Josef Nierling, Managing Director of the Porsche Consulting S.r.I. subsidiary, brings a special set of skills to his job. He is equally at home in Hamburg and Milan, having grown up with both German and Italian culture. That is one reason why Italian entrepreneurs value his expertise. As Nierling notes, “Top managers in Italy have an impressive level of emotional intelligence and a strong sense of entrepreneurial optimism. What they admire in their German colleagues are a strong sense of purpose and a knack for long-term planning.” Especially in turbulent times, Italians like to follow the modello tedesco, or German model.