Karina Andrea Fogliani

I attribute my success to the fact that I've never given up. Sometimes it has taken me a lot of work to achieve whatever I want to achieve, and it's been painful at times on several levels. But you don't give up - you just keep on going, and you just win because you keep on going. Throughout my life, I've been able to achieve almost everything that I've set my mind to doing. It's about having that purpose and determination, that grit and hard work, and just continuing to push forward no matter what obstacles come your way.

The best career advice I've ever received, which is also advice for life, is to never give up. You just don't give up, you know, if you have a goal, you just pursue it. Sometimes you may not achieve it, but even if this happens, you may discover new things about yourself. But to never give up - that's the best advice that I have been given.

I would say to have courage. Entering any job field nowadays is very hard, and in a service industry, it's not easy because people are getting harsher, probably because situations worldwide are getting harsher - the economy, social unrest, on a global scale. People are becoming more rude, and you need to deal with it with a smile. I would recommend anyone who can afford it to go and travel to Japan, because they never seem to be in a bad day when they need to provide service. It hasn't seemed to have reached there, that feeling of being rude to people or being unwilling to go the extra mile. We have a lot to learn from that culture. I've been to Japan twice so far and will be going again next year, and I just get inspired when I come from there by the way that everything works the way it's supposed to, and everything is done with a smile. As a person, you feel good.

The challenge is the glass ceiling, which in my company has always existed. Nepotism is king. I've come to terms with that because my job fills my personal goals, but I think glass ceilings in companies are a big problem, especially for women. As far as opportunities, well, you have to go after them. Just make sure you grab them, because they're not always there. I think you have to be very ambitious in general, in life. To go after your dream, you have to be ambitious, and you don't have to apologize for it.

I think courage is the most important underlying value in everything, because sometimes it takes courage to be loyal. Loyalty is also very important - you have to be loyal to the people you are working with and to the people you are assisting. But I think before loyalty, you have to have courage, because courage is the foundation for everything else.