Federica Tondini has been in the rubber industry for the past six years, previously working in the electronic components and TLC industries.
In 2017, she decided to join Prometeon Tyre Group after the spin-off from Pirelli Tyre. Within this role, she has worked to build the Indirect Materials Global Procurement team from scratch.
"It was one of the biggest challenges of my career, but I was able to grow in role and responsibility and was promoted to chief procurement officer (CPO) in three years," Tondini said.
One of the reasons why this was such a significant feat was because she truly built the department from the ground up, by herself initially.
"I was the only member of indirect procurement when I joined," Tondini said. "I had to hire the team and also to create the procedures and set the system."
With that work, she's been able to grow the team into where it is today. The HQ Indirect Procurement team now has 14 members (seven women and seven men). Worldwide, the global procurement team, which includes direct and indirect, has 67 team members based in Italy, Germany, Egypt, Turkey and Brazil.
"I strongly believe in the power of the team, only with a strong and diverse team it is possible to achieve great results," Tondini said.
She added that the biggest success stories come from the team she works with. One such example is how her team worked together to be able to keep their factories running during COVID, as well as at the beginning of the Russian/Ukrainian crisis.
"Together, we are supporting the company with strong cost reduction programs, which gained us recognition from our stakeholders," Tondini added.
Beyond leading the procurement team, Tondini also has become an ambassador at Prometeon, partnering with the human resources department on new initiatives dedicated to the well-being of employees.
Yet, internal growth is not the only shift Tondini has seen throughout her time in the industry. Tondini is able to see the bigger picture of how the industry is changing and what potential needs are.
"The evolutions are those related to the changes of the macroeconomic scenario," Tondini said. "I see a bigger and bigger need to create ecosystems of partner companies along the supply chain."
Tondini said this need for collaboration is the reason that Prometeon Tyre Group launched the first Prometeon Supplier Award program earlier this year. It was all about recognizing and rewarding the best partners and establishing long-term business relationships.
"It is now mandatory to create and enhance the virtuous business relationship where every company contributes (to) the sustainable growth of its partners," she added.
Outside of her role at Prometeon, Tondini's biggest passion is her two children: Margherita and Leonardo. She credits them with teaching her how to prioritize time, resources, passion and love.
When looking back at her career, Tondini had one thing to advise her past self. She said she would worry less about openly showing her own ideas or personal feelings about topics.
Years with company: 6
Years in rubber industry: 6