The American University of Rome welcomed back alumnus Gabriel Wistisen ’20 as the closing speaker of this semester’s Alumni Lecture Series, hosted by the Business Department and the Office of Alumni Relations. Now a Learning and Development Strategist working across Europe and the United States, Wistisen offered students a clear view of how adaptable skills, curiosity, and cross-disciplinary thinking shape a modern career.
Wistisen describes his role as “organizational plumbing” - helping companies identify and repair weak points in communication, capability, and skill development. His career path has taken him from Italy to the Netherlands and now to the U.S., but he credits AUR as the place where that journey began. He spoke candidly about how AUR’s small classes, close-knit community, and liberal arts structure encouraged him to ask questions across disciplines, experiment with different areas of business, and ultimately discover where he could make the greatest impact. Wistisen emphasized that the tools he uses today - needs analysis, team-development frameworks, digital learning design, are grounded in approaches he explored during his academic experience at AUR. That grounding prepared him to support established companies across Europe, including facilitating virtual-reality simulations to train employees in high-risk environments.
Wistisen highlighted a major trend shaping the global job market: "by 2030, nearly 40% of workplace skills will have changed," and emphasized the value on what he called “anti-AI approaches.” These include lifelong learning, leadership, creative problem-solving, and curiosity - capacities that AUR students practice daily through discussion-driven classrooms, experiential learning throughout Rome, and courses that demand real-world application.
Wistisen's advice to current students was straightforward: use your years at AUR to build a foundation that will support the next stage of life and work. Identify your strengths early, be persistent in pursuing opportunities, and remain curious.
Wistisen’s visit underscored how an American liberal arts education - combined with Rome’s immersive environment - equips graduates to navigate and contribute meaningfully to an increasingly complex professional landscape. The university and students would like to extend their deep appreciation for his visit and his insights.
Student Caroline Baldwin contributed to this article.