My name is Ambrogio Ferrario, I am the senior marketing manager for Italy and Greece at Netflix. Simply put I couldn’t be happier with my current job. I consider myself lucky to have had a successful career so far that brought me from entertainment (MTV) to lifestyle products (Nike) and back to entertainment in what I consider the most challenging and rewarding company, where the boundaries of marketing are redefined on a daily basis.

I had a huge expectations on the company and as I went through the lengthy hiring process figuring out that the job was going to be very demanding but extremely satisfying. So much that a title downgrade I had to go through transitioning to Netflix was not a problem

I feel like in my current position I am leveraging my experience bridging together the creative approach I learned marketing entertainment at MTV with the data driven approach I had to have when I was in charge of the growth of Nike.com in Italy and Spain. At Netflix we marry the art and science of marketing and communication, mixing the highest creative freedom with a rigorous and scientific approach to numbers and data. Like the “Basta Netflix” campaign I have worked on where starting from consumers behaviours (analysed through data) we built a creative campaign that took over Milan and Rome.

Transitioning from my past job to Netflix took some time. This was expected as Netflix culture is extremely unique and adapting to it requires dedication, patience and the ability to accept change. What really has proven to be different is the propensity in Netflix to give and receive feedback in a fruitful and unbiased way. Along with the adoption of Netflix culture I had to reacquaint myself with a more hands on approach. At Nike I had a large team to lead spanning 3 countries, which has been a very fulfilling experience but had brought me away from getting deep into developing projects and campaigns. In my current job I oversee the launch strategy of several shows in the market from beginning to the end (targeting and positioning approach, relations with the agencies, implementation and budgeting all the way to the execution phase).

This focus on executing campaigns hasn’t taken away the strategic part of my job as I find myself challenged with big questions and the creative freedom to answer to them.

The freedom aspect is crucial in my experience in Netflix. After working in companies where process was really top down giving me small head space to operate freely, I felt very liberated and effective. This great potential in being proactive and make important decisions is by far the biggest quality I find in this job, so much that regardless of a scale down in my title I feel the scope of my job is way wider.

Personally I am also enjoying my experience in Amsterdam, thriving city, where my family (wife and 2 young kids) and I are flourishing, regardless of Dutch weather that sometimes tests my southern European blood.

I have just passed my second year in Netflix and look forward to the challenges and complex tasks I’ll have to face in the coming future.