“If I could have followed my heart, I would have chosen to study Philosophy and then I would have been a journalist, but my father was clear: either Economics or Law. And then the company”. She says it without acrimony, even amused Chiara Pertosa, 41, president of Sitael, a company from Mola di Bari which is part of the Angel group which develops satellites, electric propulsion systems, scientific instruments for space missions and IoT (Internet of Things) solutions for industrial applications. One of the very few women who occupy a prominent place in the space sector. She says it with hindsight and perhaps not even so convinced of those youthful desires anymore, because today she presides over one of the most important groups in the world of the Space Economy, as everything that is involved on and far from our planet is defined . Last year, to illustrate, a photo opportunity portrayed her as she signed agreements with numerous partners to carry out the Platinum programme, the project that will transform Italy into a leading country also in the space sector.
We are talking about an agreement financed by the Space Agency and the Italian Government with an investment of over 100 million euros and which also provides for the implementation of two missions for the launch of satellites scheduled for 2022 and 2023. Sitael (with other companies grouped in a temporary agreement) collaborates with Leonardo, Airbus and Thales Alenia Space. Chiara is the eldest daughter of Vito Pertosa, founder of Mermec (Meridional Meccanica), central nucleus of the Angel Group, which also includes Sitael, and which produces diagnostic trains and signaling systems for railways and subways all over the world, including legendary Japan. And also Tibet, where Mermec has brought diagnostic systems into the railway system at the highest altitude ever. The Angel group was born in Monopoli, 50 km south of Bari, and there it left its heart and brain as it opened branches in 19 countries with products and services in use in 65 countries around the world. Angel includes companies that have only one common denominator: they are all projected towards the future, using highly advanced technologies, whether it be planes, trains or satellites.
They're called BlackShape, which makes carbon fiber planes; Sit, which develops information systems for mapping territories; Ewings, which among other things supplies the telemetry solution used by all the Formula 1 teams; Angelstar, specializing in the design and development of on-board train management signaling systems, the ERMTS, for railway operators worldwide; Brightcyde, specialized in the design and implementation of cyber-security solutions and services for network infrastructures; Eikontech, specialized in the development of solutions in the strategic fields of computational science, artificial intelligence, applied electromagnetism and radio communications; Matipay, which produces mobile-payment solutions and telemetry devices that transform vending machines into smart points of sale. A small giant that employs over 1500 people, of whom more than a thousand are engineers whose strength is always the same: it invests a large part of its revenues in research and development.
Let me start our conversation with a personal detail, as women often do when they first get to know each other. Today you are the president of a more than important group of companies. If she could have chosen, would she have done anything else in life?
“Do you want to know the truth? I couldn't choose. When I finished high school my desires took me elsewhere. I like to write, I have a liberal arts education and I would have loved to do the job of her, the journalist. And I wanted to study philosophy. What stopped me from doing it? How did my father convince me? Well, it was very clear: he simply said that he wouldn't pay for my studies. Very pragmatically. He had told me: either Economics or Law. And then the company. So I enrolled in Economics and Commerce in Bari because I didn't even have permission to leave since I also had a jealous dad. I recovered later because I had the opportunity to stay away for a year, in Finland having won a scholarship and because - to be honest - we had to open an office in Northern Europe. Headquarters then opened first in Norway, then in Finland. On that occasion my father didn't raise any objections because it was really in his favor, given that it was also in the company's interest. In hindsight my father was absolutely right. And anyway I'm not a rebellious person, at least with my father. I took the advice and moved on. Today I am satisfied with my work: as you can imagine in the company I started from the bottom, I did everything following every step of the way, starting from the foreign office in the railway sector, growing slowly. Today I say with sincerity that he was right".
Last year she was chosen by the Polytechnic of Bari to join the BoD as an external member, second of only two units (the other is her colleague Dante Altomare, executive vice president of Exprivia, in office since 2014): as lived this decision of the rector?
“Well, he got a woman and not an engineer either. Perhaps the rector, however, thought he had chosen even the least annoying one, he soon had to change his mind. As I said I can seem submissive towards my father, although we often argue, but otherwise I'm very punctilious. There is a good relationship with the Council and the Rector. But during the pandemic I pointed out that private individuals had never stopped while the public, and the University in that case, had closed its doors. For me it was an inopportune choice, especially as regards the University. I was obviously told that the decision had been made by the Ministry, which was true, so I was only able to record my position. Sometimes it takes a little more courage in the PA. If you ask me why this difference with private companies, I can only explain it by the fact that perhaps private individuals have to do a lot more accounts at the end of the month. In my case, I have always moved for work, even during the toughest months. With the necessary precautions, but I've never stayed at home."
MerMec, a world leader in the design of systems for the inspection and operation of railway infrastructure, in which she, among other things, still has managerial positions, has become famous above all for the railway system built in Tibet, a very complicated place for every type of structure for the terrain and climate. How do you remember that period?
“We started in the early 80s with the maintenance of railway infrastructures, then we moved on to diagnostic means for carrying out maintenance and then to electronics and software, ie diagnostic engines. I remember that period very well because when we sold diagnostic technology in Tibet, I was already in the company. And yet it could surprise only the newspapers. The truth is that if you're good, you have the right skills and products, it's not complicated to compete on the international market, whether the competitors are called Tibet or Japan. We were able to offer that product and we offered it.”
Sitael develops areas in which it is difficult to meet many women entrepreneurs. What would you feel like saying to a girl who would like to follow her example?
“I was certainly lucky to be born into a family like mine, I have and will have an entrepreneurial legacy, not a financial one. Not villas with swimming pools, but companies, as I often say. So I'll be honest, for a woman it's always difficult, without these characteristics it's almost impossible. Even harsher is the space sector. In Italy we are very few. But the battle can be won. You have to be determined, not be afraid, study hard. And keep in mind that every day has its challenge. The small contract, the big contract. Maintaining family balance for a woman is also a challenge. And here, too, luck counts. You have to have a golden husband like it happened to me and lots and lots of patience. I have two children, a 16 year old boy and a 7 year old girl. They don't give me any problems, the older one is very good at school, calm; the little one is naughty, but she's okay with it. They need parents and it's not easy, as you can imagine. And if you ask me if the grandfather behaves with them as he behaved with his children, I tell her no, it's much softer with the grandchildren. Is my child expected in the company? I have to be honest, I will leave him free to choose. If he wants, the door is open. Otherwise I won't do as my father did with me, he will be free to take other paths."
Tell us about Sitael, one of the biggest players in the Space Economy. What do you imagine for the near future?
“It is an important year for the space sector. Last year Sitael, leader of a temporary consortium of companies, signed a long-term agreement with Leonardo, Airbus Italia and Tas Italia, which could aim at the creation of a constellation of made in Italy satellites. This is the Platino project, our flagship product. It serves to observe the Earth, to verify climate change, to monitor the functioning of infrastructures. You could get up to 30 satellites and each of medium size. Today in orbit there are the small ones and the big ones, missing a measure in between. They would be very useful for doing an accurate job and having a competitive advantage over other European countries because so far reconnaissance in our country is done using few satellites with the consequence that the images are not updated quickly. It would be the first time for a made in Italy also in the space sector”.
You have departed from the train system, gone through the planes and aimed for space. But the trains seem to have remained in your heart. Let's talk about Hyperloop, the very high-speed train of which you and others are building a prototype in France. At what stage is the project? How long will we have to wait to see it done?
“Alas, unfortunately the project is in a slowdown phase. It's a fantastic program that has nothing to do with Japanese super trains. We are talking about another technology. Of capsule trains that reach a speed of 300 km per hour gliding on air cushions. Prototypes are being worked on in China, France, Spain, Canada and the USA, but for now the reality is far away. The truth is that this type of investment can only be made if there is a government decision, it is not possible to make it as a private enterprise. It doesn't cost more than high speed, but it truly represents the future, with all that it means, quality of travel, safety for passengers. All things that take away a lot of discussion. And they slow down decisions. While I understand that the future needs to be built with great awareness, sometimes it feels like it's too slow."
Sorry I think…
"Very very much. Hyperloop completely changes the reality of transportation. But the search continues. It's not unfeasible. Just believe".
