AYES meets Martina Villanova in this episode of Pole Position

AYES meets Martina Villanova in this episode of Pole Position

We have been selected among the best workplaces for being one of the most interesting and stimulating technology consulting environments in Italy!

Tune in and discover why!”

MV: This evening on Pole Position we’ll be meeting the company AYES. With us are two guests, Antonio Sauchella, good evening and welcome

A: Good evening, thank you.

MV: – you are the business director of the company, and a warm welcome to Elena Penza as well, good evening.

E: Good evening.

MV: You on the other hand, are the company’s International Recruiting Manager. Let’s find out about the company, founded in 2015.

A: That’s right. AYES is a young company, and is growing fast, born with the aim of serving the increasingly challenging needs of research and development, in the technological engineering market and industrial engineering in general.

MV: Why this particular name?

A: The names comes from a trivia. The word AYES derives from an expression used in Anglo-Saxon countries, particularly in the US congress, to approve a proposal. It was born among the founding partners, so the American “yes” became the word “ayes” and it is still used by the directors who decide to join the group.

MV: So it was a strategic move right from the name. The company works in management and technology consulting, let’s have a look at the company’s core business.

A: AYES addresses mainly companies working in research and development, aiming to support its customers in this sensitive phase, and accept the challenges of technology and technological innovation. We target sectors with advanced technology such as Transportation, including Automotive, Aerospace, Defense and Railways, Energy with Oil and Gas and Renewables and finally Telecommunications along with Pharmaceutical, Life Sciences and Medical Devices.

MV: And not only, because you also work in partnership with some prestigious universities.

A: That’s right. We have a team of young engineers who are able to adapt to the challenges that technology and innovation offer every day. We live in a complex market where, to survive and to keep up to speed with technological evolution, you have to be lean, flexible and reactive. So this is what makes AYES a young and innovative business.

MV: Very important characteristics to provide the best support to your customers, because the more transparent and direct the relationship is, the better. So how do you work with your customers? What strategies do you adopt?

A: Generally, we support our clients 360 degrees, one of our values is proximity, precisely with this in mind, so living day by day and working alongside our clients in the field, where they need us, where they need to win a technological challenge. So, we support our engineers where they need us, not only in Italy where we have our offices, but also in Europe and since last year also overseas, opening a branch in the USA.

MV: A considerable and interesting expansion for a company that was founded in 2015, it means you are moving in the right direction. Elena Penza, as you are a flexible company, as you said, and you rely very much on your team of engineers, how important is the team for the company?

E: In our team, among our colleagues, we have a saying: «Who starts out at AYES remains an AYES forever». This is because they feel part of a group, we are very united, we get along really well and certainly also in terms of rigor, excellence and best practices. We have a very positive attitude towards challenges and opportunities. In my opinion, these elements are the greatest gift an employee can receive.

MV: In terms of Recruiting, the procedure is all done in the company, from A to Z.

E: That’s right, we manage the selection process from start to finish, from reaching out future staff members to onboarding them, so there’s an in-house process, that we manage, and right from the start we give added value to the human aspect, because what you do and how you can bring added value is important, but there’s also a human component, the passion and the conditions, there Is everything. It’s important for our staff to stay motivated and very satisfied, so that they give their best, day after day. This is a fundamental element, the philosophy of AYES is: if you really want to do something, you can.

MV: That’s right, if you are the first to internally bring such importance to the human aspect, your customers would directly beneficiate from that, which would make them happy. To the point that in 2018 you received a recognition from Forbes.

A: Yes, AYES was nominated by Forbes, a prestigious international business journal, as one of the companies that has grown the most in Italy in the last 10 years. This is certainly to everyone’s merit, but above all thanks to the culture and attention we have for our employees and our team. So, AYES is an Italian multinational company, with a very special attention and culture.

MV: Your team is young, fresh and dynamic, so the company is also dynamic, always ready to overcome any hurdles. Elena Penza, talking about hurdles, how did you cope with the Covid period?

E: Obviously, when the Covid emergency exploded, our company too, like many others, experienced times of uncertainty. When they closed Lombardy and then the whole country, our CEO, Danilo Spada, contacted us one by one and said “AYES won’t stop, we won’t stop”. So all the activities that could be done remotely were done working from home. At the same time, we created and organized internal Research and Development groups to carry out some internal research and development projects. That way, for example, we started the AYESanify project, aiming to study, reconvert and reconfigure existing systems to make automated sanitization in closed spaces possible, in the transport sector, in the subway, in trains. So we were able to transform this period of weakness into a strength, fear became excitement and we called several pharmaceutical and medical companies to offer our contribution, we put ourselves out there, directly.

MV: You have some very strong skills and you managed to put them to the best use in a situation like this, because you have the skills, and you can apply them in any way, whatever the situation. Antonio Sauchella, regarding the future of the company, as it was born in 2015 and has achieved considerable growth and recognition, and it took on the challenge in a time of crisis. What’s in store for the future?

A: The foundations of AYES are its people, with their dreams and professional ambitions. So one of our secrets of success has been precisely that, the ability to understand and focus on the passions and things that guide the changes in a person, to define a growth path, and consequently that of the company too. In the future of AYES, we hope to keep understanding our colleagues’ dreams as well as the dreams of those who will join us in the future, because in life, as in work, you can do anything you want to.

MV: You have to listen, everywhere, both inside and outside the company, and that’s what you’re doing, in the best way, and there is still a lot of room to keep growing. I would like to thank you both for being with us this evening. Our guests were Antonio Sauchella, business director of the company, and Elena Penza, international recruiting manager of the company AYES.

E and A: Thanks to you.

MV: So stay right here, because we’ve just seen an example of why believing in your own ideas is important, because it helps the company to grow. So stay with us.