OUR STORY

THE DAWN

OF DISAL

DISCOVER MORE

A couple of years ago, five beautiful minds faced a dilemma. Well-trained in economics, marketing and management, all five professionals encountered a decision: to live a balanced life in the places they loved or fulfil their ambitions by working on global projects with world-class companies. 

The choice lay between fancy business cards or a window by the sea, between the job of their dreams or the love of their life. Often, it meant weighing the pros and cons of an office full of brilliant colleagues in a cold, hectic city versus the option of being free to stay close to family and explore the world. At each fork in the road, the latter always mattered the most. Yes, but doing what? they wondered.

Great jobs and exciting projects seemed forever reserved for those willing to live in big cities and sit in big offices all day, every day for most of their lives.

Nicolò, Mario, Naomy, Laura and Ludovica had been there and done that. They studied at prestigious schools: Bocconi in Italy, Fudan in China, Imperial and Cambridge in the UK, UBC in Canada, Nanyang in Singapore. They worked for some of the best companies in the world, both in the public and private sector: The United Nations and European Central Bank, McKinsey and Goldman Sachs, Google and Microsoft, Ferrari and Michelin-starred groups.

Yet, slide after slide and spreadsheet after spreadsheet, they felt they were no longer giving their best. They sensed that the once-flourishing qualities of creativity, vitality and energy were withering away.

The problem was not the late hours nor the high stakes. They loved challenging tasks and ambitious targets. They just needed new rules to live by, allowing them to be where they wanted to be and the freedom to live their lives.

At first, Nicoló tried to do that as a freelancer, facing the unknown in exchange for more freedom. He excelled at numbers and words, so he took on impact analysis reports and marketing strategies and business plans and communications projects – which, in the working world, are often performed separately and by different people. However, Nicoló was thirsty for new challenges, so he took them all together. It started working. Soon enough, he called in other like-minded people to work with him. And the concept took off.

Such diverse projects and people made all five professionals discover something they already had inside them: that strategies and stories are both intertwined and inseparable. They realised that people forget numbers and data when unaccompanied by clear messaging, and words sound hollow without a deep knowledge of what you are writing or talking about.

For the first time, it seemed, strategy and storytelling were done by the same people within the same company, working on the same projects: impact analysis and messaging guidelines, business frameworks and marketing materials, quarterly results and social media cards. 

World Economic Forum, Netflix, the Australian Government, UniCredit - these are just a handful of the world-leading organisations they started serving from the narrow streets of Bari Vecchia, the rolling hills of Bali and Bologna, and the sea of coffee tables in Rome.

They were building their dream one zoom call, one slide and one ocean dip at the time. They believed in it, and it became real. It became Disal: strategies, stories and skills for global companies and digital citizens.

It all started with a choice. The beautiful minds were willing to work and live their best lives, no matter where their hearts would take them.

WHO WE ARE

OUR

DREAM TEAM

Founder & Managing Director

Nicolò Andreula

Nicolò Andreula is a global economist with a passion for strategy, marketing, and leadership development, shaping corporate strategy, public policies, and educational programs to maximize disruptive technologies' socio-economic benefits. 

After starting his career at the United Nations and the InterAmerican Development Bank, Nicolò worked as a consultant for McKinsey in London and AlphaBeta in Singapore, with global clients like Google, Uber, and Netflix in Asia. He has written papers for the McKinsey Global Institute in Europe and the USA, which was featured in the Harvard Business Review. He has also carried out research for Netflix about cultural affinity, the World Economic Forum about geospatial technologies in Africa, Green Technologies for Chinese cities, and advised the French Government to rethink workforce development.

He is deeply involved in lifelong learning as Scientific Director of a Master in Digital Entrepreneurship at H-Farm, and visiting lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Nanyang Business School in Singapore, and IE Business School in Madrid. He also conducts training programs for Amazon, Ferrari, JLL, UniCredit.

Nicolò holds an MBA from INSEAD and an MSc in Economics from Bocconi. He has written two books: Flow Generation (featured on Amazon's bestsellers' lists) and Phygital (published by Hoepli). 

Engagement Expert

Naomy Gmyrek

Naomy Gmyrek is a project manager and engagement expert who began her career in hospitality, cultivating Michelin-starred brands and James Beard Award-winning establishments in New York City. Over seven years, she worked with game-changing companies, such as AvroKO, Banyan Tree, and Impossible Foods to craft unique brands and experiences. 

As General Manager at AvroKO Hospitality Group, Naomy worked with the world’s top culinary talent and architects to design outstanding customer journeys and pioneer sustainable solutions within the sector. Her work helped garner global recognition such as the “Best Bar in America” win from Esquire and “50 Best Bars” award by Time Out New York.

Upon completing her MBA in Strategy & Innovation at Nanyang Business School, Singapore, Naomy pivoted to the world of consulting, leveraging her brand storytelling skills for business strategy success. She has authored several papers, including a ground-breaking report for Netflix and the World Tourism Organization on ways to reimagine screen tourism and sustainability, sharing her insights at global conferences such as FITUR in Madrid and MEKST in Novi Sad. Naomy is currently working alongside Econyl, a pioneer in the circular economy, to challenge the fashion and textile industries through revolutionary thinking for a better world.

Research Associate

Stefania Petruzzelli

Stefania Petruzzelli, PhD., is an expert in the way human beings approach other worlds, such as the Metaverse and departures.

After writing her PhD thesis on how Italian novelists changed their characters' conception of and relationship with death in the early 20th century, she is currently helping private corporations and multilateral organisations reflect on how to leverage NFTs to increase a country's soft power in virtual dimensions and contemporary cultural industries; as well as on how metaverse spaces and levers can host political events and influence geopolitics.

Meanwhile, she is also advising luxury and consumer brands and thought leaders on how to craft and frame value propositions related to sustainability and future of work.

She is regularly invited as speaker, moderator or delegate, to international conferences such as the Raisina Dialogue in Delhi (India), the Bay of Bengal Conversation in Dhaka (Bangladesh), the Jacopone da Todi Prize in Umbria (Italy).

Senior Manager

Gaia Costantino

Gaia is a Marketing and Digital Advertising expert with over 10 years of experience in global companies, passionate about communication and sustainability.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Management Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin and worked as Product Manager and Marketing Manager with start-ups and global companies operating in the digital industry, such as Vodafone and Amazon. 

At Vodafone Italy, she was responsible for the whole P&L, go-to-market and go-to-sales strategies of the mobile and digital solutions for business customers. She then moved to Amazon’s advertising division, where she strengthened her digital marketing expertise, working with global companies in the Consumer-Packaged Goods industry such as P&G, L’Oréal, Philips and Reckitt Benckiser. In the last two years at Amazon, she covered the role of the Account Management Vertical Lead, managing a team of 14 senior professionals.

Gaia is also a digital marketing professor and speaker at H-Farm’s “Master Executive in Digital Entrepreneurship”, and as a start-up mentor for Sprint Factory.

She has recently completed a course in “Business Sustainability Management” at the University of Cambridge to gain a comprehensive understanding of ESG-related topics as well as to integrate sustainability across her marketing expertise and leadership skills. 

Office & SM Manager

Laura Larocchia

Laura è una Social Media Strategist e Office Manager.
Cresciuta a Bari, ha vissuto a Madrid e Milano lavorando prima nell’hospitality management, poi nel settore cultura e spettacolo ed infine in consulenza strategica. Dopo i suoi studi in ambito economico, si è specializzata in marketing e comunicazione, occupandosi di strategie digitali sui social media, personal branding, copywriting, realizzazione di contenuti grafici.
Esperta in comunicazione e advertising sui canali digitali, gestisce pagine aziendali e profili di top manager, personaggi istituzionali e accademici che vogliono ampliare il proprio portafoglio di clienti e partner, divulgare argomenti di economia e attualità, diventare le voci più influenti sui principali social network. Contribuisce regolarmente alla realizzazione di percorsi di formazione esecutiva in storytelling e comunicazione per colossi digitali come Amazon e college internazionali come H-Farm.
Allo stesso tempo, il suo interesse per la gestione aziendale l’ha portata a ricoprire ruoli in area amministrativo-contabile per studi commercialisti, aziende di diversi settori e infine in Disal Consulting, per cui gestisce l’ufficio amministrativo, contabile e delle risorse umane sin dalla sua fondazione.
È Curator dell'hub di Bari dei Global Shapers – un progetto del World Economic Forum – con cui si impegna in progetti dal forte impatto economico, sociale e politico per la città in cui è cresciuta.
Communications Specialist

Federica Paolucci

Federica Paolucci is a young communication and public relations specialist with a strong passion for digital marketing, sustainability and innovation.

Her career started in the marketing and communication department of the Pontifical Council for Culture of the Vatican, and then continued in international communication agencies, first in Lisbon and then in Berlin.

In Berlin, she worked for international organisations such as the European Commission and NATO and major aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and ATR. In particular, she participated in the design and implementation of important communication campaigns for the European Commission, such as the EU Year of Rail and the Green Deal..

During her experiences abroad, she also completed her studies in international relations at thePortuguese Catholic University and earned a master's degree in Digital Marketing at the 24ORE Business School.

Today, Federica works as communications specialist at Disal Consulting, where she helps clients achieve their goals through integrated communication strategies.

Project Manager

Mario De Pinto

Mario De Pinto is a consultant in strategy, public policy, and communication. 

He graduated in International Economics and Management at Bocconi University in Milan and attended courses at the London School of Economics and Cambridge University. 

He has served a wide range of clients including the World Economic Forum (measuring the impact of geospatial services on African agriculture and mining sector), INSEAD (research paper “Talent on the Move” for the French Government), Netflix, 

UniCredit (supporting the internal comms department in communication activities related to corporate storytelling, strategy, digital transformation), Geoscience Australia, as well as startups in the bioenergy and fashion industry. 

In the field of lifelong learning, Mario was a guest lecturer in strategy and communication at Nanyang Business School in Singapore, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 

and Università Roma Tre. He has collaborated to design and teach the Master in Digital Entrepreneurship at H-Farm, and worked on executive education projects for Amazon, JLL, and Poste Italiane. 

Mario was the Vice Curator of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Bari Hub, and one of the founders of the NPO “DiAmbiente”, 

a network for experts dealing with environmental problems in a wide range of industries and institutions.

Project Manager

Ludovica De Santis

Ludovica De Santis is a young economist with an international profile. She holds an MSc in Economics and Strategy for Business from Imperial College Business School, and a BSc in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Royal Holloway University, London.

 After gaining some valuable experience in the start-up and consulting fields, she worked at the European Central Bank (Frankfurt) and the Bank of Italy (Rome) for two years, first as a trainee and then as an analyst.She contributed to the supervision of two Italian financial institutions, specialising in business plan analysis, risk management, corporate governance and EU standards.

At present, she works as a strategy consultant at Disal Consulting, where she manages projects in research, impact analysis, communication strategy, and executive education.

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