2021-February-04

Did you know? You can share this story using the social media icons on the upper left. Use the hashtag #WeAreCisco. You can also rate or comment on the story below.

Ama Il Posto Dove Lavori (Love Where You Work)

BY MARIA LOPES and KRYSTAL CHENG

This is the story of how one night at a Milan bar would forever change the life of Carlo Milani, Operations Manager on the CX EMEAR Digital Lifecycle Journeys team. Little did he know that he would meet the woman he would later fall in love with and marry.

Love would lead Carlo to the U.K., where he would also find a job he loves at a company that inspires him to share his passion with others.

Finding the woman he loves

It was 2003. Carlo Milani was at his neighborhood bar in Milan, Italy when he met an English woman named Emma. Since Emma was about to return home to the U.K., the pair exchanged numbers and email addresses to stay in touch.

Little did they know that this exchange would sow the seeds of a long-distance love story.

While apart, Carlo and Emma frequently texted, emailed, and visited each other in Italy and the U.K. Carlo remembers, "It wasn’t easy, of course. We were young, and a long-distance relationship was never in my plans. But you do as much as you can to make it work.”

And that’s exactly what they did.

In 2004, Carlo said “arrivederci” (goodbye) to Milan, and “alreet” (hello) to Newcastle to be with Emma.

He remembers, "Newcastle folks have a very strong accent, and it was quite hard to get used to it in the beginning. However, I’ve always wanted to be part of the English culture. So, with the help of my wife’s family and some new friends, I managed to settle and fit in.”

Nowadays, Carlo feels more English than Italian.

Finding a company he loves

When Carlo moved to the U.K. to be with the love of his life, he thought that things couldn’t get any better.

He was in for a surprise.

In 2005, Carlo joined Cisco as a Virtual Partner Account Manager. 16 years later, he is now an Operations Manager on the CX EMEAR Digital Lifecycle Journeys team. As it turns out, Cisco is the company of Carlo’s dreams.

“I chose Cisco because of its company culture. I’ve learned so many things and met so many people. Cisco is more than a workplace,” he shares. “It’s like an extended family where everyone looks after each other.”

His love for giving back

Even as a red badge employee, Carlo still embraces Cisco’s culture of giving back by making a positive impact through his passion: teaching Italian.

After receiving his teaching certification, Carlo started to teach Italian to the Newcastle community for four hours every week in his spare time. “Work inspires me to find more ways to give to others,” Carlo explains.

“My way of giving back is through teaching. I really enjoy sharing my knowledge, my language, and my culture with everyone who wants to learn Italian.”

Our love for making a difference

It doesn’t matter if you’re a blue badge or a red badge employee — at Cisco, giving back is in our DNA.
Whether it’s volunteering through Time2Give, or teaching Italian in your spare time, we’re proud to make a difference in the world for the better together.