This month’s Portland Profile features Enrico Pelosato, Account Manager in our Brussels office:
- What is your favourite part about your role?
The chance to constantly learn. Having integrated into the EU public affairs consulting world coming from a background in European Studies (with a focus on justice and home affairs), on several occasions I dealt with issues that I had rarely considered previously or, at least, I had not imagined would become my bread and butter only a few months later. In general, I think it is quite nice to have the possibility to re-evaluate what we are interested in, what we are good at and maybe discover we like topics or we have skills we would not have imagined before….notably at the early stages of a professional career.
In addition, I think my current role (and previous ones) allow me to better understand the perspective of others and find insights I had not seen before, ultimately developing a more informed and solid opinion.
- What has been your favourite experience at Portland so far?
From a personal perspective, it sounds like a cliché, but I think the people: I was lucky enough to have some colleagues who invested in my professional development and, in return, I also enjoyed training younger colleagues and (in part) contributing to their personal and professional growth. In parallel, the possibility to constantly exchange – in Brussels or elsewhere, with colleagues or clients – with people coming from different geographical, professional and cultural backgrounds or having different skills and ideas contributed to my personal growth, as well as allowing me to develop some meaningful friendships.
From a professional perspective, I also think that seeing the tangible impact of our work (even if sometimes after setbacks or months/years later than initially expected) is certainly hugely rewarding.
- What is your area of expertise?
After covering a bunch of different policy areas in the very early phase of my career at Portland, for the past 3 years I have been extensively dealing with digital and tech policy (from AI to online platforms regulation, from data policy to cloud) as well as transport and mobility (from deployment of EV infrastructure to connected mobility).
- What do you do to switch off from work?
When in Brussels, I disconnect by going to the gym, having a walk or drinking over-priced Aperol Spritz and espressos on a Brussels terrace. You can also easily spot me at a well-known Italian bookshop or indie-rock concerts. Furthermore, when I wish to switch off from Brussels, I spend long weekends somewhere in Europe or, when I visit to my family in my hometown (Verona) I enjoy reconnecting with my childhood friends, hiking and strolling on Lake Garda.
- What is something that not many people know about you?
That’s a tricky one. Maybe that, as the third son after two sisters, I practiced figure skating for some months in kindergarten: unfortunately, my career was soon cut short since I developed a severe allergy to the vegetation around the rink, consequently I had to fall back on more traditional swimming and volleyball.
