's a tough period. He's a good student. That's good. Children. Okay. Okay. So it start your day starts with your children. Okay. Right. Right. So we have a lot of questions together. Together. Yes. Wow. It's like it's like Molino Bianco family. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Far from Molino Bianco. You think Molino Bianco, we are very far from that. No. For our audience, Molino Bianco is a it's a brand owned by Arila, and they make cookies. They make biscuits and Traditionally, I know this is very odd for Americans, but the Italians have sweet stuff for breakfast. Yes. And there'll be like a sweet, you know, tort or a brioche or or cookies. And they always have this advertising, I recall like very romantic, idyllic kind of family, like the perfect family, you know, the neighbor from, you know, the family from, like, what Italians call aqua sappone, you know, the the water and, you know, you wash it with soap. It's a very lovely if you will, very romantic type of family. No. We are very normal. Very normal. We have breakfast together, but after that, we discuss we fight. Right. Right. We don't agree with a lot of, things so that you can imagine. So very normal. And then you go to the office. Then I go to the office I go often, to Paris because I am also the CEO of our our French company. Oh, okay. We have a French company very close to Paris. Fifteen minutes roughly called carnato. Carnato is a distributor company from, Italian food, spirit, beverage, It's very important. I'm sorry. It's a distribution company. Yes. Eighty million turnover. Mhmm. Two hundred employee. Very important. Do you speak French as well? No. I don't speak French. My general manager, they ask speaks very well, Italian, because Right. Has worked for one or two company in Italy for years. Oh, okay. So he helps me a lot, but, all my manager in France, knows English. Most of the manager there, speaks Italian because they work with Italian food, Italian restaurant. That's so funny. A very beautiful, amazing, The headquarters is in in Paris. It's a closed Paris. Okay. Fifty minutes. It's a bonue surmerna. Okay. But we have also a big shopper in the Mercati general. Mhmm. You said, I've never seen this. It's very interesting. If you want the next time, if you have time, we can't visit it. Absolutely. At four, I, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, that they prepare. Oh my goodness. The shop is very, very, very interesting. Oh, yeah. I would love that. When we're in Paris next time, you often go to Paris. How often? Twice a month. Okay. So that's quite often. Mhmm. But you travel also to other countries. Right? Yes. Very often to New York. Yeah. Because I am also the CEO of Another company. Yes. Friedrich Guine Man is our company, we have eighteen seven percent of the share. Mhmm. Eight seven. Eight seven. Uh-huh. Eighty seven. The other share are of a French shareholder. Mhmm. And Chateau fosse or Riviale and Chateaux. Because they're, yes, Chateaux. I love Chateaux. Yeah. I love it. I I was in Paris. There was like these small mini bottles. Uh-huh. It was like a special edition of the different types. The green. No. The green, the yellow, and the yellow, and that now one with the the cover of food Yeah. It's it was fabulous. I I was like, I hope they don't sequester these little mini bottles because and they're of course wonderful. I love chartres. Yes. And that's fantastic. So we have a grand opening at the end of November because they open. I don't know if I have, a well understanding, but I open a big shopping party. Oh, so you I want to come. Okay. I'm I'm there. Okay. I love Sharkruse. Okay. So, okay. So you go to you are often traveling to Paris you're often traveling to New York, I suppose. Right? In New York four times a year. Oh, okay. So, like, every two or three months. Yes. Okay. So then, what do you do with the rest of your time? I try to manage, the ten wineries. So I am in Italy. You manage ten wineries. Mhmm. Right? You have your CEO of the distribution company in Paris. Your CEO of the distribution company in America. In America, we are the import and distribution only for the state of New York, New Jersey. Okay. Not the rest of the country. I was like, oh, I didn't know that. Then what do you do with your wines to the rest of the country? I have, amazing commercial director. She's involved of, What's your name? Milena. Milena Fosati. Our vignard and the relationship with our winemaker in each one of this. I have the help of, Christian's Crinci. Oh, right. Right. Krista Scrinci. I know mister Scrinci. It's my colleague. It's not my employee. Right. Right. Right. It's very important for me for for the job. So what what are the what were the challenges? We were I asked you that question and you didn't really In my life, No. No. In the one second. No. How you got to this place where you are? What are the main challenges? We have to work to create more stability. Mhmm. Every year, I've been working, for this company, fourteen years, this year. Mhmm. And every year, sir, I have problem. The harvest, the the inflection, the Texas, the government, they were every year, I, I had, and I have problem. So I would like to create, most ability in my business I haven't to the answer. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, because if you have the answer, that's the million dollar question. Right? Yes. Yes. But I'll try. I have to try to to find it. For my employee. Uh-huh. We have more How many employees have are there at June? One thousand fifteen hundred. So fifteen hundred. Yeah. Fifteen hundred. Those are a lot of employees two hundred in the US, two hundred in, Paris. So it's very important that our business are going straight. Yes. Absolutely. That's a lot of responsibility. Right? Yes. But do you take your work also home? Are you thinking about work all the time? No. Unfortunately, I have a problem, to separate my business life and my. Yes. I have problem. I have always problem. Right. Right. Right. Right. Always a problem. But, in this moment, it's more difficult than in the past. Yeah. I feel like we're similar in that way because I know people say, like, you should separate your personal life, your private life from your work. But, I mean, I'm an entrepreneur, so even more so. Right? I feel like I'm completely married to my job. I'm not married to my one husband at all. I barely see him, actually. I am absolutely enthralled, but I love it, you know. And so you're constantly thinking about how you can make improvements and how you can make progress in what you do. Right? Yes. It's the same. I love my job. I always loved what I did, and I still love my job. It is a passion. I love to come to to work, to talk with my team, to to manage or to try to manage the difficulties. I love, But, when I come back, home, I still think Yes. And, I have a difficult to sleep. Yeah. You're constantly thinking. Yeah. You know, you're kind of a role model for young women who could be interested in exploring or venturing into the wine world. What are some of your advice? What is it some advice you can give to the young woman? Young woman, if they have a passion in wise, this is a a beautiful business. So they have to improve their competence. They have to be stronger than other? Stronger than other men or strong. Yeah. Other. A man. Yeah. Yes. Yes. I think that if a woman would like to reach some position ever to show that she's the right person. Mhmm. Yeah. It's it's you assume that you assume that a man is good for the terminated job. But, yeah, I think a woman have to demonstrate before To be better. Yes. Yeah. So, like, you start You better to demonstrate before. Yeah. It's tough. Right? It's tough for being a woman. It's tough. It's tough, but you know perfectly. When, we go around the world. And, in the important table, we are free. Yeah. No. Sure. Often, I'm alone because And probably to our owner. Yeah. So it's very difficult, but I hope that in the future for the young woman who want to take this path. It is, beautiful, interesting, never the same every year. Every wines is different because the harvest. Right. Because they harvest the wetter. It's very exciting. Yeah. It's very different from the spirits business. Right? Yes. Yes. The wine you have there's this element nature involved, which you have no control of. Right? Not control. You you can only pray. Yeah. Pray. I'm agnostic, so I don't know how that's going to work out. But, Elizabeth, speaking just very briefly about the harvest, right? Because you have wineries from the very northern part, you know, to the very southern part. Mhmm. You know, Nino negri to to Rapita la. How is the harvest looking for this, sir, for your companies? It's it's difficult. Because, we have not, quantities, in our vineyard. It was a very difficult harvest, but, We have, just begun. So I can't tell you better in a month. Minon Agree, we we start in October. Right. Maybe for the red, the embassy decata, or in October, So, for the moment, we, we have experience only for the wine. Yeah. What about the Ferranospora, the Downy mildew? Was that a problem for the company? For our vineyard, the Fort Lauderdale, Okay. That's already a big deal. Yes. Yes. But, for example, in basilicata, I know that my neighbors, have the have the the problem. Right. Different, Oscar. Yeah. Our production Right. Okay. Listen, Rebecca, thank you so much for popping by today. Did you want to say anything else before we, wrap this up? Thank you. Thank you for It's been so sorry for the late. You know, you know, it's okay. It's been such a long time that we we've been meaning to have you as our guest, but it's you're so busy. You're a busy woman. Right? So even to just get you pop by and we live in Verona together, but sometimes it's not easy to synchronize or adjust this. Yeah. So thank you so much for coming in, and I think. Absolutely is an inspirational role model for especially the young women. You are a true manager. Right? Because you're not it's not your family business. I mean, you are not born into the business, and she is running this company with fifteen hundred employees all over the world. And Congratulations. And I think that is a wrap. Thank you for joining us today, and don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your pods. And we also have that sister channel, the video channel. It's called mama jumbo shrimp on YouTube. That's it. Until next time. Chinchin with Italian wine people. Thank you for joining us on another installment of On the Road Edition, hosted by Stevie Kim. Join her again next week for more interesting content in the Italian wine scene. You can also find us at Italian wine podcast dot com or wherever you get your pods. You can also check out our YouTube channel. Mama jumbo shrimp to watch these interviews and the footage captured of each location.