Last Friday marked the end of a remarkable journey for me at Mangopay. Joining a small French scale-up with around 90 people in 2020, I am leaving a company of over 450 people with offices spread across the EU and UK. Wow, what a ride! I had the privilege of leading the launch of the Southern EU hub, with the opening of our Milan office, and later the Eastern EU region with our Warsaw office. The growth has been impressive. - a 2024 forecast for Southern EU being 10x what we had in 2020 - We exceeded sales targets every year - went from nothing to becoming the 3rd main brand in the payments market in Italy Thank you team! Piotr Ostaszewski Salvatore Scaletta Michele Longo Beyond the achievements, I have spent some time up in the amazing Italian Alps to catch some breath and reflect on my main learnings: - Culture is key for growth. Cultural-fit is a must when hiring both individual contributors and managers; - Horizontal experience is an added value. Our whole team did not come from payments. Do not be scared to hire outside your sector. People will surprise you. - The importance of the Quadrant of Aims. My first boss - and mentor - taught me this. Whenever asked for a task, especially from C-Levels, it's crucial to understand WHY they want it, HOW and most of all FOR WHOM. Delivering a 200 pages report is useless if your boss needs it to share it with journalists for a 15min interview. - Position yourself internally and externally. Being a Country Manager means often that you're not a C-Level but you need to build consensus internally to make things happen. While externally you need to validate your GTM as fast as possible, to learn and iterate. It's a tough position. I learnt so many other things, I should (and I'll try) to talk about it in some other posts. It has been a wonderful ride. Now it's time for the next adventure! Thank you Pierre Lion Romain Mazeries Elodie Meriguet Nicolas Fournié Alexis Ammar and all the many other people that I had the chance to work with!
Amico mio, what an adventure! It's a pleasure to have crossed your path and to have been able to build with you the very solid foundations of what Mangopay is today. You can be proud of everything you've contributed to the company and to all the people who've had the chance to work with you. I wish you all the success and happiness you deserve in your new adventure. You're going to smash it and I can't wait to see it. See you soon in South Europe 🤝
Working alongside you was not only a pleasure but also a tremendous learning experience. Your commitment to excellence and the positive impact you've made are truly commendable. Your success sets a high standard for everyone, and I'm confident that your continued efforts will lead to even greater accomplishments. Wishing you continued success in all your future endeavors.
Difficult to say what an honour it was to work with you and how important this experience was for me. Thank you so much, and good luck with your new adventures!
you did an incredible job building from scratch Mangopay track record of success in Southern and Eastern Europe! you can be super proud of your achievements, progress and team culture of excellence you have built! a huge thanks! and cannot wait to follow your next adventure!
Alfonso Catone, MBA it has been a pleasure to work with you. Your new company is lucky to have you and I am sure you will smash it. All the best and I hope to cross paths again soon
Such a ride you mastered with panache Alfonso, you ll be truly missed. I wish you only the very best (not that I believe you ll need any wishes). Cheers
All the best in you new adventure Alfonso Catone, MBA I'm sure you'll rock 🚀
You can be proud of your achievements at Mangopay Alfonso Catone, MBA. Your next colleagues will be lucky to work alongside you. I hope to cross your path again! It's been an honor! 🙂
Partner communication at Time2scale
9moAlfonso Catone, MBA No way! I can't believe it. You were an incredible asset to Mangopay. I'm sure you'll be greatly missed. You're a true leader who took Mangopay from its humble beginnings to becoming the third-leading brand in the payments market in Italy! Your future company will be extremely fortunate to have you on board.