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I built three companies looking for what I could not find.

Today I work with HR and leadership teams on one specific problem: female talent that joins the company and does not rise. Method, not motivation.

Work with meAbout me

Women stopping at middle management: it is not a lack of ambition, it is the system.

In Italy women hold 27.9% of managerial positions, against an EU average of 35.2% (source: Eurostat, 2024). In 25 years as a manager and entrepreneur I have seen where the path breaks: almost never competence, almost always legitimacy. My method works exactly there, with structured programs that HR and leadership can measure.

Paola Palmesano with crossed arms
Paola Palmesano with Bajo, her dog

Every solid leadership begins with personal awareness.

My training programs come from over 25 years leading companies, teams and strategic decisions, and from one conviction verified in the classroom: leading a company means, first of all, learning to lead yourself. Method, not motivation.

my story

Io Sono. Cresco. Brillo.

The women's empowerment program I bring into companies, and the story I tell every Saturday in my LinkedIn newsletter. Three stages, measurable outputs, real business cases: method, not motivation.

IO SONO

Identity and awareness

CRESCO

Transformation and authority

BRILLO

Action plan and network

Discover the program
Woman seen from behind making the victory sign against a blue sky

io sono

The community for women who lead.

IO SONO was born from a simple question: where do women who actually run a company, a team, a real responsibility meet to talk openly, without filters and without having to prove anything?
I could not find that place. So I created it.

Paola Palmesano

Join the change

One thought for you, every week.