«My professional background is rather unconventional: I started out as a car mechanic,completed commercial school and switched to an office job, where I worked in customer service and processed warranty claims. However, in that job I missed the flexibility I needed to be able to carry out my regular youth work and training. Martial arts was, and still is, my all-consuming passion.
I have my wife to thank for the fact that I joined Nagra 27 years ago as Head of Site Services. I didn’t think I had much chance of getting the job, but she insisted I try. And it was a perfect fit: I met the job requirements because I was familiar with cars and office equipment and I was also able to lead a team. In return, the flexible working hours allowed me to combine my professional and athletic careers. A little anecdote: over these 27 years, I have been using most of my holidays for competitions. When I first became world kickboxing champion in 2003, the then-CEO of Nagra gave me a week’s holiday.
Rocco Cipriano
Rocco Cipriano is still in top form at the age of 56. He once trained with kickboxing icon Andy Hug before winning six world championship titles of his own. He also won over twenty national titles in different disciplines. He is considered a legend in the Swiss kickboxing scene.
Cipriano committed himself to helping and supporting others early on: he trained prison inmates and overweight people, gave self-defence
courses for women and instructed children and young people. He has received several awards for his social engagement and his work supporting young people.
Day-to-day business, cars or coffee machine: keeping them up and running
Together with my team, I am responsible for a wide range of tasks: we take care of the infrastructure and administration of the office building in Wettingen and the drill core archive in Mellingen as well as the entire supply of mobile phones, including administration. Reception and switchboard are also important: my staff welcome and look after our visitors in a professional manner. We work closely with our Safety Officer to ensure occupational health and safety.
I see my main responsibility in ensuring that my team works together in harmony. Much of what we do is taken for granted by others, at least as long as everything runs smoothly. Imagine if that were no longer the case and something went missing or broke down: let’s say a company car or the coffee machine on a Monday morning – that would never do, right?
In a nutshell: we do our job well so that our colleagues can focus on doing their own job well
Giving back to others
For 27 years, I have heard co-workers calling my name almost every time I walk through the corridors: ‘Hey Rocco, as you’re here…’, followed by some request or question. Everyone knows that they can come to me if they need anything. That is alright with me, because I am a person who likes to give back to others. Ergonomics in the workplace is very important when you spend all day in the office. It only takes a few simple adjustments to alleviate or prevent physical complaints. There, too, my athletic experience helps.
I recently started training children with disabilities. It is incredibly fulfilling to see the progress they make and how they come out of their shells. This brings me back to my one true passion, martial arts: I believe that sport is character-building. It helps you to get ahead in life. Whether it was the competitions, my roles as a supervisor, trainer and mental coach or the almost ten years in which I worked with prison inmates every Saturday as a sports instructor in Lenzburg prison – my experiences have shaped me into the person I am today.»
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