Sara, growing with Salesforce “lake view”

From the Salento hinterland to “that branch of Lake Como which turns towards the south.” From economics to IT. The life of Sara Colucci, Salesforce Business Analyst and Project Manager in the Customer Digital Solutions practice, has been shaped by change, both personal and professional, while remaining grounded in a few non-negotiable must-haves: nature, the outdoors, and a dual-monitor workstation “because without it, I feel lost.”

She has pizzica in her blood, but now lives among the laghee beneath the Grigna and Resegone mountains. And the journey that has taken her across almost the entire length of Italy is also, in a way, a metaphor for her professional life: growth, discovery, and the value of preserving the relationships she has built along the way and always carries with her.

Tell us briefly who you are and where you come from.

I’m from Mesagne, in the province of Brindisi, where I spent my entire childhood and adolescence. Then, after finishing high school in 2013, I left home and moved to Pavia for university. Moving from Salento to the Po Valley was quite a leap. I started studying Economics, on a course focused on administration, control and finance, but after about a year and a half I realized it wasn’t the right path for me. I put my studies on hold and asked myself: “So, what am I going to do with my life?” The answer came through an IFTS course funded by the European Union, focused on mobile development techniques: 600 hours of theory and 400 hours of internship. That’s where I discovered a completely new world, between Java, PHP, SQL and systems I had barely known until then. During my internship and in my first experience at Reply, I worked as a Talend Developer and then, through the flows connecting different systems, I came across Salesforce: at first almost by chance, then more and more, until I started working with it in an AMS environment. And that’s how one of my longest-lasting “relationships” began.

What was it like joining Mashfrog?

I’ve been at Mashfrog for about five years and, for me, it was a turning point in both my personal and professional life. The team, the projects, but also simple things that shouldn’t be taken for granted, such as smart working. My way of working changed, and having greater freedom to organize my time gave me back some space: for sports, for studying, …. Professionally, I grew step by step. I joined as a Talend Developer and Salesforce Administrator, and today, depending on the needs and type of project, I can work as either a Business Analyst or a Project Manager.

How would you describe these five years?

I’ve had very different experiences: Enel, Enpam, Human and, more recently, Prysmian, which was a real testing ground in terms of complexity, scale and collaboration with new colleagues. I discovered worlds far removed from my everyday life, from submarine cables to fiber optics, and learned how to work with people and businesses that are very different from one another. And then there’s something else - one of the things I consider most important - the relationships built over time: with some colleagues, they have become something that goes beyond simply working together, and I hope they will continue for a long time to come.

You live in Lecco and work in Milan. Isn’t that inconvenient?

One of the advantages of smart working is being able to manage your time more effectively, and in any case the journey from Milan to Lecco isn’t longer than some trips from one side of the city to another. When I left Milan in 2025 and moved to Lecco, I simply followed my need for a different kind of everyday life. For me and my partner Valentina, it was a lifestyle choice: seeing the sky, the mountains, the water and the greenery completely changes the day. I’m a former Scout, so being outdoors has always come naturally to me. In Milan, I had looked for an apartment that at least had a view of the trees. Now, going down to the lake early in the morning and then sitting down to work is wonderful, even when the weather isn’t at its best. Because in Puglia we say “Salento, lu sule, lu mare, lu jento” — the sun, the sea and the wind — but there’s plenty of wind in Lecco in the morning too.

How do digital work and your love of nature coexist?

Whenever I can, I go for walks, hiking or cycling; I’ve tried climbing, tennis and swimming, and I like to change things up because every sport leaves me with something different. In climbing, for example, I’m fascinated by the fact that you have to be completely present: concentration is non-negotiable. I also enjoy travelling and looking for slightly unusual experiences: a road trip through Vietnam, the great national parks in the United States, Slovenia and even the chimney sweepers’ gathering in Val Vigezzo. And I’ve also found a way to combine work and the outdoors: I have a portable monitor and, when the weather allows, I go to the lake with a small table, mouse and keyboard. I have a real open-air workstation. I feel lost without a dual monitor, so we’ve solved that problem too.

How do you approach the constant changes in the digital world?

I believe I have a natural relationship with change. It has happened often in my life: when I left Puglia to move to Pavia, when I left Economics to move closer to technology, and again when, after several years, I decided to go back to university. And in October I’ll graduate from La Sapienza University of Rome. Right now, I’m investing in my English so I can speak it every day and put myself in a position where I really have to use it. I like the same approach at work: discovering worlds I don’t know, meeting new people and learning even from the most complex projects. Some experiences mainly teach you patience, others the need to learn how to listen, and others how important it is to stay focused, sometimes in silence, and find a solution together. In the end, what I always try to carry with me is this: always learn from what happens and keep moving forward, with greater awareness and something new to discover on the horizon.