Conversation Design Institute

As Global Head of Sales at CDI, I lead the charge in expanding our reach and impact across the world. My role focuses on aligning innovative sales strategies with our mission to empower businesses at every stage of their conversational AI journey—whether they’re just starting out or scaling to new heights.

With a dual focus on training and consulting, I work to drive growth across CDI’s core offerings, including hands-on workshops, comprehensive audits, and strategic consulting. My goal is to ensure businesses are equipped with the knowledge, tools, and support they need to implement impactful, future-ready conversational AI solutions.

In this role, I’m passionate about building strong partnerships, guiding teams toward success, and contributing to CDI’s evolution as a global leader in conversational AI. Let’s connect and explore how we can shape the future of conversational AI together!

Global Head of Sales

Companies around the world are looking for conversation designers, a rare breed of people that helps them advance communication between people and AI. That's where we help!

Conversation Design Institute teaches a human-centric workflow that has proven itself to organisations around the world. We work closely with tech partners, agencies and other key players in the industry. With this support, Conversation Design Institute is well on its way to becoming the number one platform in conversation design.

Become a certified professional, join one of our online courses, or work with our experts.

Business Development Specialist

Scaled Sales 

Good business coaches are there to help you see the blind spots and serve as your compass to make sure you are heading in the right direction. A business coach serves as an important objective third party to regularly check in to make sure that you are on the most direct path to your ideal destination. Oftentimes, the biggest hurdle to success is that you don't know what you don't know. You can't Google your way out of a problem that you aren't sure how to articulate—or worse, how to anticipate.

One pro for hiring a business coach for yourself is that it allows you to get constructive criticism from someone that doesn’t necessarily know you. 

A business coach is more like a person you're accountable to. No matter what level of success you have attained, there is a tendency to stay in your own lane and not observe habits and patterns that have been successful for others. A strong business coach can help increase awareness of methods and keys to success that have worked for other people and may be analogous to your own situation. 

One of the best investments you can make is in yourself. If you find yourself struggling in your professional career, or desire to increase your sales or improve your business relationship, then a business coach is an invaluable asset. One of the major advantages of having a coach or mentor is that they help you navigate through challenges and meet personal goals with their insights.


Steve Jobs once said, "We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do." Where, if not coaching, could this apply to more? 

One of the biggest benefits of hiring a business coach is that they will help you stay on the right track. Building a business is tricky, especially if you're a startup. It's also very easy to get distracted by all the opportunities that come your way, but you can't possibly do it all. The key is setting the goals, developing the action plan on how to reach these goals and executing to make them happen.

Business Consultant

Yell 

Senior Sales Manager

Fingo - AMi

Digital Strategy Director

As a Business Development Specialist at Conversation Design Institute (CDI), I help organizations around the world create human-centric AI Assistants, such as chatbots and voice assistants. 

At CDI, I work closely with tech partners, agencies, and other key players in the industry to offer high-quality e-learning programs and live sessions for teams and individuals. I have trained hundreds of professionals in strategy, design, and development for AI Assistants, using our proven workflow and best practices.

My goal is to empower more people to design, deploy, and manage valuable conversational experiences.

Benjamin Taylor

I’m lucky enough to get to hear the episodes coming out of the academy before anyone else. 

So much of this episode struck me that I was blown away. 

Hillary Black  clearly gets it and we are unbelievably proud to have her as part of the community.

Global Head of Sales | Driving Growth in Conversational AI | Training, Auditing & Consulting Leader

View company: Conversation Design Institute (CDI)

We’re still at the beginning of conversational AI’s potential.

While prompting and new tools may make it feel like we’re starting over, this time the context is different. The widespread attention around AI has raised the baseline understanding across companies, brands, and individuals.

Many still don’t fully understand what conversational AI or conversation design truly means—but the conversation has changed. Today, people come in more informed, more curious, and more ready to explore what’s actually possible.

Join Hillary Black , conversation designer at MAV in the new episode of unprompted. by CDI. 

Watch the full video here https://hubs.la/Q03YBjZB0

That shift opens the door to deeper, more meaningful progress.
#ConversationalAI #ConversationDes

I’m an Italian doctor turned DTC operator building in health & wellness.
Founder of ORBIS, a 7-figure supplement brand on the road to 8.

What I share:
• The REAL operator playbook - acquisition, retention, CAC/LTV, creative testing
• Discipline & rituals - karate, performance mindset, execution systems
• Founder diaries - wins, struggles, and the road to sustainable EBITDA growth

My angle is simple: I scale brands like a US founder, but with European insight.
No fluff. Just the numbers, frameworks, and lessons from the arena.

If you’re scaling in health & wellness CPG or building in DTC, let’s connect.

Pietro Pelizzari

JSESSIONID

LinkedIn

li_at

MD & Founder 🧠 Performance systems for high-stakes men · Building ORBIS | Founder Performance Blueprint (FREE)

Some people join when things are already working.

Others show up before there’s proof.

👇

In 2023, ORBIS was doing low 5 figures.
No momentum. No certainty. Just belief and long days.

One person was there from the start: Giuseppe Costantino .

Not when retention was “cool.”
Not when results were guaranteed.

But when every improvement actually mattered.

What Giuseppe taught me - without ever needing to say it:
	•	Retention isn’t tactics. It’s care.
	•	Consistency beats intensity. Every time.
	•	You don’t build brands by rushing. You build them by staying.

Fast forward to today:
We’re no longer that early-stage brand.
We’re on a real road to 8 figures (2026/2027) with ORBIS.

And spending the day together in Bergamo today felt like a quiet checkpoint.

Not to celebrate results.
But to acknowledge the journey.

Founders obsess over growth.

But very few stop to recognize the people who:
	•	stayed when it was uncertain
	•	cared when results were small
	•	built foundations instead of chasing applause

Retention marketing works the same way.

Slow. Invisible. Relentless.

So remember this:

Brands scale because of systems.
But they last because of people.

Grateful for the road behind us.
Proud of what we’re building next.
And thankful for those who were there before it was obvious.

If you’ve had someone like this in your journey -
tell them. Publicly. It matters.

No alternative text description for this image

Growing on LinkedIn is not luck - it’s work. A lot of it.

People see the posts that go viral.

They don’t see the 1,000 others that quietly disappear into the feed.

They see the follower jumps.
They don’t see the weeks where nothing moves.

The truth is: building on LinkedIn feels exactly like building a business.

Most days are unglamorous.
Most posts don’t explode.

Most growth comes from consistency, not magic.

But every once in a while...
one post hits,
one idea resonates,

one person reaches out who changes everything.
Those moments don’t happen by accident -

they happen because you showed up on the days it felt pointless.

If you’re building an audience, a brand, a business - here’s the reality:

99% of progress happens when nobody is clapping.
The 1% that goes viral? That’s just the punctuation mark.

👉 Keep going. The compound effect is invisible… until it’s not.

From collapse to reinvention - LEGO

In the early 2000s, the LEGO Group was on the verge of collapse.

The company was buried under $800 million in debt, losing focus, and burning cash fast.

At just 35, outsider Jørgen Vig Knudstorp took over - and asked a brutal question:

“Is the problem LEGO itself?”
He made hard decisions.

Cut 30% of product lines.

Reduced headcount by 1,000.

Simplified production that had become bloated with thousands of unique parts.

And then came the turnaround.

LEGO doubled down on its core sets, focused on creativity, and - crucially - embraced licensed partnerships like Star Wars and Harry Potter.

By the mid-2010s, LEGO had become the world’s largest toymaker.
It’s a masterclass in clarity and discipline:

When everything feels broken, the solution isn’t always innovation -

Sometimes, it’s focus.

👉 Growth often starts where complexity ends.

the LEGO Group

“You’ve changed”

Not in a "you’ve evolved, I’m proud of you" kinda way.

More like you’ve started posting and now I don’t know where to place you.

Growth confuses people who stayed the same.

But don’t let their confusion become your limitation.

In 2024 I shut down limiting beliefs and went all in. 

→ I built a 7-figure business in 6 months
→ I stopped relying on job titles, CVs or permission slips
→ I showed up online before long before it felt comfortable

And yes, some people judged.

But I’ve learned ↴

People who judge the loudest are usually judging themselves the most.

Because deep down, everyone has secret hopes.

Quiet dreams.

A version of themselves they want to become.

But not everyone is brave enough to chase it.

You can be the exception.

Already ↴

→ 30.000+ people are using ORBIS's supplements
→ 100+ doctors are working with us

📌 Link for our website in my bio

You don’t need to wait for external validation.

You just need to start.

Let them talk. 

We've got things to build 🧡

Growth looks boring from the inside.

Most people quit because growth doesn’t look like growth.

It looks like:

– quiet mornings
– posts that don’t perform
– campaigns that underwhelm
– numbers that move slowly
– ideas that take weeks to land

But behind all that seemingly dull effort, progress is quietly building up.
Building an audience, a business, a brand -

it’s all invisible work that suddenly becomes obvious.

👉 If it feels slow, you’re probably on the right track.

Clean labels used to be a trend. Now they’re a requirement.

Customers don’t just want supplements that work.

They want proof.
And the brands that survive the next 5 years will be the ones that show exactly what’s inside the bottle - not just say it.

Clean labels, ethical sourcing, batch-level Certificates of Analysis, QR codes that reveal testing data...

This is where the industry is heading.
We saw it first-hand when a customer on Amazon said:

“Every brand should have a QR code with dosage, lab results, sourcing - everything.”

They’re right.
Transparency isn’t a marketing angle anymore - it’s trust.

Forward-thinking brands are already integrating blockchain supply verification, live COA access, and ingredient traceability.

Not because it’s trendy - but because customers now expect supplements to come with receipts.

👉 In wellness, information is no longer optional.
It’s the new quality standard.

Make space for thinking

Deep thinking.
Rest.
Learning.

These three are now constants on my calendar.

Not because they’re urgent.
But because they protect everything that is.

As a founder, it’s easy to spiral into tactics.
But your business reflects the quality of your thinking.
And clarity is earned in silence not in Slack.

🧠 Don’t wait for burnout to schedule recovery.

👉 What’s one habit that helps you zoom out?

AI didn’t replace our team - it made us sharper.

This year, we leaned heavily into tech:

AI for product research, advanced analytics for campaign testing, smarter logistics tools, and automated funnels.

Not to move faster -
but to move with clarity.

Some things worked immediately.
Others took weeks of trial and error.
Some ideas failed so badly that they became internal memes.

But the transformation was real:
Cleaner data.
Better decisions.
More accurate forecasting.
And time back for the team to focus on creativity instead of repetition.

Tech doesn’t save a bad business.
But it multiplies the potential of a good one.

👉 Innovation isn’t about replacing people.
It’s about giving them tools that make excellence easier.

Reliability in supply chains

Most people see the final product.
They don’t see the parts of the chain that can collapse overnight.

Strikes in Italy.
Courier delays.
Raw material shortages.
Packaging backorders that freeze production for weeks.

These moments force you to rethink what “sustainability” really means.
It’s not just packaging - it’s resilience.

We learned to:
• diversify suppliers
• maintain deeper stock on critical materials
• choose partners with ethical + transparent sourcing
• build packaging lines that don’t break the whole operation
• keep emergency buffers for unpredictable weeks

It’s not sexy, but it’s real.
Sustainability isn’t a buzzword - it’s the discipline to build a business that can survive volatility.

👉 Strong brands aren’t the ones that grow fastest.
They’re the ones that stay standing when the world shakes.

Not every business is meant to be huge - and that’s okay

The unicorns.

The “I scaled to €50M in 3 years” screenshots.
But here’s a truth most founders will never say out loud:
A healthy business ecosystem depends on small, medium, and large brands - not just the giants.

Not every company will (or should) become the next billion-dollar brand.
Not every founder is chasing rockets.

And not every business needs explosive scale to be successful.

For some founders, success looks like:
• A profitable lean team
• A business that doesn’t destroy your health
• Products you’re genuinely proud of
• A brand that takes care of its customers
• Stability, not chaos
• Impact, not headlines

And that’s enough.
More than enough.

The problem is:
We only celebrate “growth at all costs.”

We rarely celebrate the quietly strong businesses - the ones that pay their teams well, serve their customers well, and survive year after year because they’re built properly.

Scaling is great.
Ambition is great.

However, a lack of hyper-growth is not a failure.
You don’t need a unicorn outcome to build something meaningful.

Sometimes the win is a sustainable business that supports your life - not the other way around.

your revenue doesn’t impress me

Everyone flexes screenshots.
No one talks about how they FEEL.

You can make 500k/month, but if you:
	•	don’t train your body
	•	sleep 5 hours
	•	DoorDash every meal while watching YouTube
	•	haven’t seen your parents in months
	•	haven’t had a real conversation with a friend in weeks

you’re not “winning”.

When I burn myself out, business “success” feels like a TAX, not a trophy.
My marketing gets worse.
My judgment gets sloppy.
I become reactive, not strategic.

The founders I respect most:
	•	lift 3–5x/week
	•	protect 7–8 hours of sleep like a board meeting
	•	have at least 1 hobby that isn’t “more business”
	•	invest in family experiences, not just paid traffic

Money is a RESULT.
Success is an IDENTITY.

If your life is collapsing so your Stripe isn’t, the price is too high.

What’s one “non-negotiable” you refuse to sacrifice for more revenue?

How a simple wool shoe became a global brand

Some brands scale because of big budgets.

Others because of perfect timing.

But every now and then, a brand grows because it understands one thing better than everyone else: the power of a story.

Allbirds started with something that didn’t look “scalable” at all -
eco-friendly wool shoes.
No hype.
No complex product line.

Just one niche idea, executed with absolute clarity:
comfort + sustainability.
Instead of chasing retail shelves,

they went direct-to-consumer on Shopify
and built a brand around transparency, materials, and environmental impact.

And it worked - not because the product was wild or revolutionary -
but because the story was unforgettable.

Allbirds proved something a lot of founders forget:
📌 In a crowded market, your message matters more than your catalogue.
📌 A simple product with a clear purpose can grow faster than a complex brand with no story.
📌 Trust scales when your values are louder than your ads.
Allbirds didn’t win because they made shoes.

They won because people believed why they made them.

👉 A reminder for every DTC founder:
Sometimes the most powerful growth lever isn’t a feature -
it’s the narrative that makes people care.

Allbirds

Grateful to see our products being shared and used in real life.

No scripts.
No polish.
Just someone explaining, in simple words, why they chose them.

That’s always the best signal for me.

Thank you for the trust 🙏 Gabriele Celeri

Buongiorno,
oggi torno ad integrare con ORBIS Lifestyle e i loro tre prodotti principali di alta qualità:

-TESTOWIT, supporta attività ormonale
-NEUROWIT, supporta attività cognitive
-GLUTADETOX, supporta sistema immunitario

Consiglio a tutti l'utilizzo di questi integratori se avete una vita stressante, cambio di stagione o se siete atleti. Per qualsiasi altra informazione scrivitemi in privato.

Grazie a Pietro Pelizzari e Ivan Martellato

7 Days to Black Friday - and here’s the part no one mentions.

Everyone is posting about “record months” and “BFCM prep.”

But behind the scenes, Q4 feels like... pressure.
Ad costs spike.

Inventory moves faster than forecasts.

Customer expectations get louder overnight.
Last year taught us something simple:

you don’t win Q4 with bigger budgets -
you win it with better decisions.

For us that meant tightening funnels,
fixing the weak links,
protecting retention,
and staying brutally focused on what actually drives revenue.

If you’re feeling the pressure right now, you’re not behind -
you’re in the real part of Q4.

👉 Finish strong, not frantic.

The hard truth about growth: most problems aren’t marketing problems.

October forced us to look inward.

Not at ads.
Not at budgets.

But at the fundamentals that quietly decide how far you can scale.

One of those was simple:
process hygiene.

Every bottleneck we fixed - from funnels to subscriptions to inventory checks - created more growth than any “big campaign.”

Every DTC brand wants explosive results.
But the truth is:
you scale by eliminating friction, not adding noise.

Small optimizations, Systems, Retention improves over time.

That’s the stuff nobody celebrates - but it’s the reason brands survive Q4 and grow in Q1.

The nutraceutical industry is about to get harder - and better.

Across Europe, regulations are tightening.

Stricter surveillance, cleaner formulations, new compliance rules...
and the days of “just launch a supplement” are gone.

Honestly? It’s a good thing.
The brands that cut corners will disappear.
The ones that invest in quality, documentation, COAs, safe claims, and compliant marketing will finally stand out.

For founders, the question isn’t “Will regulations increase?”
It’s “Are we building a brand that can survive them?”

Here’s how we’re preparing at Orbis:
• tightening documentation with manufacturers
• reducing grey-area marketing claims
• improving traceability & internal audits
• making compliance part of product development, not an afterthought

Regulation doesn’t kill great brands - it protects them.
But only if you build with discipline, not shortcuts.
👉 The future belongs to the brands that operate clean.

A few years ago, few would’ve guessed that the global CPG giants would start walking away from their most traditional territory, food.

But that’s exactly what’s happening.

Unilever is separating from ice cream. Nestlé is investing heavier in health science. PepsiCo’s growth engine is Gatorade, not cola. And Coca-Cola’s innovation pipeline looks more like a wellness company than a soda maker.

It’s not about chasing fads, it’s about chasing margins.

Food categories are being squeezed from every angle. Private label is better, retailers are tougher, and price ceilings are real. Consumers are making trade-offs, and staples are rarely where they spend up.

Meanwhile, wellness has turned into the premium playground. Skincare, supplements, functional drinks, and performance nutrition all sit in spaces where consumers see value in paying more, because they link it to results, outcomes, and self-improvement.

And loyalty? It’s no longer found in the grocery aisle. Promotions shuffle share every week. But in self-care categories, once you’ve built trust and habit, repeat is automatic.

Here’s how I’m framing it in boardrooms right now:

1. Follow the profit, not the nostalgia. Map where elasticity, repeat, and trade-down risk really sit. Reweight before the market forces you to.

2. Earn credibility before entering wellness. Don’t buy your way in with branding. Build or partner for science, data, and regulatory muscle.

3. Personalization isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s the moat. The winners will know their consumers’ routines better than their consumers do.

4. Protect the core, but demand performance. Food will stay relevant — but only when it’s operationally efficient, brand-distinctive, and priced with discipline.

The shift is already underway. The question isn’t whether food stays on the table, it’s whether it remains profitable enough to deserve its seat.

If you’re leading a CPG business, ask yourself: are you investing in yesterday’s comfort or tomorrow’s margin?

The power of knowing when to pivot

Before Slack became the workplace tool we all know, it was a game.

The founders were building an online multiplayer game called Glitch.

But as the project evolved, they noticed something unexpected -

The internal chat tool they had built for their team was getting more traction than the game itself.

So they made a tough call:

Kill the game and double down on the tool.

That tool became Slack - a platform now used by over 30 million people worldwide which has been purchased by @companysalesforce

It wasn’t luck.

It was self-awareness.

The courage to admit what wasn’t working.

And the discipline to go all in on what was.

As founders, we often get emotionally attached to what we’ve built.

But sometimes the real win is knowing when to let go -

and build where the signal is strongest.

👉 The hardest pivots are usually the most defining ones.

taplio

The Battle

Benjamin Taylor

Pietro Pelizzari

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScorePietro Pelizzari's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Benjamin Taylor

Pietro Pelizzari

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Pietro Pelizzari's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScorePietro Pelizzari's LinkedIn Performance