Octagona Srl/About us

Who We Are

We support companies that, like yours, strongly want
to discover new markets and profit from them.
With more than 100 direct employees operating in over 40 countries, we support you in developing your potential and seizing the unmissable opportunities of international markets.

We support companies that, like yours, strongly want
to discover new markets and profit from them.
With more than 100 direct employees operating in over 40 countries, we support you in developing your potential and seizing the unmissable opportunities of international markets.

Octagona
Our history

Founded in 2002, Octagona has grown because it has always made its customers grow, solving problems, finding solutions and bringing results.

Already accredited providers by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, by Emilia-Romagna Region, by Lombardia Region and by Veneto Region for the provision of business internationalization services, we have carried out hundreds of projects, developing and building successful internationalization strategies.

We know how to engage in dialogue with people from different cultures to realize growth and development through involvement. We offer the market a unique approach based on widespread international presence. We are where you are.

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What makes the difference

For over 20 years, more than 950 projects

Customisation

Some people offer the same service to all customers, but for us you are unique. Our services are tailor-made. We listen to your needs and build the path together.

Opportunity

We support leading “Made in Italy” companies to seize opportunities in international markets. We will help you reach your goals and beat the competition.

Ethics

Our aim is to help you generate turnover and profitability from your project.
We aim to achieve this without ever neglecting clarity,, transparency and sincerity right from the start.

NUMBERS

Many are improvisers in this sector, but we are not.

Twenty years' experience, direct presence in foreign markets through subsidiaries and specific expertise have enabled us to achieve many results.

2002

foundation year

20

years of activity

12

offices Worldwide

3

continents with direct presence

40

countries where we operate

50

direct collaborators

950

successful projects

700

supported firms

1000

ideas to realize

OCTAGONA TEAM

You can count on us with over 100 direct employees in more than 40 Countries worldwide.

Experienced, multi-ethnic professionals specialised in business internationalisation.

We aim to make projects profitable, but we do this by investing in the 'right people', those capable of getting your company to achieve its goals within the defined timeframe.

Alessandro Fichera

CEO and President of the Board

Internationally experienced consultant specialised in mechanical engineering, food, fashion and retail sector. He is the advocate of hundreds of successful projects for Italian SMEs in over 40 countries.

He is also a trainer for ICE, CIS and other training organizations with a strong international vocation. He has lived in England, Ireland, France and India for many years. Milano Finanza lists him among the 100 most influential people for doing business in India.

Michele Bonfiglioli

Board Member

He holds a degree in Management Engineering from the University of Bologna, a Diploma in Business Administration from Berkeley University, California (USA), and was a Research Fellow in Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Nottingham.

Since 2002, he has been Managing Director of Bonfiglioli Consulting, and founder of the Lean Factory School®: he is an expert on Lean Thinking and Lean World Class® topics (applications in the area of design, production, project management) particularly in the automotive, industrial goods, electronics and pharmaceutical sectors.

He edits thematic publications and international Benchmarking studies on Operational Excellence.

Languages spoken: Italian (native speaker), English

Umberto Mirani

Board Member

A graduate in Environmental and Resource Engineering from the University of Bologna, he was a designer of pneumatic conveying systems for an engineering company.

In 2000, he began his career as an expert in Lean Thinking and Lean World Class® philosophy at Bonfiglioli Consulting, for the automotive, industrial goods, pharmaceutical, food&beverage and fashion sectors. Today he is a partner in Bonfiglioli Consulting with the role of Senior Partner & Principal Digitalization.

With the birth of the Bonfiglioli Consulting | Octagona group, he has become Adivsor of Octagona.

Vishnu Krishna

Director - Octagona India

Master's degree in International Business & Marketing and a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Vishnu has more than 22 years of professional experience, having worked in the purchasing division for an Indian automotive company and as a local manager for a Japanese company; he also worked for the Australian Trade Commission and later as a freelance consultant offering market entry services in the Indian market for an Australian and a U.S. company.

He started working for Octagona India Pvt. Ltd. starting in February 2014.

Languages spoken: Hindi (native) and English (native).

She has been working with Octagona as a Senior Associate Consultant since 2018.

Monica Sessi

Senior Consultant

A graduate in foreign languages and literature at the University of Parma.

She has been part of the Octagona team since its foundation. She coordinates teams for internationalization projects. She is also the organization's administrative and financial manager.

In the past, she was a marketing collaborator and consultant for personnel selection/training in important Italian studios.

Spoken languages: Italian (mother tongue), English, French.

Matteo Setti

Senior Consultant

Matteo has 15 years' experience in accompanying medium and small Italian companies abroad, gained in both public and private sectors. He has also been Senior Project Manager and Event Specialist for international promotion projects, as well as lecturer in many seminars on internationalisation.

Costantino Ferrandino

Senior Consultant

Graduated in Business Administration from Ca' Foscari Venice with a specialisation in Business Organisation.

He has thirty years of international experience in various sectors, such as textile-clothing, mechanical engineering and ICT. He is an expert in both family businesses and multinational contexts where he has held general management, commercial, supply chain and management control positions.

He has lectured at the CUOA in Vicenza.

Brando Bruschi

Project manager

A graduate in International Management from Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia in 2018. During his university studies, he had the opportunity to carry out two Erasmus, respectively at the University of Cadiz and the University Carlos III of Madrid.

Before joining Octagona he was involved as a Business Analyst for a Big Four in projects related to the coordination of IT and Business departments in order to improve the strategy and performance of the credit process (with focus on origination) of a major pan-European banking institution in Germany.

He also had the opportunity to deepen topics related to Agile mode (with related Scrum Master certification), RPA, Data Quality and Corporate Investment Banking. Since December 2019, he has been a project manager for Octagona.

Languages spoken: Italian (native speaker), English, Spanish.

Sara Bertazzini

Project manager

Graduated in International Management from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in 2019. Durante gli studi universitari ha avuto l’opportunità di partecipare al programma Erasmus “Doppia laurea”. Specifically, she studied at Augsburg University of Applied Sciences and worked as an intern at an aviation company.

Later, she worked as a licensing and royalty administrator at a publishing house and as a business analyst at an IT consulting firm. The latter experience allowed her to manage digitization projects (drafting business requirements, coordinating both IT and Business, and monitoring the testing phase) in the commercial environment at a major player in the insurance industry.

In addition, she was involved in an internal program aimed at creating greater collaboration with other European subsidiaries. She contributed by coordinating the Italian team in different activities and joining the European resource management.

Since July 2022 she has been working as a project manager at Octagona.

Languages spoken: Italian (native), English, German and French.

Lucia Marchi

Temporary Export Manager

Graduated in in Economics and Business, Faculty of International Trade, from the University of Bratislava (Slovakia).

She joined the Octagona team in October 2015 as a Business Analyst to carry out foreign trade support activities for various business internationalisation projects, in the role of Interim Export Manager.

Previously, she gained work experience at several international companies, including Austrian Airlines in Slovakia, as part of the commercial team. She also worked in France carrying out commercial support activities for the Honorary Consulate of Nicaragua in Lyon and carried out training and consultancy activities for French companies.

In Italy he worked for various companies carrying out commercial support activities for import-export services, as Manager for Eastern European countries.

Spoken languages: Slovak (mother tongue), Italian, Czech, English, French, German and Russian.

Erica Lugli

Accounting

Diploma in Accounting from the Antonio Meucci High School in Carpi.

Since 2007 she has been working at Octagona as an administrative assistant.

Spoken: Italian (Mother tongue), English.

Davide Bergamini

Digital Marketing Consultant

Graduated in Economics & Management at the University of Venice. EMBA at Quantic University in Washington DC.

Web manager and Digital Marketing Consultant, he takes care of several projects for important Italian and international companies. Owner of two agencies specialised in digital marketing in Italy and Switzerland, he joined the Octagona team from 2019 as a strategic support figure for the Digital Export activities.

Spoken languages: Italian, English, Spanish and French.

Ester Temperato

Associate Consultant

Bachelor's degree in International Relations, Master's degree for International Functions, Master's degree in Business Administration (Ex. MBA) in marketing and strategic management.

About 18 years of professional experience started in the foreign bidding office of an engineering company in Palermo. Later worked in a consulting firm in Florence as a consultant for internationalization of SMEs and worked with a consortium of companies in the fashion industry in Arezzo as Financial Officer managing technical reporting and accounting activities for a European project.

For eight years employed at the Commercial Section of the Embassy of Pakistan in Rome where she supervised and managed activities regarding export promotion and investment in diverse in strategic sectors. She later worked as Senior Internationalization Consultant and Temporary Export Manager (TEM) at the international division of a consulting firm in the province of Reggio Emilia.

She is a certified D-TEM consultant, regularly deals with internationalization and foreign investment attraction and collaborates with several international institutions.

Languages spoken: Italian (mother tongue), English, Spanish

Davide Pedrolli

Associate Consultant

Degree in Law with a Transnational and European focus from the University of Trento and Advanced Training Course in International Trade and Marketing.

During his university studies, he had the opportunity to carry out an Erasmus year in Trier, Germany, interspersed with experience at the Tonji University in Shanghai, and research thesis in food law at the Universidad de Pais Vasco in San Sebastian, Spain.

A commercial consultant mainly dedicated to the world of Food & Beverage, he is particularly specialised in the Nordic-Scandinavian markets. Freelance freelance journalist accredited at international institutes as well as collaborator with Scandinavian newspapers, active as promoter and seller of Italian quality products in both retail and food service. Since December 2021 he has been Associate Consultant for Octagona.

Spoken languages: Italian (mother tongue), English, German, Spanish, Swedish.

Andrea Tirelli

Senior Associate Consultant

Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; Master's degree in International Business management; specialization in International Marketing at Mesa State College - Colorado USA and a lecturer at the University of Modena and Reggio, from May 1993 to September 1997.

After significant business experience in the role of controller and strategic and operational planning gained in strongly export-oriented companies, in 1998 he began consulting activities, specializing in the development of internationalization strategies and business plan development.

He currently carries out consulting activities with particular reference to: internationalization, penetration and localization of the company in foreign markets.

He is an accredited consultant at Confindustria Emilia Romagna for internationalization policies and collaborates with several territorial offices of Confindustria; he also lectures and trains at several training institutions.

Languages spoken: Italian (mother tongue), English, French

Pietro Paolo Alessandrello

Senior Associate Consultant

Degree in mechanical engineering, to date business consultant with long experience in internationalization, business turn-around and business development.

He also holds the position of Lecturer of seminars on internationalization for IGAMI and GES (Ca' Foscari University of Venice) postgraduate masters and Professional accredited by the Lombardy Region as Manager of business networks for internationalization, innovation and business turn-around.

He has been, among other positions held, Vice President of the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce in Mumbai and COO for Rosetti Marino Group's foreign subsidiaries.

Since 2016 he has been actively collaborating with Octagona as Associate Consultant, regarding the construction of internationalization projects.

Languages spoken: Italian (mother tongue), English.

Mario Giacomelli

Senior Associate Consultant

Based in Canada, Mario supports European SMEs in their internationalisation process in North America.

With more than a decade of experience in consulting and business development for start-ups and SMEs he knows what it takes to successfully launch a new business and product in North America.

Experienced in developing international partnerships and managing operations for companies in the mechanical engineering, technology, furniture and food processing industries.

He has been working with Octagona as an Associate Senior Consultant since 2020.

Spoken languages: Italian, English, Spanish.

Simone Cassola

Senior Associate Consultant

Degree in Economics and Commerce from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, with specialization in Business Management and Administration.

After a few years of experience in accounting firms with an international vocation, starting in 2000 he began working for a cosmetics company as Corporate Controller and moved to Latin America for more than a decade to follow the production and commercial branches throughout the area. He lived in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, becoming the corporate point of reference and assuming the local function of CFO and Head of Operations, also for another cosmetics company.

Since 2014, he returned to Italy and began his consulting activity aimed mainly at companies already present in Latin America (who need to reorganize their presence in the areas of tax, legal, industrial, finance) and companies not yet present in the area that want to start the internationalization process.

Languages Spoken: Italian (native speaker), Spanish, Portuguese, English

Maurizio Arletti

Senior Associate Consultant

Extensive experience in the world of export and internationalization. After various experiences as Export Manager in companies in the automotive, plant engineering and wine sectors, he moved to Australia for two years as Resident Manager for the Far East and Oceania for a large Scandinavian group.

Following this experience, he returned to Europe as Managing Director of a manufacturing company in the ceramics sector in Germany, for which he also personally supervised the entire business network development part worldwide.

In 2006 he founded an international consulting company and from 2007 he also held the position of Managing Director for the Italian holding company of a Chinese company.

From January 2020 he actively joins Octagona as Senior Associate Consultant.

Languages spoken: Italian (native speaker), English, German

Maurizio Accinni

Senior Associate Consultant

Law degree from Sapienza University of Rome with 110 cum laude.

He held the position of Head of Relations with Financial Institutions Asia Region in BNL from 1979 to 2002, also holding the positions of Director of the Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and New York Offices. Until 2018, he was the Head of Internationalization Activity Development of BNL BNP Paribas Group at the Head Office in Rome, where he also held the position of India Desk Manager.

During his professional experiences, he has periodically acted as a trainer / lecturer in internal courses of BNL officers and top management on various topics (internationalization, country risk, supporting financial processes of development abroad). Awarded the title of Officer of Merit of the Italian Republic in October 2003 and the title of Master of Labor in May 2014.

Since 2018 he has been working with Octagona as a Senior Associate Consultant.

Languages spoken: Italian (native speaker), English and French.

Filip Korinek

Senior Associate Consultant

Filip is a senior consultant with 29 years of experience in the field of strategic market research, with extensive experience in assisting companies in assessing market potential, choosing the best route to market, identifying and contacting potential customers and distribution partners.

Filip holds a master's degree in economics from Charles University in Prague. His dissertation was nominated for the J. Vavrousek Prize. He also studied on a scholarship at the University of Paris I - Sorbonne.

His professional experience includes work at the US Embassy in Prague and the World Bank. He speaks fluent English, good French and basic German, in addition to his mother tongue, Czech.

Sarath Menon

Senior Associate Consultant

A market entry consultant with 30 years of experience in advising companies which wish to develop a market entry strategy or realise their business expansion in South East Asia.

Sarath is based in Singapore and is the managing director of Orissa International, which has a network of offices across the region, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Prior to working for Orissa International, he managed a US government-funded export program.

He has been working with Octagona as an associate consultant since 2020.

He is fluent in English and Malaysian.

Ankit Kumar

Senior Business Analyst - Octagona India

Ankit holds a bachelor's degree in manufacturing engineering. Prior to joining Octagona India, he worked for 5 years in various multinational companies in Technical Sales and Business Development duties. He has also worked in the franchise industry for various international brands to enter the Indian market.

Spoken languages: Hindi (native), English

Upender Kumar

Manager Accounts and Taxation - Octagona India

Bachelor's degree in commerce from the University of Delhi, has more than 10 years of experience in accounting, finance, direct and indirect taxes, statutory audits, tax audits, internal audits, and preparation and submission of sales and service tax returns.

He previously worked for a leading firm of Chartered Accountants providing services in the field of accounting and tax matters in India.

He has been working in Octagona India since June 2016.

Languages spoken: Hindi (native speaker)

Ajay Chaurasia

Head of Taxation and Accounts - Octagona India

Degree in Accounting for Chartered Accountants in 2010 from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

He has more than 14 years of experience in accounting, finance, direct and indirect taxes, statutory audit, tax audits, internal audits and preparation and submission of sales and service tax returns.

He has previously worked for a major accountancy firm in India and for an IT company.

Spoken languages: Hindi (mother tongue) and English (mother tongue).

Anshul Sharma

Senior Manager - Octagona India

A graduate in Statistics from the University of Delhi, he also earned an MBA in Marketing and International Business from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in New Delhi.

He has a strong consulting sales background and over 11 years of experience in Business Development, Account Management, Sales & Marketing. He has previously worked with companies such as IndiaMart, Crisil, Infraline Energy, and FranGlobal.

Spoken languages: Hindi (native), English

Nidhi Balla

Manager Administration & HR - Octagona India

Degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi and post-graduate specialization in Public Relations and Advertising.

She has over 15 years of work experience with various Indian companies in a wide range of sectors. She has mainly worked within the following areas: Operations, Administration and Corporate Communications.

Since 2019, she has been working at Octagona India as an administrative clerk.

Bansari Joshi

Legal Consultant - Octagona India

A graduate from Symbiosis College in Pune, she holds a law degree from ILS Law College in Pune. She specialized in legal drafting, due diligence, negotiating and providing legal solutions in complex matters.

She also has experience in managing corporate compliance, dealing with government authorities and advising on the protection of intellectual property rights.

Spoken languages: Gujarati (mother tongue), English, Hindi, Marathi, French (basic), Italian (basic).

Pooja Chaurasia

Senior Executive - Octagona India

She is currently pursuing an MBA Finance at IMT University in Ghaziabad. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi, and a Master's degree in Commerce from IGNOU, New Delhi.

She began her career at Octagona India as an Accounts Executive in October 2017. She specializes in indirect taxes and compliance.

Spoken languages: Hindi (native), English

U.M. Deviprasada

Senior Executive Accounts - Octagona India

Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from Mangalore University, India.

More than 11 years of experience in the following areas: accounting, finance, auditing, direct and indirect tax, preparation and filing of tax returns, sales tax and related services.

He previously worked for a leading firm of Chartered Accountants and a major manufacturing company, providing services in accounting and tax matters.

OUR GROUP

In a world of relationships, we believe that having solid partnerships is crucial to making a difference.

In 2017 we forged a strong partnership with Bonfiglioli Consulting and in 2022 we consolidated it by creating the in 2022 consolidated it by creating the Bonfiglioli Consulting - Octagona Group, which presents itself as a unique interlocutor to support companies in achieving the best competitive positioning and which is split into 4 scenarios developed specifically for business internationalization:

Business Design & Execution

Expanding on a specific market supported by market analysis through specific penetration strategies in a predefined target.

Business Growth & Integration

Develop business in the markets already covered and improve integration between Headquarters and local offices.

Operations Evolution

Align Operations to integrate the activities of branches, distributors, agents and local representatives with Headquarters.

Supply Chain Evolution

Redesigning the supply chain from an international perspective to improve efficiency and profitability.

Bonfiglioli Consulting

Consulting and redesign of processes and organisations

Octagona

International Business Services

Lean Factory School®

Training and certification paths

Soa Human Resources

Selection, Evaluation and Development of Human Resources

Digibelt

Industry 4.0, tecnologia e Data Science

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