SISTERS OF THE LEAF GLOBAL MOVEMENT
Franca Comparetto
CEO Cigar Sense
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A Bit About Franca
When Franca smoked her very first premium cigar, it was a memorable moment for her because she discovered a gourmet product and a cultural heritage.
When she moved to the USA, Franca needed to find non Cuban cigars that would delight her palate, so she created a process to support such discovery. Today her process is built in Cigar Sense to help other cigar lovers who seek the deepest pleasure one can have from a cigar, which is mainly sensed in the nose and in the mouth. In addition, Franca believes we have the right to our individual taste!
She also thinks women have a lot to say and to enjoy when appreciating a fine cigar. Accepting pleasure for themselves, rather than for pleasing men who smoke cigars, is, according to her, a fundamental move to a sustainable, positive change. She also acknowledges other very important themes that inhibit gender equality and women empowerment in the premium cigar world. Therefore, she is excited to support the SOTL Global Movement in the fulfillment of their mission.
Business Experience
Franca started her career in the financial world and set up pan-European projects, mainly in the factoring arena. Among further assignments, she was a consultant at the European Anti Fraud Office. She then assumed different management roles at Cisco in Belgium, Italy, and was ultimately relocated to California. At Cisco, a few of her accomplishments were:
- Enabled 940K$ yearly cost savings and, in Europe, 40M$ incremental sales leads through data governance and reporting efficiencies (won a lean project award)
- Designed strategic data management frameworks, created the European project management office strategy for Sales Operations and introduced a program management footprint
- Led large global complex programs in highly cross-functional teams and successfully delivered new legal entities and global B2B payment efficiencies
When she left Cisco, she created and co-founded Cigar Sense, and started a sensory data and science journey: she became a professional taster (ISO 8586-1/2) and a sensory panel leader. Through her ongoing training program for the Cigar Sense panel and a science-based cigar tasting course, she continues to encourage the sensory exploration of the cigar world.
In 2017, Cigar Sense was awarded the Cigar Journal’s cigar culture ambassador trophy.