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I’m also interested in making New York a stronger center for design dialogue, partnerships and innovation, complementing our established presence in Miami. Ultimately, I want Pininfarina to be recognized not only for its remarkable design legacy, but for its ability to help shape the future of the field. ML: How will your urban design background complement the work of Paolo Trevisan and Samuele Sordi as you shape Pininfarina’s next chapter? Eugenia Di Girolamo: Paolo and Samuele bring exceptional design expertise and a deep understanding of Pininfarina’s creative culture. I see my contribution as complementary to theirs. My background has taught me to look at design through a broader lens: the relationship between buildings and cities, between products and the way people live, and between individual projects and the larger economic, cultural and environmental forces shaping our future. That perspective is especially valuable in an organization like Pininfarina, where disciplines have enormous potential to inform one another. I’m interested in creating even more opportunities for collaboration across our architecture and product design teams, connecting their work with our clients in the mobility and technology spaces and the evolving needs of who we design for. My role is to create the conditions in which their ideas can have an even greater reach and impact. ML: You have taught at Cornell and YACademy. What have younger designers taught you about your own approach to design? Eugenia Di Girolamo: Teaching has always been an opportunity for me to learn as much as to share what I know. Younger designers often approach problems with an openness that is both refreshing and challenging. They’re less constrained by established conventions and more willing to question why things are done a certain way. They also bring a heightened awareness of issues such as environmental responsibility, social equity and the role of technology in shaping our lives. What I’ve learned from them is the importance of remaining curious and being willing to challenge your own assumptions. As we become more experienced, we develop judgment and expertise, but we can also become attached to familiar ways of thinking. Working with students reminds me that creativity requires a certain willingness to be uncomfortable, to experiment and to accept that the most interesting answers aren’t always the most obvious ones. We must stay nimble (my favorite word), create a new future that doesn’t exist today. I think that’s an important lesson in design and in leadership. ML: With projects such as Andare Residences and Collection Sei in South Florida, how can luxury residential design better respond to the way people live today? Eugenia Di Girolamo: I think the definition of

