The journey of Luca Marinelli, today Senior Director Learning & Development at Mangia's, between international hospitality, listening and new challenges

Inside Mangia's was born with the aim of telling the stories of those who, every day, contribute to shaping our vision of hospitality. Different paths, international experiences, professional and personal choices that intertwine in an authentic story made of growth, ambition and continuous evolution. 

This is the story of Luca Marinelli, Senior Director Learning & Development. 

Let yourself be inspired by the journey that shaped his vision.

Leadership, empathy and human relationships

The journey of Luca Marinelli, today Senior Director Learning & Development at Mangia's, 

«A beach, the sea and time for oneself»

If he had to choose a place that truly represents him, Luca Marinelli has no doubts.

For him, the sea is much more than a destination: it is openness, freedom, energy and sharing. A place that can mean solitude, reflection or sociality, but that in any case leaves room for people and relationships.

And it is perhaps precisely this that is the common thread of his professional journey: the idea that hospitality, even before being a service, is human connection.

An international journey built through listening

Throughout his career, Luca has lived and worked in very different countries - from the United Kingdom to the Middle East - each time engaging with different cultures, habits and ways of living work and relationships.

Among the experiences he remembers with the greatest intensity is his first move to an Arab country:

«At first it was a real cultural shock. I was the only Westerner within a group made up almost entirely of Arab people. It was an experience that taught me a great deal.»

Above all about the value of listening:

«I understood that each of us arrives with their own background, their own values and their own priorities. And this teaches you first and foremost to listen.»

A skill he still considers today one of the most important competences, both in life and at work.

«I listen a great deal before speaking. I try first to understand people and then to draw my own conclusions.»

Hospitality is human relationship

Over time, Luca has developed a very precise vision of the hospitality sector.

«We are people who work with other people for other people.»

For this reason, empathy and listening are fundamental elements:

«Listening is not only hearing what a person says. It is also understanding what they cannot say.»

For him, body language, tone of voice and silences often say much more than words:

«If we stop only at the verbal message, we grasp a minimal part of what a person is truly communicating.»

Bringing out people's potential

Alongside his managerial career, Luca has also explored the world of Executive Coaching, developing an approach increasingly oriented towards the growth of people and teams.

An experience that taught him how important it is to ask questions, create dialogue and truly understand the people in front of him.

«Many people don't need someone to tell them what to do. They need someone to ask them how they are.»

For him, the role of a leader is precisely this:

«Helping people to bring out their own potential.»

A process that requires time, listening and genuine attention:

«If we stop only at performance or daily meetings, we risk losing completely the person in front of us.»

The choice of Mangia's

Joining Mangia's represents for Luca a new professional and personal challenge.

At first, he admits to having looked at the project with curiosity but also with a certain caution:

«Moving from a large international organisation to an Italian company inevitably led me to ask myself some questions.»

What convinced him was above all the vision of the project:

«What struck me was the energy, the ambition and the genuine desire to build something important.»

Once inside the company, he found confirmation of that initial feeling:

«There is so much to build, and that is precisely what makes everything extremely exciting.»

The true meaning of luxury

After years spent in the world of international hospitality and luxury, Luca has developed his own definition of luxury experience.

«True luxury is when a guest doesn't even need to ask for something.»

For him, luxury stems from the ability to anticipate needs, desires and emotions.

An approach that returns once again to the concept of listening and observation:

«Anticipating means reading people, understanding what is left unsaid and transforming it into experience.»

Continuing to be surprised by people

After so many years spent between hotels, airports and different cultures, what still motivates him today is precisely the human factor.

«People continue to surprise me every day.»

For better or worse, every encounter is an opportunity to learn something new:

«The more I work with people, the more I realise how profoundly different we all are.»

And it is precisely this diversity that makes the hospitality sector so vibrant and stimulating.

Irony as a form of balance

In his way of experiencing work and relationships, there is finally one element that Luca considers fundamental: irony.

«From one to ten? I'd say eleven.»

A trait he lives as a natural part of his own personality:

«Sometimes I even have to hold back from making jokes in more serious contexts.»

For him, irony represents balance, lightness and authenticity.

A way to build more genuine relationships, without ever losing the human side of work.

Always looking ahead, always through people

For Luca Marinelli, hospitality has never been merely a question of standards or processes.

It is listening, empathy and the ability to create authentic connections.

An international journey built through different cultures, different experiences and a conviction that has always remained the same: people come first.