Irene Boni - The future? Breaking the mould

Future is the key word when it comes to Talent Garden, today Europe's leading digital education operator and the largest community of tech-ecosystem innovators in Europe, thanks to the acquisition of Hyper Island, the Swedish business school specialising in digital education.

The digital world is the one we move in every day, for business and for personal relationships. It is the same world in which companies are investing more and more to chase commercial opportunities as technology keeps evolving. Luxury spoke to Irene Boni, CEO of Talent Garden since 2021: her extensive experience in digital and in business organisation makes her an authoritative voice on where digital work is heading.

In your career you have worked with companies such as Procter & Gamble, McKinsey & Co. and YOOX NET-A-PORTER Group, covering everything from Corporate Development to Human Resources: how has this shaped your personal and professional mindset?

“I have had the chance to work in extraordinary organisations that brought great innovation to their markets. Mine has been a natural progression, going hand in hand with the skills I acquired and the roles I held. Working with love for what I do, with passion and with the desire, which is still with me, never to stop learning, has certainly been a winning asset.”

Talent Garden works above all with young people taking their first steps into the world of work; it is present in 12 countries with a community of 4,500 people. What are young people looking for in work today? And what does a company look for in a young recruit?

“The new generations have a different approach to work and certainly place a new value on time. What we see at Talent Garden is that most of them today are looking, rightly, for flexibility in working arrangements, which now have to be centred on achieving objectives, not on the obsolete standard eight-hour day, and for the freedom to work from anywhere in the world. And more. Young people are looking for companies that reflect their values, that have clear ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance, ed.) policies and care about social and environmental sustainability, so they can feel part of a project whose vision and purpose they share. The playing field where companies and new professionals meet is certainly training: continuous, up to date and focused on the digital skills that companies can no longer do without if they want to stay competitive.”

Is Italy really a country that drives its talent away?

“At Talent Garden we see extraordinary talent: determined, curious, believers in networking and exchange. No longer willing to settle for a ‘job for life’ and constantly looking for stimulation that is not always easy to find in a country where the average age of managers is around 48. But there is ferment and a sense of change. In the first half of 2022 investment in startups came close to a billion, against €661,000 in the first half of the previous year. A sign that you can do business in Italy and that good ideas find investors. We have great examples of Italian startups and companies that have succeeded in Italy and beyond because they are driven by intellectually lively, creative people, a typically Italian trait that you can't find anywhere but here.”

TAG (Talent Garden) spaces are both in Italy and abroad: what differences have you seen in the approach to training and work from country to country?

“There are countries where training closely involves governments and others where it is left to individuals. In Sweden, for example, where we are present with Hyper Island, an organisation with more than 25 years of history in digital education, every year the government defines the skills and professions of the future in line with its growth plans. Private institutions propose training programmes for the key professions and the government allocates the funds. Simple: training has to follow the national strategy that has been set. Denmark pays close attention to NEETs, people who are not in education or work, and the public university provides funding for their training so they can find their professional path. There we collaborate by offering our courses entirely in English, and we are the only player doing so. Finally, in Austria, we are trying out direct forms of partnership with the government through its unemployment agency, AMS (ArbeitsMarktService), through which students can already enrol in programmes built specifically around the needs of the local market. In Italy we are in talks with the main universities to collaborate on digital training. I believe the time has come to think a little outside the box, to go beyond traditional training, and we are working on several regional calls for proposals, such as those issued by the Lazio and Puglia regions.”

Talking about training with Irene Boni is anything but a corporate slogan. Her own education speaks for itself, and those who know her confirm that passion for her own learning has never been lacking, quite the opposite. And this is what is most needed today, what the much-praised and much-condemned social networks put on the table: case histories. TAG itself prefers trainers who are professionals with experience to share. Today Boni is the chief executive of one of Europe's largest digital training campuses, yet there must have been a start to her career too...

What would you say to the professional you were at the start of your career?

“No rush, no fear of change. There is always time to change direction.”

Looking through your biography we find that you are a member of Angels4woman: what is it?

“Angels4woman is an association of business angels who want to invest in female-led startups with high growth potential. We want to reduce the gender gap and support women who have decided to take the plunge by founding a startup and challenging stereotypes. Women are women's best supporters because they have an extraordinary ability to network. I have been lucky enough to work in forward-looking organisations that always bet on know-how, and today I work at Talent Garden, where 57% of the professionals are women.”

What advice would you give a young person who wants to grow professionally?

“Never stop thinking about your own training. Companies, which are struggling to find the ideal candidates, are looking for young people with skills that match the digital transformation under way.”

Is there still room today to chase your professional dreams, or is it better just to pay the bills?

“There must always be the will and the desire to chase your dreams. It is the fundamental key to finding new energy, to working on yourself and improving both professionally and personally.”

Last question: Luxury is about luxury, so which one do you allow yourself?

“The luxury I allow myself is time. Time for my family, to go with my children to fetch fresh milk from the farm and eggs from the farmer, or to spend time watching a bee. The luxury of slowness.”

Come and learn how the high-end market works, and how you can position your brand in the premium–luxury sector, selling your products or services in Italy and abroad at high prices, and so increasing your profits and margins without losing market share or sales.

Discover the live course “Margini di Lusso”, 8th edition, Friday 20 and Saturday 21 November 2026 in Milan, taught in Italian: book your place on the course page.