Chiarabelli was born near Venice, Italy, and now resides in
Los Angeles, Calif., as the managing director of Soilmec North
America. There have been numerous stops in between during
his tenure with Soilmec, including East Asia, Denmark,
and Texas.
Chiarabelli says it hasn’t always been easy adjusting to each
new location, but he’s received a lot out of the experiences.
“You really deal with a wide range of people,” he said. “For
a person like me who considers himself a people person,
the opportunity to deal with different cultures and different
people is something I’ve always found extremely interesting,
beyond the technical aspect of the work itself.”
Chiarabelli began working in the deep foundations
industry in 2007, after graduating with a master’s degree in
civil and environmental engineering from the University of
Bologna in Italy. Shortly after, he joined Soilmec as deputy
sales manager for the company’s Far East division, overseeing
sales operations in South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
As Trevi’s deputy project manager for the job, Chiarabelli
shared responsibility for co-ordinating the activities of 240
employees in all departments, including construction, legal,
human relations and quality assurance and control.
“This is where I learned more about what it means to be a
leader,” he said, adding that he found working in the area of
project management tremendously beneficial as well.
“Being a contractor rather than being a manufacturer,
it’s a completely different thing. It requires a different set of
skills,” said Chiarabelli.
“Copenhagen was a great experience because I had the
opportunity to be on the other side of the fence, getting to
really understand what your customers are usually struggling
with. That for sure was another plus.”
This was followed by a five-year stint in Fort Worth,
Texas, where Chiarabelli served as business development
manager for Watson Inc. (a Soilmec subsidiary at the
time) and later on as corporate area manager for Soilmec
North America.
Last stop
Chiarabelli’s final move took him to California in 2018, when
he was promoted to the position of managing director for
Soilmec North America. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife
Sara and their two children, Achille, 11, and Vittoria, 10.
Chiarabelli says he made a lot of goods friends and really
came to feel at home in Texas after the initial transition
period. In terms of the weather and the setting though, he
says it’s hard to beat southern California.
Chiarabelli says that he used to spend up to 150 days a
year on the road when he was mainly focused on sales, but
he’s doing less of that in his current position.
He still travels regularly to Alberta, Ontario and Quebec,
to visit Soilmec’s Canadian dealerships, which is something
Chiarabelli looks forward to.
“I personally really enjoy the time I spend in Canada. It’s
good people, really,” he said.
Chiarabelli says that the chance to travel was one of the
things that drew him to Soilmec in the first place.
“I’ve had the opportunity to travel and see different scenarios,
different environments, different cultures,” he said.
“This is something I’ve always liked, and it’s always been
one of my main drivers. I like to be challenged and I like to
see new things. The company has always given me that kind
of opportunity, which is very important for me.”
Chiarabelli says the company culture and all the support
he’s received through the years are additional reasons he
values Soilmec.
“There’s always been a good mix of growing opportunities,
but at the same time it’s a company that you feel is somehow
protecting you. It’s not just throwing you out there and then,
you know, you’re on your own,” he said.
“That was important, especially when you start having a
family. Living for so many years as an expat, I know it’s not
easy unless you feel that the company is somehow standing
behind you, whatever happens.”
Chiarabelli also had the good fortune of having a couple of
great mentors during his time at Soilmec – Federico Pagliacci,
who for many years was the company’s vice-president of
CAREER PROFILE
Chiarabelli lives in Los Angeles with his wife Sara and their
two children, Achille (pictured), 11, and Vittoria, 10
“The first years in Asia were challenging for sure because
I was younger and it was something completely new for me,”
Chiarabelli said.
Chiarabelli considers his time there a great learning experience
that helped build his confidence and skills, and he also
developed a real appreciation for all the places he travelled
to in Asia.
Chiarabelli’s next move was to Denmark, where he was
involved in a massive $3-billion expansion of the Copenhagen
subway system. From 2011 to 2014, he held several positions
during the project for Trevi, a sister company of Soilmec,
before assuming the role of deputy project manager.
For Chiarabelli, the Copenhagen project was particularly
memorable because it was so challenging – the deep
foundation crews were drilling into very hard rock (up
to 500 megapascal) and they also had to conform to very
stringent regulations.
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