Meet Francesco Soncini: President of JERO International Consulting

Born and raised near Modena in northern Italy, Francesco Soncini is a senior majoring in Business Administration. Francesco is the President of JERO International Consulting, which is part of a worldwide network of Junior Enterprises (non-profit companies run entirely by university students).

Francesco Soncini

Tell us about your background. How did you get to JCU?
With a diploma from an Italian vocational-technical high school, my interest in studying Business Administration at an American university was odd in the eyes of my family, friends, and high school teachers. I applied to John Cabot thanks to a friend of mine who was studying International Business. Looking at what he was doing, I saw a lot of appeal in the practical approach to the subject and in the opportunities it created. The international perspective that this academic path has given me goes well beyond any expectations I had had at the beginning of my university career. The combination of soft and hard skills that I developed at JCU will play a crucial role in my career, especially now that I am starting to apply for master’s programs in international management.

You are the President of JERO International Consulting. Can you tell us a little bit more about the project?
JERO International Consulting was founded by alumnus Fernando Royuela Huerga and other students in March 2020 with the intent of making entrepreneurial resources accessible to the student body. As part of a network of 30 Junior Enterprises (JE) in Italy, JERO can learn from others’ experiences and share its own. Our JE is organized into three macro areas—Business & Finance, Marketing & Communication, and Human resources—and led by a Board of Directors. Within these macro areas of interest, we offer consulting services such as business planning, business development, and marketing strategies to small medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups. My role as President of the Board is to oversee the work carried out inside JERO while managing relationships with the University and our Italian Network.

What are some things to keep in mind when creating a team for a project like this?
In terms of building a team, we love trying things out and combining different skillsets and characteristics. Even though we are divided into three macro areas of interest, we always try to assign tasks that compliment a team member’s experience. At the end of the day, we are all here to listen, learn and put our drive and resources at our clients’ disposal. We understand that JERO is a demanding project, in terms of hours and effort, and we strive to accommodate everyone’s academic priorities.

What is the secret to business competition?
Getting ready for competition is tough. What I always stress with my team is that we must understand where we are, where we want to go, and how we can get there. Objectively analyzing your organization, its potential, and its surroundings helps you to understand what your abilities are. Having a clear objective in mind guides the associates and maintains cohesion within the team. In our case, we are one of the few international JE in the Italian network. There are other, well-established JEs, such as JEME (Bocconi) and JECATT (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore), that work on international projects, but we were born global from the start and we want to close the gap between Italian JEs and the other networks scattered around the world.

What advice would you give to a prospective business student?
Be humble and go big. This academic environment at JCU provides an enormous number of opportunities. Each of these opportunities opens the door to even better ones. Dare now because you have nothing to lose, create a strong team because they will support you through hardship, and evaluate yourself for constant improvement.

What are your plans for the future?
I am planning to continue with JERO for the next year to help establish a solid foundation for the organization. Additionally, I will apply to be part of JEItaly in the Private Cooperation area. Lastly, applications for master’s programs will be open soon, and I am looking for one that will give me the most opportunities to grow both professionally and personally.