Meet Luca Amadeo, Sales Manager of the C.A.S.E. division at Safic-Alcan Italy. A chemist by education, he quickly discovered his passion lay beyond the lab—out in the field, building connections, traveling, and bringing people together. Outside of work, he’s an avid traveler, sports enthusiast, and true food lover, always curious to explore new places, cultures, and flavors—often with his son by his side.
Introduce yourself...When and why did you join Safic-Alcan? What made you consider joining us?
I’m the Sales Manager of the C.A.S.E. division at Safic-Alcan Italy, and I’ve been part of the company since 2020. I studied chemistry both in high school and at university because I was really fascinated by the subject, but after a while I realized that spending all day inside a lab just wasn’t for me. I was craving something more dynamic—I wanted to be on the move, to travel, and most importantly, to meet people and build connections with companies.
So I began my career working for a couple of paint manufacturers, where I gained experience as formulator, application technician and later as international sales manager. Those early roles gave me a solid technical foundation, but over time I started to feel a bit let down by the way many chemical manufacturing companies—our customers or suppliers, for instance—usually operate. The bulk of their efforts and investments tend to go into products and plants, while the Sales & Marketing side is often seen as something easy, almost secondary, and rarely given the attention or incentives it deserves.
That’s when I decided to challenge myself by moving into distribution, where salespeople like us are truly the beating heart of the business—the ones who bring ideas, energy, and opportunities directly into the company. With Safic-Alcan it was honestly love at first sight. We shared the same vision from the start: working with passion, building meaningful relationships, growing together, and of course… selling!
How do experience your relationship with other collaborators, partners, principals or customers?
One of the very first things my boss told me when I joined Safic-Alcan was something like: “If you want to sell, you first need to know how to sell yourself to people.” Thanks Marco, you were absolutely right!!! More often than not, new business doesn’t come only from the quality of a product or the persistence of a sales pitch, but from a suggestion by a colleague, a contact’s recommendation, or simply because a client decides to open a door for you. I strongly believe that surrounding ourselves with people who enjoy working with us is crucial. It shouldn’t be about obligation or personal gain—it should be about trust and mutual respect. That’s why Safic-Alcan is such a special company: collaboration is natural for us. Otherwise, we’d just be another multinational, and nothing more.
What is something curious or funny we should know about you? (your hobbies, passions, etc)
Travel has always been my greatest passion. I think it stems from a mix of curiosity and the desire to challenge myself far away from home. Before joining Safic-Alcan, I was lucky enough to travel to almost every corner of the world—granted, most of it was quick business trips, but still, those experiences left me with unforgettable memories. Now I’m trying to pass this love for travel to my son: every chance we get, we go somewhere together. I can’t wait for the day he will start studying geography so he can fully appreciate how beautiful it is to see other cultures and understand the world beyond maps and books.
Sports are another big part of my life. I play padel regularly, I’ve been skiing since I was four years old, and apart from the usual soccer matches with friends, I used to play basketball as playmaker. I even got called up once for a Serie D game! Unfortunately, another passion of mine slowed down my sport career: I’ve always preferred good food and a nice drink over strict training schedules. I’m crazy about food and I’m always hungry. Just ask my colleagues—if there’s a snack lying around the office, you can bet I’ll find it.
How do you try to incorporate Safic values of Entrepreneurship, Responsibility, Expertise, Trust in your day-to-day work?
When it comes to values, I believe that ethics, reliability, and transparency are the minimum requirements to work in any organization. But there are other qualities that require more active training and practice. Learning to work in a team, for example, is something that really makes a difference: it allows us to build a solid and sustainable company by leveraging everyone’s skills and experiences. This isn’t something you pick up from a book—you only learn it on the job, in real situations. Eventually, you get there… otherwise, maybe Safic-Alcan just isn’t the right fit.
Do you have any illustrative fun/light stories to share from your time at Safic-Alcan?
If a good beginning is always important, mine was definitely memorable. When our former General Manager, Pietro Affer, signed my contract, he told me: “This virus thing is just a joke, don’t worry, see you in the office in fifteen days when it’s all over.” Two days later, Italy went into its first three-month COVID-19 lockdown. Let’s just say I had plenty of time to study our product portfolio in depth before setting foot in the office!
What is the one main takeaway candidates wanting to join Safic-Alcan should know and look forward to?
What makes Safic-Alcan special, even today, is that we’re still one of those companies built around people. Everyone here works with passion, commitment, and team spirit. Each of us has the freedom to approach work in our own way, because at the end of the day what matters are commitment and results. And we can always count on the support of colleagues as well as on the multinational and multidisciplinary strength of the group.
Working at Safic-Alcan isn’t a walk in the park. It’s much more like a mountain trek: demanding, challenging, sometimes even exhausting, but also incredibly rewarding along the way. You push yourself, you grow, and you learn to appreciate not just the destination but every step of the journey. And that’s exactly what makes this job so exciting.