A Talk With Mara Panaja
By Fabio Tomassini, director of the Strategy & Leadership Competence Center at H-FARM Business School
As part of the series of events and interviews with prominent leaders in the corporate world, carried out in collaboration with Forbes Italy, we had the pleasure of hosting Mara Panaja. Mara holds the position of General Manager of Henkel Consumer Brands for the area of Italy, Greece and Cyprus, and is a reference figure in the Italian management scene. It was an intense and inspiring interview that touched on key issues for those involved in driving change within complex organizations.
Henkel: a multinational company with 150 years of history
Founded in Düsseldorf, Henkel is a multinational company with two souls: one dedicated to consumer goods (with iconic brands such as Dixan, Pril and Schwarzkopf) and one specializing in the world of adhesives, in both the consumer and industrial segments. With more than 53 countries involved, 161 plants and more than 20 billion euros in global sales, Henkel is a true global player. In Italy, it recorded 629 million euros in sales in 2024 and employs more than 780 people in six locations.
The stages of conscious leadership
Mara Panaja's path began in Reggio Calabria, continued with a degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University, and was articulated through experiences in auditing, marketing, sales, and general management in companies such as Danone and Henkel. Central to his growth has been mobility, not only geographically-with a crucial experience in Düsseldorf-but also functionally. "Mobility is about really forming yourself. It forces you to question yourself, to learn, to adapt," he says.
Listening, authenticity and responsibility
Mara's leadership model is based on a few key pillars: authentic listening, clarity in feedback, inclusion, and consistency in behavior. As soon as she returned to Italy, she decided to interview 127 colleagues to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the context. "It was a gesture made to understand, but it generated a huge impact on people: feeling heard matters."
Leadership, according to Mara, is not only for top management, but must be exercised at all levels, including in the ability to lead oneself. And to be truly effective, it must be consistent and authentic: "You can convey leadership by example. It is behavior, more than words, that engenders trust and imitation."
Skills of the future: soft skills and artificial intelligence
Today, more than technical skills-given for granted at certain levels-what matters are soft skills: ability to work in a team, humility, initiative, emotional intelligence. Mara cites Patrick Lencioni and the concept of the ideal team player: humble, hungry and smart.
Not missing is a look at the younger generation and the impact of generative artificial intelligence. Young people today enter the world of work with a technological naturalness that enables them to contribute right from the start. Henkel is aware of this and has activated training courses, targeted assessments and an employer branding strategy based on clear values, horizontal growth and positive contamination between internal and external profiles.
An inspiring model
The meeting with Mara Panaja was a valuable moment of discussion to understand how to lead a complex organization with humanity, courage and vision. Her approach to leadership - made of deep listening, respect for people and consistency in behavior - represents a virtuous model, in which transformation is never separated from care for human capital.
Listen to the full interview on our Spotify channel at this link: https://lnkd.in/djh6wwZS