The story of Maria Francesca Aceti, an engineer, begins with a seemingly impossible challenge: restoring Deltha Pharma, a failing pharmaceutical company. At only 28 years old. Not only did she do it, but she created a team of collaborators, with whom she deals with extreme empathy, and with whom she has achieved important results in the field of probiotics.
Let’s proceed step by step, starting from the beginning.
«For me it is a huge thrill to relive the journey that brought me here. When I came in, the situation was dramatic, between foreclosures, evictions, the banks not even granting credit cards, employees not getting paid and wanting to leave. It was not easy, especially in an environment that is, I won’t say ‘macho,’ but certainly male-oriented, as pharmaceuticals is».
How did you do it?
«I started on a path of debt restructuring, but more importantly, I kept my commitments. Slowly, I must say. I went through very difficult moments, when I thought about leaving, moments when I said, but who made me do it? But then we came in the rankings of Il Sole 24 ore, La Repubblica and international, among the fastest growing companies in Italy. Until Le Fonti Awards for innovation and sustainability and the 100 Eccellenze Italiane Award that I received in Montecitorio. A thrill: we are among the 100 Italian excellences. But the climb is not over yet».
What is the type of product that, in addition to your skill, has brought you to this level?
«We make dietary supplements. Our flagship line today is a line of probiotics designed with Policlinico Gemelli based on the transplantation of feces from a healthy donor. Let me explain: in the Roman hospital they do fecal transplantation, now called (to sweeten it a bit) intestinal microbiota transplantation, for some serious diseases. Our product was created just to imitate fecal transplantation, but developed in capsules and is able to rebalance the intestinal flora, exactly as it is in a healthy person. Today we know that so many conditions and diseases even far from the gut itself depend on the balance of intestinal flora».
The philosophy of your business management is “happiness, passion and fun.” What does you mean?
«In my opinion, happiness is going for the satisfaction of one’s expectations. I try to work with my employees for mutual happiness and satisfaction, because if I set the goal only, that person will be eternally dissatisfied. Today Italian companies, especially in pharmaceuticals, are very much what Americans call “command and control,” meaning you do what I say, because I just say so. Instead, no, that would mean me being the only thinking head in the company. What have I been doing instead? By studying, by training myself, I am trying to implement this system of leadership based on trust, “trust and inspire”: a person who feels that you are giving him trust will give it to you in turn. And it will be easier to share the same goals».
Two other important words for you are “innovation” and “sustainability”.
«In the society we live in, whoever stops is lost: we innovate so much on all fronts. We have fully digitized a lot of departments, we use CRM, ERP, artificial intelligence, we analyze data… And then we innovate on sustainability, with the will to be able to exploit resources without jeopardizing future generations. We measure it with ESG parameters, that is environment, social and governance, on which we have a score compiled by CRIF as an external agency. My favorite is the S of social, because the company is the people. For example, with us, you can have flexible hours to follow your family: the offices close at 4:40 pm. I don’t want stressed people, with the famous burnout. I want people who are happy to work alongside me».
The “happiness” vs. “work” dichotomy has been the leitmotif in the lives of generations of workers. Will an ambitious and enlightened engineer change the rules of the game? Apparently, yes.
