Giovanna Melfi, Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Giovanna Melfi

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Verba Communications

Location
United Arab Emirates - Dubai
Education
Master's degree, Business And Economics
Experience
14 years, 4 Months

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Work Experience

Total years of experience :14 years, 4 Months

Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Verba Communications
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • My current job since September 2022

A boutique firm specializing in brand communications, investor relations, and events management. The core expertise lies in orchestrating comprehensive investor relations strategies, facilitating robust connections between investors and founders, crafting strategic brand partnerships, and curating exclusive events such as private dinners and roadshows. The sectoral focus encompasses innovation, technology, FMCG, sports, and sustainability.
• Digital Marketing & Social Media
• Events Management & Planning
• Customer Acquisition, Retention, and Loyalty Programs Key Metrics
• Market: sustainable growth +10% YOY, investment portfolio up to US$5Mil
• People: customer acquisition +35% YOY, leadership development +10% YOY
• Operations: efficiency +25% YOY, productivity +20% YOY

Founder & Managing Director at Metamorphosis Biz
  • Hong Kong - Hong Kong
  • January 2016 to December 2023

A boutique consulting firm specializing in business and digital transformation. Created a proven consultation method, focusing on three critical aspects of business performance: people (attracting and retaining talent, generating leads, optimizing customer journey), numbers (optimizing finance management, evaluating investments and ROIs) and digital (multi-channel marketing, CRM, and data enhancement, defining and implementing social media marketing strategy). Led offline-to-online strategy implementation and multi-channel digital marketing, including SEM, SEO, ad campaigns, social media, web and mobile applications, and API. Key Metrics
• People: organization efficiency 10% YOY, customer acquisition +25% YOY, leadership development +15% YOY
• Digital: tech implementation and productivity +25% YOY
• Finance: balance sheet and P&L efficiency +20% YOY

Managing Director APAC at BeThe1 Recruitment Consultan
  • Hong Kong - Hong Kong
  • September 2018 to April 2019

An international boutique firm with 18 team members has worked on 3, 800 recruitment projects in 31 countries for 350 premium clients in the past 20 years.
• Managed and trained ten lead consultants across Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore offices.
• Set up new systems for more effective internal communication, policy implementation, and staff training.
• Trained consultants to improve customer relations, business development, project management, and talent acquisition effectiveness. \[Attempt Merge & Acquisition\] Key Metrics
• Market: 20 new clients with US$1Mil market revenue
• People: Executive Recruitments +25% and leadership development +15%

Managing Director at Marc Jacobs
  • Hong Kong - Hong Kong
  • May 2015 to December 2015

• Established professional relationships with business partners, shareholders, and authorities to develop trust, rapport, and reliability.
• Identified market insights, developing trends and techniques to present to the board of directors.
• Implemented a new business acquisition strategy to manage the acquisition of all Marc Jacobs joint ventures in Hong Kong and Macau, including ten direct operating stores, four department store concessions, and an outlet store.
• Implemented new compensation and benefit structures to improve talent retention. Key Metrics
• Market: break even with financial efficiency at +25%
• People: Retention +35% and leadership development +15%

Regional Retail & Operations Manager at Ermenegildo Zegna
  • Hong Kong - Hong Kong
  • January 2013 to April 2015

• Conducted competitor research to identify opportunities and determine potential threats.
• Planned and implemented strategies for negotiating supply contracts and sourcing products and offerings from authorized suppliers.
• Designed innovative marketing and sales promotions to increase foot traffic, profits, and customer loyalty.
• Led company-wide adoption of own-advised sales operating procedures and internal systems that improved efficiency, productivity, staff capabilities, and product design. Key Metrics
• Market: sustainable growth +15% YOY, B2C revenue at US$50Mil YOY
• People: staff retention +50% YOY, leadership development +15% YOY
• Operations: efficiency +20% YOY, productivity +20% YOY

Regional Retail & Operations Manager at Burberry
  • Singapore - Singapore
  • January 2010 to December 2012

• The franchise was repurchased in Southeast Asia, and the regional retail and discounted outlets network was expanded.
• Develop and execute hard and soft skills training APAC Retail support as a retail mentor and customer service advisor.
• Achieved an average revenue growth of 15% YOY, managing four direct operating stores, two concession stores and an outlet store (Malaysia).
• Led the recruitment, training, logistics, and merchandising planning for two store openings: a 3, 500-square-foot flagship store in Singapore and a 12, 000-square-foot discount outlet in Malaysia.

Education

Master's degree, Business And Economics
  • at University Of Rome La Sapienza
  • November 2024

MSc International Politics, majors in Economics and International Law BSc Political Science, majors in Business and History

Higher diploma, Leadership and Talent Performance
  • at IMD Business School
  • November 2024

Executive Education for C-Suite in leadership development, talent performance, transformational strategy, agile mindset

Higher diploma, Postgraduate Diploma: Digital Business
  • at Columbia Business School
  • November 2018
Higher diploma, Digital Communication
  • at MIT Sloan School of Management
  • May 2016
Higher diploma, Leadership & Strategy
  • at IMD Business School
  • November 2014
Master's degree, Master of Science (MSc): International Politics
  • at Sapienza Università di Rom
  • November 1996
Bachelor's degree, Bachelor of Science (BSc): Political Science
  • at Sapienza Università di Rom
  • June 1993

Specialties & Skills

Business Transformation
Organisation Change
Talent Mapping
Training and Development
Recruitment
teamwork
coaching
communication
transformation
MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
CONSULTING
DIGITAL MARKETING
TRANSFORMATION (GENETICS)
SOCIAL MEDIA
INVESTMENTS
training

Languages

English
Native Speaker
Italian
Native Speaker
French
Expert
Spanish
Expert

Memberships

IMD Business School Alumni Club
  • Vice President
  • December 2014

Hobbies

  • Tech, Sports, Innovation, L&D