SuperSealer Gabriele Bartoli
This month's SuperSealer has made his mark across Europe, helping to fulfil client needs across markets and sectors. He discusses his career journey, working in an international environment and meeting the growing demand for sustainable solutions.
Who are you?
My name is Gabriele Bartoli. I'm 42 years old, born in Pistoia, close to Florence in the Tuscany region of Italy. I trained at the University of Florence as an electronic engineer and have been working in technical sales since 2007. I joined Trelleborg in 2014 and since then I have covered different roles, with increasing responsibilities along the way. I'm currently Regional Sales Manager of Trelleborg Sealing Profiles.
How long have you worked in this position and what are your key duties?
I became responsible for sales across Western Europe in 2020. Fast forward to today, my responsibilities have expanded to include the DACH region - Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. I am responsible for eight sales managers in this area, and my main task is to lead them, ensuring they meet their targets.
Beyond my people management responsibilities, I develop sales plans and campaigns, aligning our day-to-day activities with the organization’s overall sales strategy for our assigned geography, product line, market segment and customer accounts. Together, we maintain and grow our overall sales in the region and actively search for new potential business opportunities.
How long have you been with Trelleborg in total and what do you like about working with Trelleborg?
I joined Trelleborg in 2014 as a sales manager for Italy and added Switzerland to my responsibilities in 2015. In 2019 I became the business development manager for Southern Europe, covering Spain and Portugal, and my portfolio has steadily grown since then to include the rest of Western Europe, DACH, the UK and Ireland. As of this year, I'm also covering the aerospace sector, which is an exciting field to explore.
What I like most about Trelleborg is its multicultural environment. Working with colleagues from many different countries is an additional stimulus to an already challenging market. On top of that, the level of our R&D is top-class, which makes the job even more fascinating.
What are the key challenges you face in your job?
My biggest challenge is to provide profitable growth in a very competitive landscape. To make this happen, I work with the sales managers to add value to every proposal we share with our customers, such as through innovation and technical support.
In addition to navigating these business challenges, I recognize the importance of honing my soft skills. It’s essential for me to adapt and refine my approach to effectively lead teams and engage with customers who bring diverse cultural perspectives to the table.
How do you think the business in your area is going to evolve in the future, and how are you preparing for this?
One example is in the window market, where we see a trend towards higher-performing systems. Here, the sealing effect is essential, and consequently, the gasket becomes more complicated and requires strong developmental effort. At Trelleborg Sealing Profiles we are ready to face this change with our excellent R&D department, which supports sales throughout the customer journey.
Another trend in the market is the requests from our customers for more sustainable solutions. Consumers' environmental awareness is growing, and this results in higher demand for products with lower impact on people and the environment. Trelleborg has a leading position on this topic, with our sustainability efforts focused on three pillars of operations, compliance and social engagement. We are taking steps to reduce our footprint, such as our initiative “Polymers for Tomorrow” where we partner with stakeholders to increase the share of bio-based materials, recycled materials and new polymer formulas.
What do you do in your free time?
Outside of work, my world revolves around family, spending time with my two boys, aged nine and seven, and my three year old daughter. I like to keep active by skiing and swimming, and I relax with books and series. With such an international job, it's no surprise that I love to travel and learning new languages. Fluent in English and German, I am currently embracing the challenge of learning French.
