Mariateresa Romeo is the founder of Cometa Coaching, a company that offers executive coaching and leadership development services. With more than twenty years of experience in business consulting, she has supported leaders and organizations in Italy and the United States, addressing challenges related to organizational change and cultural transformation. Her mission is to help professionals and teams develop mindfulness, authenticity and trust, promoting well-being and performance in multicultural contexts. We interviewed her for The New Yorker.
“Change never comes without challenges, but it is precisely in the difficulties that the possibility for growth lies. Only those who have the courage to question their certainties and embrace new perspectives can truly transform themselves and the world around them.”
What has been the common thread that has guided your career path, from your early years in counseling to coaching?
I left Sicily when I was 18 to move to Rome, where I graduated in Institutional Business Communication Sciences. From there began a 14-year career path in the world of management consulting, first in Rome and then in Milan. I dealt with complex projects related to business performance improvement, reorganization and change management, working on three fundamental elements: people, processes and information systems.But my real passion has always been corporate communication and, in particular, everything related to people. Among the three dimensions of corporate projects, the one that I felt was most mine was precisely human resource management. I firmly believe that considering how much time we spend working, it is crucial to build a work dimension that is deep, authentic and generative. Hence, while I continued to work in the corporate world, I began to study coaching and became certified as an executive coach in Italy-a natural transition that combined the skills I had gained with my personal drive toward human development.
What did the move to New York represent for you and how did it influence the ‘evolution in your career path?
The move to New York was a turning point, even though it was initially supposed to last only six months. In fact, it has been nine years since then. The company I was working for proposed this experience to me, and I accepted it for two reasons: on the one hand, the possibility of confronting the American corporate world, and on the other hand, the knowledge that issues such as talent development and organizational culture were already at the center of my interest.In the United States, I had the opportunity to work on more specific projects related to human resources, such as change management and the enhancement of people in organizational contexts. At the same time, I continued my education, earning certifications increasingly focused on coaching and individual and team performance development. This interweaving of field experience and theoretical insights laid the foundation for what Cometa Coaching is today.
Today there are many entities that deal with training, individual coaching and organizational development. How does Cometa Coaching really differ from the others?
Cometa Coaching was born in 2022 from a personal need that, over time, has turned into a professional mission: to create a space where people-individuals or organizations-can rediscover their potential and live it to the fullest. Cometa is a company that deals with coaching, training and, using an American term I feel very close to, human capital consulting. True, the world of coaching and training is very populated, but what I wanted to create with Cometa is something different: a bridge between personal and organizational growth, where people are not just “resources” to be optimized, but individuals to be enhanced. I work with people who are going through moments of transition or professional difficulties, through personalized coaching paths. I also work with companies, drawing on my more than 20 years of experience between Italy and the United States to develop leadership, communication and team management skills. What really distinguishes Cometa is that it stems from my 20 years of experience in business, between management consulting and coaching, and is characterized by an integrated approach: we combine individual coaching, experiential training and cultural consulting to generate real and sustainable impact. We work not only on how to work, but more importantly on why. We help companies build coherent identities in which values, mission and internal communication are lived every day-not just stated. Cometa Coaching stands out because it combines the soul of individual coaching with the solidity of management consulting, rooted in corporate training. I work exclusively on long-term projects, because I believe it is essential to develop pathways that bring real and lasting change, not interventions for their own sake. The real difference lies in the cultural approach: I don’t just facilitate change, I accompany organizations in building strong and coherent identities, working in depth on values, mission and internal culture. At Cometa, every path, corporate or personal, is tailor-made: we do not apply standard models, but we listen, interpret and co-create. Together.
How did you deal with the cultural differences between the Italian and American markets to make a positive impact?
There are profound differences between the Italian and American markets, and I have been fortunate to experience them directly. I have seen up close the change between the Italian and American corporate worlds, and this has been a process that I have experienced on my own skin. Beyond the language barrier, which exists even if you speak English well, there are substantial differences in work dynamics. In Italy, for example, there is a tendency to be more hierarchical, with decisions often coming from the top, whereas in the United States there is a culture more oriented toward collaboration and autonomy, where communication is more direct and informal. Also, the approach to time and problem solving is very different: in the United States there is a quicker and more pragmatic orientation, while in Italy there is a tendency to think longer before acting. These differences change you, make you grow. I have treasured this experience, learning to move between two worlds that, although part of the same business reality, are profoundly different. Today, I happen to support Italians who move to the United States to take on leadership roles in Italian companies, helping them navigate between the two cultures. Initially, I relied a lot on the network of Italians here, which allowed me to get in touch with different realities. I work with a number of Italian companies in the United States, especially since many talent development programs are run by headquarters in Italy. Having someone who knows both cultures is a great advantage, and this is one of the aspects I try to value.
How were you able to turn your approach into a strength despite the competitive market?
This project was the result of years of dedication and development. When I arrived in the United States, the idea was already clear in my mind. However, as is often the case, there is a gap between saying and doing that is not always easy to bridge. One choice I made early on, unlike many other coaches, was not to devote myself to life coaching. My focus has always been the corporate world, targeting professionals, entrepreneurs and managers. Not because life coaching does not interest me, but because I believe it is essential to be clear about who you want to be.I did not come with a revolutionary or niche product, but I tried to make it unique, leveraging my experience. I do not offer prepackaged courses or standard packages. Every company is unique, as is every individual, even when dealing with similar issues. The biggest challenge I faced was to define my positioning. Today, if you search online, you find endless leadership or coaching courses that promise instant solutions. The real challenge is to make the market understand that talent development takes time and dedication. My career has been a journey of constant adaptation and growth, where each challenge has become an opportunity to define and refine my approach. Today, Cometa is the result of a clear vision and a daily commitment that continues to evolve, always with the goal of delivering authentic, personalized value. Looking to the future, my commitment is to continue to grow together with my clients, creating solutions that respond in an increasingly targeted way to their needs. It is a path that I am more passionate about every day, because I firmly believe that evolution, both personal and professional, never ends.
The article Comet Coaching: a journey of growth, leadership and cultural transformation comes from TheNewyorker.
