Devoto Design wins the Italian export Award 2023!
Devoto Design wins the Italian export Award 2023! We are thrilled to receive such an important international award. We are proud of celebrating the success of an all-women team, grown up also thanks to the internationalization process that brought us to this great result.. Watch the video of the award ceremony!
“AFTER THE ONLINE VOTING THAT INVOLVED THOUSANDS OF PARTICIPATING COMPANIES, it was Devoto Design – a company from Latina specialized in custom-made furnishings for hospitality, collective spaces, offices and luxury residential projects especially in the Middle-east, to win the Italian Export Award by Uniexportmanager, an association of internationalization professionals, numerous institutions, business organizations and companies..” (Adnkronos, link below)
Thanks everybody for the double award!
We thank all our collegues for helping us accomplish this achievement; we thank Italian Export Award for selecting us and we thank all the people that chose us and voted for us.
We are double happy because our export sales manager Marina Manfrin also won the “Best Export Manager” award.
A special thank to the team that has developed and carried out the internationalization project in the last years: Cecilia Devoto (CEO), Marianna Devoto, (architect & CCO), Marina Manfrin (Export Manager) and Laura Bertuccioli (General Manager at Obiettivo LLC and Business Developer for Devoto Design).
We asked them to share their thoughts about this award, its meaning, the project and the methodology that brought the company to it. Because behind this great result an all-women team has worked hard to develop this internationalization project. Marianna Devoto, company owner and CCO, told us:
“DURING THE PRIZE-GIVING CEREMONY, as I heard our name I felt a bit shocked and overwhelmed! There were so many things I wanted to say.. beside thanking our employees, all the people that voted for us and Laura Bertuccioli for “letting us into the world”, I would have liked to say something to all the small and medium companies like us. I would have liked to tell them that the internationalization process is hard and asks you to get out of your comfort zone, to change your habits (dress-code, food, time tables) and to question the typical “We’ve always done it this way”.. but it is a necessary process to become a known brand and it is an adventure that you don’t have to do by yourself: export managers, business developers, public fundings, specific associations and a lot of energy can help you start this adventure and never feel alone!”
“This award – Massimo Cugusi, president of the Italian Export Award says – was born with an ambitious goal: that of collecting the Italian successful export stories, finding out their winning elements and sharing them with all those companies that are not into export yet. It is not the performance or the export turnover of the company to be evaluated, but the ability of that company, of that story to stimulate and encourage other companies, their ability to be a reference point for those who want to export but don’t know where to start.”
Watch the video of the Italian Export Award ceremony!
Click play and watch the winner proclamation
Made in Italy internationalization with an all-women team!
Cecilia Devoto (CEO):
“THE INTERNATIONALIZATION PROCESS is complex and engaging at the same time. It takes all the people in the company, from the top roles to the base ones, to be projected towards a million new different worlds. It means welcoming new ideas, new work methods, new production mechanisms. It means planning a long-term strategy and sticking to it until the project is feasible and ready to start. It is a challenging adventure! Our company was lucky to already have a massive experience with foreign projects: a fertile ground for this new adventure. Then we met Laura Bertuccioli that encouraged all of us (especially Marina!) to believe that exporting was the key to grow our market and our turnover. Together with Marianna and our father we decided to give it a try and start to think like a real export company. From that moment on – with ups and downs – we have worked hard and we have achieved some great results. We can’t wait to explore new markets, cultures and countries!”
Marina Manfrin (Export Manager):
“An EXPORT MANAGER not only shares the company vision and mission, but actively takes part in the construction of a strategic plan that inevitably brings the company out of its comfort zone, away from what is already “known” and what “we know how to do”. You start with learning the language, main communication tool, and then you try to learn the most you can about the culture, the habits and rules of the new markets and countries; you put your technical and commercial skills to the service of the target market and clients. It is a never-ending preparation, study and customization of our work to let the client feel exclusive and special and give them the highest added value. It is a process that shows – at every step – the openness of the company to internationalization, aware that our strength is in the resources and their commitment. The Italian Export Award, from this point of view, was a precious opportunity to share my personal experience as Export Sales Manager, and also an encouragement to keep on living this great adventure!”
Laura Bertuccioli (General Manager at Obiettivo LLC and Business Developer for Devoto Design):
“TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE BIG SUCCESS OF AN ALL-WOMEN TEAM, grown together in this internationalization process that has led us to stand out worldwide, starting from complex markets such as the Arab ones, especially Qatar. We debuked the myth and prejudice about these countries that – despite what most people might think – actually encourage women entrepreneurs and support their women’ education and professional education with programmes of the highest level. These countries welcome international women entrepreneurs – I founded Obiettivo Qatar in Doha – now Obiettivo LLC – in 2007. Working with Marianna, Cecilia, and Marina is stimulating because this team has proved to be able to handle every challenge we had to face and is constantly pointing to the next steps and conquests, like the Saudi Arabian market we are currently dealing with. As a woman, this makes me even more proud and I hope this can be an example for all those women entrepreneurs that want to put themselves in the game and get out of their comfort zone.”
Meet the team
Who are they? What do they do? What’s their background?
CECILIA Devoto – Owner and CEO at Devoto Design
Cecilia studied Sociology and got her masters in HR to side (and then replace) her mother in the company general management. After her degree, she immediately started to work at the family company first with her mother and then with her father Claudio, learning all the secrets about carpentry and production. In 2014 with her sister Marianna she decides to found Devoto Design, a spin-off of Devoto srl, specialized in the engineering, management and production of complex bespoke furnishings. Today, she is the CEO of the company, as well as the COO and HR manager.
MARIANNA Devoto – Owner and CCO at Devoto Design
Marianna studied architecture in Rome and Valparaìso (Chile). After her degree, she worked in some architectural firms in Rome. Then she decided to join the family company as a project manager. Soon she decided to move to the sales area until she became area manager. She is the one who created the marketing and communication area of the company, well knowing the importance of studying the market and give visibility to the company. In 2014 she founded Devoto Design with her sister Cecilia and she currently is the CCO and CMO of the company.
MARINA Manfrin – Export Sales Manager at Devoto Design
Longstanding figure at Devoto despite her young age, she started working for Devoto when computers were as big as rooms! During her long journey she covered different positions: buyer, sales assistant, project management supervisor, and then export sales manager, role she currently has. Her massive and long-time experience and her professional skills are the keys to her big success!
LAURA Bertuccioli – Owner and CEO at Obiettivo LLC, Business Developer and Local Consultant for Devoto Design
With more than 25 years of experience in business and commercial management, in 2007 Laura moved to Doha, Qatar, foreseeing its expansion and growth, and being able, then, to be part of the development processes of this great city. She founded Obiettivo Qatar (now Obiettivo LLC), a business development company that supports and guides Italian excellences through the internationalization and marketing process in the middle-east countries.
Learn more:
- Italian Export Award > official website
- “Devoto Design wins the Italian Export Award by Uniexportmanager”> official statement on the Italian Export Award website
- “Devoto Design wins the Italian Export Award by Uniexportmanager” > read the article on Adnkronos
congratulations very impressive
Thank you Iko. Yourself and Nyloft played an important part in this achievement of ours. We will do great things together!