I'm Pietro Leonardi

What I am and do today comes from a journey full of turning points.

By 24 I earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Management Engineering (University of Brescia) and spent a full academic year in Germany (University of Freiburg), leading to a decade-long international career in tech and business consulting.

I started specializing in data analysis solutions and eventually led multi-cultural teams for global companies. This gave me a dual lens: understanding business needs and leveraging technology to solve them.

While I enjoyed my individual growth, along the way I realized my true fulfillment came from helping people grow. A second path began—psychology.

I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychological Science (University of Padova) and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology with honors (University of Bergamo). I also embarked in a specialization program in Psychotherapy at the European Institute of Systemic-Relational Therapies.

Additionally, I deepened psychological coaching frameworks rooted in brief strategic therapy and systemic approaches.

Today, as a freelance consultant based in Milan, I blend my complementary know-how to help professionals and organizations overcome limiting patterns, expand their choices, and achieve their authentic ambitions.

I can wear different hats, but it’s always me behind them, driven by my passion to embrace complexity and return simplicity.

At 19, I had no dream job in mind, and studying wasn’t exactly my favorite thing.

But I had a scientific inclination, so I enrolled at a university just 200 meters from home. I earned a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Management Engineering from the University of Brescia.

I learned math, physics, chemistry, other tech stuff, and business organization principles.

Everything changed when I had the opportunity to spend a full academic year in Freiburg (Germany). It was one of the most transformative years of my life, and it flipped my mind upside down.

I realized that life is full of sliding doors, and it’s entirely up to us which ones we step through.

2014, time to work. I started as a business consultant in Brescia, working on international SAP implementations—a software that supports business operations.

I began developing a dual lens: what businesses need and how the tech side works.

In 2016, I moved to Barcelona, probably chasing adrenaline. The plan? Not to have a plan. I wanted to challenge predefined boundaries, explore the professional world, and continue discovering myself.

There, I stepped into the world of data analysis, first at a consulting firm and later at eDreams ODIGEO, one of Europe’s largest e-commerce companies. I collaborated with professionals from all over the world.

I learned, once again, that most of the boundaries we perceive are self-imposed.

A couple of years later, I turned my life upside down again. Back in Italy, I embarked on a rewarding journey with Techedge (now Avvale) in Milan, specializing in business and data analysis consulting. Over time, I found myself leading project teams and taking on managerial roles.

I enjoyed hacking technical challenges, but found real fulfillment from helping others grow.

We have two lives. And the second begins when we realize we only have one.

I realized that helping people was my natural calling. But the business world felt too restrictive for that, so I planted the seeds of my second life: I started studying psychology.

Since then, I’ve earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Padova (graduating a semester early) and an international Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Bergamo, graduating with honors. Why not Milan? I’m still asking myself that.

I learned that following your inner voice—no matter what—gives you endless energy.

I also delved into psychological coaching frameworks, completing two yearly, structured programs. One was based on brief strategic therapy (Nardone’s model), the other combined the work of Cloé Madanes (a pioneer in strategic family therapy) and Tony Robbins (a renowned life and business strategist).

I discovered the key difference between understanding the human mind and influencing it.

Meanwhile, my first professional life continued. In 2022, I accepted an exciting challenge: leading the newly formed data analytics team for the Italian office of a Dutch consulting group. I also led international teams within joint ventures with major European brands.

I learned that job titles matter less than genuine commitment to people.

Along the way, I developed my group facilitation skills, becoming a certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator—a method aimed at improving creativity and communication. I also started spot collaborations with businesses, universities, and schools.

I discovered that working with your own team or external teams are completely different things.

Now a licensed psychologist, enrolled with the Ordine degli Psicologi della Lombardia, I wanted to further deepen my ability to help people overcome major life challenges. So I decided to specialize in psychotherapy, embarking on a structured program at the European Institute of Systemic-Relational Therapies.

I fell in love with systemic thinking, and my view on how to solve problems is transformed.

Privately, I continue exploring the intersection of physical and social sciences, focusing on human evolution and game theory applications.

I find that learning and changing my mind is one of the most exciting aspects of life.

At the start of 2024, I made another big change. Zooming out, I simply closed a first, long chapter as an employee and began a new freelance life. The major shift is that now I dedicate myself to a range of completely different activities—from psychological services to technical business solutions, and hybrid combinations of the two.

I experience every day that things don’t just happen—you have to make them happen.

It’s what I constantly remind myself of and what I help others embrace.

After all, if you don’t reclaim the stories you’re denying yourself, who will?