Laura Pelaez and Fedrigoni: a career story, from internship to the Transformation Team

Laura Pelaez, 28, Colombian, experienced three continents and is fluent in five languages. Data analysis is what she’s keen on and recently joined Fedrigoni’s Transformation team. Laura feels lucky as she has never faced the gender stereotypes often hindering women getting more involved in STEM studies and professional roles, even in developed countries. “I have always been into [data analysis] since high school so I decided to major in Management Engineering with my family always supporting me in this move”.

Management Engineering is mainly about organisation and business processes, closely linked to our digital age. Thus, after her degree, Laura worked in several corporations, gathering new skills in computer programming and getting even more enthusiastic about data science. Her quest for knowledge inspired a desire to revert to further studies and she moved to Italy to attend a Postgraduate Master in Business Analytics and Big Data at Politecnico di Milano. “Once completed the Master last October, I focused on staying in Italy and started looking for a job. After a few months, via Linkedin, I stumbled across an internship that brought me into Fedrigoni, with just the role I was looking for!” Laura is now part of the Transformation team at Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives, the division producing self-adhesive materials. “I am working with our Latin American offices. Being Colombian and fluent in the language is a plus: we are leading a challenging transition in sales processes, aimed at improving efficiency and information sharing through data”.

Fedrigoni has plenty of job openings for women graduated in engineering in a range of company departments – Operations, Innovation and R&D, Transformation, Digital, to name but a few – offering demanding roles and challenges. Opportunities and career development paths based on equity, stemming from a better insight of the needs, wishes and lifestyles of each person, are essentials for the company. Fedrigoni Group employs over 5000 people in 28 countries and 5 continents.

Reaching 35% of women in managerial roles by 2030 is one of our ESG goals; supporting and enhancing female leadership in STEM sectors, traditionally considered ‘male’, is a priority.

Laura is just about to start her adventure at Fedrigoni, yet her wishes are set positive and ambitious. “I can see plenty of learning and growth potential at Fedrigoni. I am eager for the chance to improve the way we get work done every day. Right away I felt a close connection with my colleagues and the leaders I work with, whom I get inspired by, my manager first.I am confident my work can be effective, as data management is the core of our decision-making processes. In the coming years I hope my further experience will lead me to better understand Fedrigoni mission and contribute to its far-reaching growth path to really move the needle”.