We recently had an excellent opportunity to interview Mr. Federico Cervellini. He is an exceptional entrepreneur and businessman who opened Palazzo Guidi 1556 along with other reliable partners. It’s an elegant location focused on banqueting and catering. The business also has social media presence on Facebook and LinkedIn. There, Federico Cervellini is responsible for managing marketing and PR activities.
By the end of 2007, he moved to the UAE and joined the Private office of one of the members of the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi. Later on, he continued his professional journey from Dubai. In 2019, Federico Cervellini moved back to Abu Dhabi and is still living there, providing his own advisory consultancy services internationally as an International Business Consultant.
Through our interview with Mr. Federico Cervellini, we learned a lot about his professional progress and passion. He always looks forward to new opportunities and is passionate about enhancing his business skills more and more. Currently, he consults businesses and provides them with the best-in-class solutions to their problems. Learn more about Federico Cervellini and his journey below.
Explain the background of you and the company in detail.
I started my experience in the UAE at the end of 2007 by joining a Private Office of a member of the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi. I was the Director of Business Development assigned to develop all the office activities, such as partnership and sponsorship with foreign companies and international entrepreneurs interested in diversifying their business interests geographically, focusing on the UAE and Middle East markets.
Together with the team, I brought several companies under the umbrella of the Private Office, and most of them are still operating in the UAE. At the end of 2012, I joined a different office for members of the Royal family of Dubai, acting as Director of Corporate Affairs and member of the Board of Directors.
Thanks to my extensive International network, I managed the existing business relationship of the office, adding value to the day-to-day operation with new partnerships and collaboration with selected entrepreneurs and international investors. From 2018 to the end of 2019, I moved to Abu Dhabi again. I started working for another member of the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi, doing similar activities to the previous ones.
From 2020 to date, I’m working on my own, still living in Abu Dhabi, providing advisory services and financial/commercial consultancy to International companies and entrepreneurs.
The majority of the clients I successfully dealt with till now are from the USA, Canada, Colombia, Brazil, Africa, Europe, Russia, India, China, Philippines, and Indonesia. For your reference, the sectors of operations of my clients are military, construction & engineering, facility management, oil & gas, sport management, AI, real estate, blockchain metaverse, industrial, manufacturing, and others.
What are your goals?
I always adore challenging myself with new opportunities worldwide where I put all my passion, business skills, feelings, and emotion. It’s because I truly believe that if you manage to get the job you like, you will be capable of reaching your target and standard in every situation.
I found the UAE the perfect atmosphere to satisfy my business appetite and ambition because this country is, for me, the top solution to achieve your goals in the nicest environment. A special and meaningful strength of mine is and will be my family, who was always there, my very best supporter, and back up during my downtimes.
What do you feel is the biggest strength of yourself/company right now?
Financial and commercial consultancy to foreign companies, entrepreneurs, and investors is far from simple advice. To provide the best services and solutions, you must be like your clients’ best partner in order for them to feel secure with your assistance, giving them the confidence they can reach their dreams and targets.
My first strength is reading between the lines (not all the people you meet are open to disclosing their thoughts) because only by doing that I can succeed and provide the perfect support to all my clients who also became friends in the same cases.
What was the path you/your company took to get to where you are today?
Being able to always be myself at good and bad times, expressing my talents, personality, and character in front of the clients, assuring them that they were and are in front of the right person if their intentions are clean and clear with a long term plan and vision. To do that professionally, I always train myself to better understand the international and local market, the requirements, and the solutions to complete the job.
Why did you start (or want to be the head of) this company?
I aim to be one of the premium international advisors with a proven track record of projects executed. I’m an expert in the market industry but constantly trying to gain more credibility, trust and respect from clients. My reputation is my brand, and operating with different nationalities allows me to measure and push myself daily to upgrade continuously.
What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As every ex-pat in the UAE, the hardest challenge was, and still is, to adapt myself to the constant mutation of the country that keeps on changing, improving, modifying, and implementing to provide the best living to all the citizens. There are always new markets, new rules that oblige me to keep my eyes open, the same will, and the same commitment to reach my objectives.
Nothing can be left on my path to my dreams, and when I neglected even a little aspect of my journey in the UAE, I can tell you clearly that I failed. However, I’m a strong man, and I stood up again, improving my focus to minimize time waste. I’m sure my journey will let me go through small and much bigger sacrifices, but I can tell you I’ll never give up as I’m sure I’ll get there where I belong.
Give us one word that describes you the best.
Resilient is the word that defines me the best.
What makes you excited about Mondays?
Monday is just a normal day for me. Still, I make it great by putting all my passion into what I’m doing, challenging myself to set the solution to pending subjects, and looking for new opportunities with the right approach and mindset.
What do you value most about your culture and vision?
I feel blessed and thankful to come from the Republic of San Marino, a land of hard workers and family-oriented people. Amazing food and beverage, beautiful panorama, and very rich in culture and history. It is the most ancient Republic in the world.
Business-wise, I’m always focusing my daily activities on delivering my words, considering my serious commitment. Words and actions have to walk jointly. Otherwise, it’s better to be silent.
Tell us about a project that forced you to be innovative and creative.
One day I was introducing an international company to His Highness in the presence of the company BoD. To be exhaustive enough to catch the interest of HH, I had first to build the connection between the parties and then explain the value of the company solutions and technology utilizing strategic words. I did this to match HH’s expectations (I spoke a lot with HH before that meeting) and gave both parties the feeling that the partnership was (and still is) the perfect match between supply and demand.
What are the strategies of your company, and how do they stand unique from your competitors?
Passion, exclusivity, skills, and competences are my values in everything I do. However, the real difference between myself and other competitors is the consistency in serving quality to all my local and international clients.
What are the key values that helped you overcome the roadblocks/challenges in your career? Tell us something about your memorable incident in your leadership?
Besides the continuous daily training that improves my skills and extensive international network, it is always crucial to be crystal clear when I advise people after hearing their needs and intentions related to possible business in the area.
Where is your leadership going? What benefits do your clients get from your company in this competitive world?
Every change is very important in my business path. What I like the most are the changes because it keeps things moving. I am always listening to new people and new ideas and trying my best to adapt myself to the requirements to succeed. Being client-oriented rather than money-oriented (even if it’s important to consider it), I focus on my clients’ needs, requirements, and expectations.
Where is your leadership going? What benefits do your clients get from your company in this competitive world?
I love building long-term, solid relationships with reciprocal esteem and working with transparency to provide the full picture to the clients. Learning from the clients helps me provide custom-made solutions and release their headaches during the international expansion process. I want to see them enjoy their journey in the UAE.
What are the services/solutions or products offered by your company on par with the current industry standards? Tell us something about your upcoming products or services?
I’m committed to catering the best-in-class services to all my clients without any headache, making it hassle-free. I’m focused on providing them with the best-dedicated advisory service available at any time during the internationalization process with documentation, processing, and dedicated follow-ups. The UAE is booming again, and the growth is currently showing impressive numbers.
We can all expect big changes in the near future, especially in the new areas such as cryptocurrency, AI, and real estate metaverse, which can be easily considered the new era of business. I personally also started to invest in these new chapters because it is always important to remain aligned with the worldwide development and continuously learn not to lose business opportunities.
Connect with Federico Cervellini on LinkedIn! and