Erica Coletta has a cum laude degree in European and international law from the University of Rome La Sapienza. She earned her Master's degree in strategic human resources, change management and industrial relations in 2001 from the London School of Economics. Born in Rome, Coletta holds both Italian and British citizenship.
She started her career working in top private law firms and government agencies in Italy. She then worked for a growing retail bank in sales and marketing. After that and for the past 18 years Coletta has worked in HR, change and communication roles at a number of world-class and culturally-diverse organisations including Shell Oil, the BOC/Linde Group, and Unilever.
Her last role at Unilever was global vice president, refreshment where she was in charge of the strategic HR agenda for Unilever’s €11 billion combined ice cream and beverages business. Her focus was working with the business to drive transformation, sustainable performance and globalisation efforts across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa by developing a compelling HR strategy and people agenda.
In 2013 Coletta joined Godiva Chocolatier to drive the company transformation and omnichannel expansion, and was soon promoted to a CHRO role based in New York. In 2016 she was approached to lead the people agenda for pladis, a newly-created biscuit and confectionery company bringing together iconic brands such as McVitie’s, Ulker and Godiva. As CHRO at pladis she has applied her leadership skills and previous experience to drive integration, digital transformation, and to build a collaborative company culture in a rapidly-evolving business environment.
Coletta also serves on the board of Health Right International, a global health and human rights organisation headquartered in New York, which empowers marginalised communities to live healthy lives.
Away from work her interests include music, travelling and meeting new people. Coletta is passionate about driving change, opening up new possibilities for organisations and people, and “doing well by doing good".
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