February 21, 2023
Dr. Monica Bravi looks back on an eleven-year career at Roland Berger from 1999 to 2010, lastly as Principal in the Milan office. In the years that followed, she held several management positions at health organizations such as Fondazione Isabella Seràgnoli, Loto Onlus and Fondazione Action For Health Institute. Feeling the urge to be the founder of something innovative and socially relevant herself, she eventually started her own organization in the health sector with Recovery for Life (RFL) in 2020. RFL is building a network of rehabilitation services for kids with mental health disorders throughout Italy. Within each structure, an integrated team of mental health professionals welcomes children and their families, accompanying them in the entire rehabilitation process from psychological and relational distress.
We talked to Monica about the business model of Recovery for Life, her plans for the future of the organization and the biggest challenge she faced at Roland Berger.
Monica, can you tell us a bit more about the business model and structure of Recovery for Life?
Recovery for Life is the reference structure in psychic rehabilitation programs for young people and their families. On March 10, 2021 the Day Center for teenagers in Milan was born; on January 3, 2022 the Residence for teenagers and young adults in Limbiate (MB) was initiated; and in the next few months a new center in Casteggio, Lombardy, will open up. All centers belong to a methodological development headquarter represented by the management team that, with its professional experience and clinical expertise, shows the way between mental health and social benefit.
To do good clinical practice it is necessary to create good relationships with local health facilities: In this way it is possible to engage many young people in our rehabilitation programs and to provide better service for citizens. So, Recovery for Life’s method is both a business model and an ethical model, because it generates high social value: Social responsibility matches economic sustainability.
What was the mission that drove you to bring RFL to life?
Being an entrepreneur is something that goes beyond doing business. My philosophy is "skin in the game", as was said by one of my favorite philosophers, Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Because it's important to show your face in everyday life.
When I became an entrepreneur, the barriers between professional and private life broke down, my modus vivendi translated into modus operandi, because the ethical dimension of personal daily life is inevitably expressed in that of the company. Therefore, Recovery for Life applies ethical principles in the field, assuming a more "humanizing" approach in organizing rehabilitation programs for young people and their families. The pathologies are not managed separately from the patients, but in an integrated perspective with respect to the individual being, the family, the group of peers and the territorial context of origin.
Can you let us in on some of the plans and goals for the organization looking ahead to the upcoming three years?
In June we celebrated a significant milestone in our company's history: Rehabilitation Protocol for Individuals with Mental Disorders of Recovery for Life was registered to BOIP (Benelux Office for Intellectual Property) in Belgium. Recovery for Life’s business plan includes the development of 29 centers distributed across Italy by 2027. We have identified many Italian regions where it is necessary to implement rehabilitation programs for young people and their families. This urgent need, aggravated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, makes us think that the development model of Recovery for Life will involve not only the national territory, but also other European countries.
Could you tell us about one of the biggest challenges you faced during your time at Roland Berger and how you overcame it?
For me, the years spent at Roland Berger represent a wonderful time with fantastic colleagues, where I could really improve my professional skills. From a professional point of view, I had all the support to master the challenges that customers asked for.
The biggest challenge, however, has been from a personal point of view: I got married and had two children during my employment at Roland Berger. To be a good Consultant and a good mother was difficult, but I learned a lot during this time and I can say that I was able to develop the know-how that was key for my subsequent career as an entrepreneur.
Follow this link to learn more about Recovery for Life.