Introducing Roberto Blanda
Roberto Blanda was born in Rome on the 14th of December in 1970 and has lived in that city for most of his life, although his education and career have led to him spending time in various international locations. He served in the Police Corp Guardia di Finanza for the two years following his completion of high school, as his compulsory military service.
Following this, Blanda spent much of his life pursuing further education. His qualifications include a cum laude Honors degree from the Seattle University of Washington in Romance Linguistics and French, a Master of Science degree from Oxford University in Educational Research, and an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from the SDA Bocconi School of Management. Blanda has also pursued a formal coaching qualification from the Academy of Executive Coaching as part of his continued interest in management and leadership training.
Roberto Blanda’s admission to the University of Washington followed his military service and success as an international rower. Blanda began rowing aged 12 and was selected to participate in the Italian National Rowing Team five years later. This led to an appearance at the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, representing his country, which in turn led to his being offered a scholarship from the university.
In 1996, after completing his Honors Degree, Blanda once again represented his country at the Olympic Games, this time as part of the Italian coxed eight at Atlanta. Throughout his education, Blanda has competed in various prestigious rowing events, including the United States Intercollegiate circuit, where he became a three-time, all-time member of the PAC 10 Championship. He was also part of the team that entered the Oxford Cambridge Boat Race in March 1997.
Alongside his elite rowing career, Roberto Blanda has utilised his strong educational background with a career in human resources. He has worked in management and directorship roles for a number of companies, including Servier Italy, Toyota Italy, Daimler Chrysler Italy, and British American Tobacco Italy. This latter employment was undertaken with a view to expanding international horizons, and Blanda later worked for BAT in London in a global strategy role.
Roberto Blanda emphasises how rowing has helped him gain invaluable transferable skills that have helped him on his career trajectory. His professional role today involves working in London as an organisational performance consultant. Blanda still rows competitively in the Master division of the sport and has won three consecutive Master Henley Regattas.