ESCP ALUMNI magazine - #205 - Mars 2024 - 40

D
Dossier ❙ Interview
" It's a privilege to be made
constantly uncomfortable by
new things you need to learn
and comprehend "
Ever since he was a child, Normanno PISANI (MiM 17) has always been a globetrotter.
After Argentina, Spain and France, the 31-year-old Italian landed in Great Britain. For the past
five years, he has worked at TikTok as Global Head of Editorial. Despite the London greyness,
it's with a smile that he looks back on his career and talks about the great opportunities offered
to brands by the platform.
I passed my 'baccalauréat' - my major was
economics and social sciences (ES) - in a
French high school. The idea my parents
wanted us to integrate was: yes, you are
Italian, but you've got to expand your horizon
as much as possible, you've got to learn as
much as possible, you've got to travel as
much as possible. In some ways, that's what
led me to choose ESCP as a business school.
Normanno PISANI (MiM 17)
global Entertainment Partnerships Lead
at TikTok
You're from Rome originally. You
now live in London for six years and
a half. You're quite the city guy...
Normanno PISANI: I've always been a city
guy! I have a very international background.
When I was 2 years old, my dad got a job
offer in Argentina. In one month and a half,
he decided to move the whole family - I have
two brothers and one sister, four kids is quite
a big family - to Buenos Aires. I lived there
for four years. The family motto is: you've got
to be international. That is why in Argentina
- despite both my parents are Italian - my
brothers, my sister and I went to a French
school. Even when we came back to Rome,
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Thanks to ESCP's program, you
visited five different cities in two
years, in four different countries,
right?
N.P: Yes, the first year was in Turin. Then I
ended up in Milan for an internship, where
I worked in venture capital. I've always
been very passionate about technology. So
I was really interested in understanding
how startups financing was functioning at
the time. The second year at ESCP was in
Madrid. Then I did an internship at Amazon
in Luxembourg. The third year was in Paris
and I finished back in Milan in Google Cloud.
What impact has traveling had on
your career?
N.P: It's had an impact on my career in
ESCP Alumni Magazine numéro 205 ❙ MARS 2024
several ways. In Madrid, I had a friend who
had done his internship at Nintendo. That's
when it hit me: " I can actually work at the
intersection between creativity, entertainment
and technology " . I could choose something
that I enjoy, that is interesting for me. It was
quite a turning point. Then, I think traveling
makes people very adaptable. Every time
you change countries, you basically have to
restart all over again. Even the basics like a
bank account, your phone number, finding a
flat, learning how to navigate the culture...
You're used to constant change. Traveling is
the best way to connect with new people,
with new cultures, new ways of thinking. It
also teaches you empathy, I think.
As it happens, adaptability is quite a
crucial skill in your current position
at TikTok...
N.P: Definitely! That's the important bit.
As far as I'm concerned, it's a privilege to
be made constantly uncomfortable by new
things you need to learn and comprehend.
When you work in an organization like the
one I currently work for, things are constantly
evolving. We are constantly looking for new
ways to empower creativity. I've been in the
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ESCP ALUMNI magazine - #205 - Mars 2024

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