Life and career changes have played a central role in shaping the professional journey of Alas Gatti Iou, who currently serves as Group Digital Manager at Bolton. His path has taken him from Mogadishu to several European cities, including Barcelona, Verona, Madrid, and Milan. Starting as a copywriter and later becoming a strategist with an interest in technology, he now leads digital initiatives at Bolton.
Gatti Iou joined Bolton in February 2021 as Digital Marketing Manager for Personal Care. He described his initial responsibilities: “Back then, I had one mission: bringing structure to websites, building consistency across social channels, and introducing innovation (often through start-up projects involving generative AI).” One of his early efforts was to reshape influencer marketing by making it more experiential. “For this kind of content to work, it must be interesting to them and their community, AND the experience it promises must be real and meaningful,” he said. He cited an example where influencers participated directly in aloe harvesting fields for an Omia project in Salento.
In 2025, Gatti Iou advanced to become Digital Marketing Manager for the entire group. In this expanded role, he scaled innovative projects across all business units.
Reflecting on organizational change within Bolton over four years, Gatti Iou stated: “Yes, and I have seen Bolton undergo a meaningful transformation: There’s greater openness to new media and channels, a stronger collaboration among colleagues, refreshed physical spaces that reflect a more contemporary way of working, and a shift in budgets from traditional to unconventional media.”
He also discussed his engagement with artificial intelligence (AI), which began when he tried ChatGPT in November 2022. “It brought me back to when I tried Facebook in 2007 for the first time, and I immediately thought, ‘This will change everything,'” he recalled. This led him to collaborate with the IT team on making AI tools accessible throughout the company while keeping costs low. The result was the launch of Bolton AI—a platform designed around ongoing innovation.
Gatti Iou believes generative AI offers personal empowerment within companies like Bolton: “It’s a technology that empowers individuals because each person knows what they do every day: AI gives them the chance to innovate in their own unique way.” He hopes these innovations can scale across departments.
Asked why AI found fertile ground at Bolton specifically, Gatti Iou pointed to company culture: “(laughing) Because I kept insisting! Just kidding. In truth, there’s a strong entrepreneurial spirit here. If you believe in something and persist, you can achieve it. Bolton… is not a place where you wait for things to happen. It’s a place where people who want to make things happen can.”
He emphasized adaptability as key both personally and for organizations: “Evolving is always a challenge. I love change and the creativity it forces. Adaptability keeps me alive – and the Company as well!… We need to increase our adaptability because the world rewards those who can evolve.”
His story highlights how individual initiative combined with organizational support can drive technological adoption within established companies.