Beyond The Finish Line was originally published on Power to Fly.
Caterina D’Onofrio grew up in a swimming pool. The daughter of a water polo coach, she spent her free time playing in the water while slowly evolving into a competitive athlete.
“My parents were determined, and thanks to their resilience, I eventually became passionate about swimming,” Caterina says. “The turning point came when I started winning regional competitions and qualified for my first Italian championships.”
From athlete to engineer, Caterina found that her competitive background translated swimmingly (pun intended) into the technology realm. After joining Celonis, the global leader in Process Intelligence technology, Caterina’s discipline and resilience allowed her to turn customer pain points into solutions as a senior value engineer.
How exactly? We sat down with Caterina to discuss the ways sports have shaped her technology career, including her top tips on balancing your extracurricular passions with your career.
From swimming laps to building customer solutions
While Caterina’s parents encouraged her to swim, her sister was the driving force behind her technology career. After leaving competitive swimming at 18, Caterina followed her sister to Milan to study engineering.
“University introduced me to the tech world, and after graduation, I worked in technology consulting at a Big 4 firm. This experience led me to Celonis,” Caterina recalls. “I joined when the Italian branch was just starting, and the team consisted of five or six people. Coming from a consulting background and despite lacking commercial experience, I was fascinated by Celonis’ software. However, I underestimated the challenge ahead. Contributing to the launch of a new branch for innovative software in Italy and in a new role condensed ten years of traditional company experience into less than three years.”
Despite the challenges ahead, Caterina would soon discover that she was well prepared thanks to a surprising (yet familiar) attribute — her athletic background.
Lessons from competitive training
Harnessing the mental fortitude developed across countless competitions, Caterina hit the ground running as a senior value engineer.
Time management came effortlessly after navigating a structured training schedule, and juggling competing priorities felt like second nature.
“This made me a true optimizer, able to complete the maximum number of tasks in the shortest time while maintaining high quality. This skill is essential in my daily work, especially during high-intensity periods like fiscal year-end.”
Caterina could also isolate herself from the outside world, as she used to do in the swimming pool, to fully concentrate on a task and boost her productivity.
“My role at Celonis is highly strategic, as it represents the front line with the end customer and significantly influences their success with the software. The only variable I can control in my job is the preparation I put into my activities. It’s similar to sports: the only controllable factors are the effort, time, and passion dedicated to training.”
Just like waking up to a sore throat on the morning of a meet, Caterina found that the technology realm has its own uncontrollable variables — from customer reactions to questions and feedback. “Training is the only thing that can save you, but on the field, you must also be able to handle unexpected challenges. Today’s unforeseen events are always lessons for tomorrow.”
4 tips on balancing your passions with your career
Despite thriving in her technology role, Caterina felt something was missing in her life. It took signing up for a triathlon in 2023 to pinpoint that intangible pull: competitive sports.
“After about 10 years away, it felt like rediscovering myself. Growing up with this constant commitment from a young age, I realized that this is the only dimension where I truly feel balanced.”
Caterina is now training with a coach to compete in triathlons. Thanks to the skills she developed as a young swimmer, she’s able to balance two of her greatest passions, exercise and engineering. “Although I am not a professional athlete, my priority remains my work. However, I rarely have to forgo sports for a work commitment. This is partly due to the flexibility my job provides, allowing me to organize my time effectively while meeting my goals.”
If you’re struggling to strike the right balance between your career and extracurricular passions, Caterina leaves you with these four tips:
- Set a goal. “The fundamental ingredient for balancing sport with work is motivation, and setting a goal is certainly a healthy way to stimulate it. Having a goal helps establish a routine, and the well-being derived from this routine does the rest.”
- Find a coach. “Having a training program to follow and a trusted person to share your feelings with certainly promotes consistency.”
- Avoid overdoing it. “When getting into the routine of training and competing, it’s easy to feel controlled by the sport. Remember, it’s healthy to skip a workout if we’re not feeling well or if we’re particularly stressed.”
- Have fun. “Engaging in sports should not feel like an obligation or a burden. Enjoyment is a key factor, so it’s essential to choose a sport or activity that we genuinely enjoy. After all, if we’re not professional athletes, enjoyment should be the only thing that matters.”
Grow your career with the company using industry-leading process mining technology and AI to present companies with a living digital twin of their end-to-end processes. Check out the career opportunities with Celonis here.
