my story
Chapter one: the origin of Fabrizio
I was born May 18th 1975 in Lecco a small and beautiful town on the Lake of Como where I spent my childhood and teenage years.
In 1977 my mom Giovanna and my dad Alfredo had my brother Andrea.
That branch of the Lake of Como, which turns toward the south between two unbroken chains of mountains, presenting to the eye a succession of bays and gulfs, formed by their jutting and retiring ridges, suddenly contracts itself between a headland to the right and an extended sloping bank on the left, and assumes the flow and appearance of a river.
(Alessandro Manzoni, I Promessi Sposi)
In those years which I don’t remember very well, I loved to play football as striker, I learnt to play piano and I did my civil service helping disabled guys in the day by day needs.
Chapter two: the ibm era
After finishing my studies I started working for IBM which became my second family for almost 18 years.
During those amazing years I built up my professional and human skills, I travelled the world and met amazing people.
I covered a lot of job roles and responsibilities which I loved so much; IBM corporate culture of striving to improve, leading by example and client first enabled the professional I am today.
In 2010 I graduated at Warwick University (Warwick Business School) with a Master degree in Business & Administration; this incredible experience opened my mind and gave me the tools to start thinking about my next life phase.
Chapter three: Charley & Milano
After graduating I met Charlene (read My Love Section for more details). and in 2012 I moved to Milano which at that time, was in the preparation for 2015 EXPO, and you could feel the excitement in the air.
I always dreamt to live in Milano, and since I move there, my life began to change, new doors opened, I made new acquaintances and soon GWD was about to come to life.
Chapter Four: the Dubai bound
Immediately after I had the incredible chance of working in the Middle East (based in Dubai) where I was responsible for Marketing & Communication of the IBM Middle East & Africa organization, having my responsibilities from Pakistan to South Africa.
I discovered new cultures, different languages, breathtaking places, inspiring stories travelling across Africa…for sure it had been the most incredible job experience in my IBM career.
Chapter five: gwd was born
One Sunday in October (exactly 22nd October 2012) I created GWD Facebook page whilst still working at IBM, and with a lot of sacrifices the page kept growning; therefore I created all the other social media accounts.
After almost two wonderful years, the IBM international assignment in Dubai came to an end, so I returned to Italy and unfortunately I was assigned to a job which didn’t give me the motivation I needed.
With the continuos growth of GWD network, in 2013 we opened gentlemensweardaily.com with a very small e-commerce to address our readers desire of purchasing exclusive pieces.
The more my GWD project developed, the more I felt a need for a drastic change in my life, then in 2015, thanks to a sabbatical program promoted by IBM, I decided to leave the company and focus 100% on GWD.
Chapter six: a new adventure
Starting January 1st 2016, I was embracing my new life, without fear, without regrets.
I was eager to discover a new world, to travel to new destinations, to get inspired by new stories to tell…
The very first story we told was at Pitti 89, where we shot a cool and inspirational video too..
Pitti is a special moment for GWD, Florence is a magical city and during Pitti it becomes the centre of the world’s Mens style.
I still remember the first Pitti I attended (Pitti 84), the incredible and overwhelming emotions I felt during those days.
And many stories followed…
Chapter seven: what's next?
Sincerely I don’t know…
We are still in the middle of a global pandemic, everyone’s perspective has changed and priorities updated.
For sure I still want to get inspired and inspire people…
Keep you posted…Fabrizio.
