Meet Marco Garofalo, who after growing up in the Netherlands and Shanghai moved to Canada for law school before joining Quinn Emmanuel’s Arbitration Practice in Paris. After close to 4 years, he decided it was time to take this in another direction and learn new things. He was fortunate enough to be accepted to Givaudan’s EMEA Commercial Traineeship and now works as one of their Key Account Managers for the Benelux region. For those of you who don’t know Givaudan, it’s one of the biggest global companies in flavours & fragrances.
1. What is the #1 thing on your bucket list?
No one thing - I would like to live an adventurous life full of bucket-listy things.
2. In a nutshell, who is Marco?
After growing up in the US, the Netherlands and China, I went to university in Canada to study political science and literature at McGill University. After my bachelor degree, I continued on at McGill to attend law school. From there, I landed a summer associate job at MoFo’s New York office. They offered me a position in M&A, but I was more tempted by an opportunity to work in international arbitration in Quinn Emmanuel’s Paris team. Nearly four years later, I was looking to move out of a legal role and into a business role. I moved to the Netherlands and joined Givaudan, a flavours & fragrances company, for their first EAME Commercial Traineeship programme. During two years, I rotated through a range of departments in the company and now work in a commercial role as an account manager.
3. What do people need to know about what your work and responsibilities look like? Any stereotypes about sales managers you’d like to debunk?
In general, account managers are responsible for delivering revenue and profitability targets on their portfolio of customers.
To win business, Givaudan teams use the company’s technology to help customers solve problems they face or unlock opportunities. One of the main challenges is uncovering the customer’s real problem and how Givaudan can form part of the solution.
One aspect is managing the relationship with the customer. You need to gain enough trust for the customer to share their real problems with you. If you can achieve that level of trust in your customer relationship, then you can figure out what is truly going on and then offer a compelling solution.
Another aspect is managing internal stakeholder relationships. For example, you need to motivate and inspire internal stakeholders to join you in pursuit of different opportunities.
In many ways, this also makes you the connecting node between the company and its customers. You must understand customer needs and company capabilities, communicate those needs/capabilities in compelling ways and build relationships and structure so that experts can solve problems together, all while making sure that the solution is commercially sustainable for both the customer and the company.
4. What parts or aspects of your job are most rewarding & fulfilling and what do you consider the least rewarding?
In any job, there is always a certain amount of admin. For me this has always been the least rewarding. I escaped the billable hour, but there is always something – it seems that you cannot get around it.
The most rewarding part of my job is collaborating with others to achieve new and valuable outcomes. Meeting with customers to understand their issues and solving problems alongside a diverse team of experts is a real buzz.
5. Givaudan is one of the biggest players in the flavours & fragrances market. How would you describe the industry vs. the professional services industry?
From a content perspective, they are obviously quite different. Ultimately, however, I think businesses in both industries succeed when delivering value (solve a problem or unlock an opportunity) for their customers/clients, regardless of whether that solution takes the form of a document or a flavour.
6. What motivated you to make your career change?
First of all, many brilliant lawyers love their practice. I always appreciated the passion that so many lawyers have. Of course, there are also many lawyers who look to change careers (and then some who make a website about lawyers looking to make a change!).
My motivation was a desire to bring people together in order to achieve outcomes that are valuable in the world. Certainly, there is space to do that within the law (and many other fields as well) but I was curious to expand my experience beyond the legal function. I also wanted to learn to carry the responsibility for outcomes.
7. How did you manage to make the change? For others looking to make a similar transition, what do you consider the top 3 best tips or strategies for others looking to make a similar move?
I think making such a change is always difficult. The first step, for me at least, was to accept stepping away from my progress in the legal path. I do not believe that my efforts at law school and law firms are wasted - far from it - but I did need to acknowledge that I would be entering a new community where the culture of the legal community may no longer apply. My first tip is to stay curious, open and humble about other professions and industries (and their cultures).
The second tip is to network widely and communicate clearly what you are looking for (even when it may not be so clear to yourself!). For example, I found it challenging to justify that I was willing to make such a big change for something which I had never experienced first hand. Reach out to your network - they will have a lot of good insights about the types of roles/work you are considering. They may not be the ones to give you a job, but they can help you gain clarity on what you want and maybe even where to look for it.
Third, my suggestion is to do a bit of homework. Another big challenge you are likely to face is justifying that you have sufficiently transferable skills to add value in your desired role. Doing a bit of homework (get creative!) on your desired role/industry can help you test if you would really like it, help justify that you do really like it and that you will be able to perform. I am guessing that you are relatively unproven for the role you are considering. Anything that can de-risk the hiring manager’s decision is likely to work in your favour.
I think the expression, “luck is where preparation meets opportunity” applies here. Get the homework done and then expose yourself to as many opportunities as you can. Maybe there is an easier way, but this is how I did it.
8. How does your experience as an international arbitration lawyer in private practice, if at all, contribute to your current role?
My experience as an international arbitration lawyer does not directly contribute to my current role. However, as a disputes associate you are likely to develop a number of skills that will serve you in any context, including clear communication, attention to detail, good judgement, professionalism and storytelling.
9. What habits or “skills”, if anything, did you have to unlearn? What “new” or slightly underdeveloped skills did you have to develop rapidly for your new job?
Rather than “unlearn”, I would say that I now use some of my litigator skills less. This is natural - thankfully I have not gotten myself into litigious situations!
Going from a law firm to a multinational “matrix organisation” was a big learning curve in terms of understanding and navigating the landscape of internal company stakeholders and culture. But I am very fortunate to work with generous and brilliant people who have helped me learn along the way.
10. What - if anything - do you miss from your time working as an arbitration lawyer in private practice, and what are you most happy about to have left behind?
My old colleagues. I joined QE Paris just a short time after it opened. I was the 10th lawyer and while that group has now moved on in many directions, there is always a special feeling when we see each other.
Of course, I also miss some aspects of the work. I also found learning about people’s stories and their industries and businesses. I always took seriously my privileged view into their world and my responsibility to help them during a difficult moment in their professional life and the life of their organisation. I greatly admire my friends and former colleagues who have a vocation for that role.
11. If you weren’t doing what you’re doing and weren’t a lawyer either, what would be your dream job?
Maybe a long form print journalist or a diplomat.
12. With the benefit of hindsight, what would you tell your 10 year younger self (from a career of life perspective)?
Don’t be afraid to follow your curiosity and instincts. And enjoy the ride.
*Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the interviewee alone and not their employer.
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