Ready for the final Our People interview of 2025? We sat down for a chat with Cristiana Del Bello, our FP&A Director, to find out more about her new role, relocating to London and what she does to unwind after work…
I’m really proud of what the Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) team have achieved during my three years at MAXIS. I first joined MAXIS as an FP&A Manager, based in Paris. My initial objective was to build a team focused on clearly describing, analysing and monitoring MAXIS’ profitability – understanding the key drivers of growth and profit, as well as identifying areas for improvement. Over the past three years, I believe the team and I have successfully achieved this and I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished together so far.
I see my new role as FP&A Director as a natural extension of my previous one, with a larger team and a broader scope of responsibilities. I believe I can now have a greater impact in the company, ensuring that our financials are properly represented in a solid and fair way. When it comes to the future, I’m planning to keep improving the quality and efficiency of our processes.
The first thing I do when I get to the office is open Excel. It’s my forte! The FP&A department is focused on three main activities: the first is monitoring MAXIS’ profitability and proposing new initiatives to implement across the different teams. The second is monitoring our reserves - we must ensure that we always have a proper level of reserves, otherwise from a regulatory point of view, we would not be compliant. Our third focus is our collateral and defining what the requirements are for our captive clients. We are the first line of control from both a finance and an actuarial point of view – it’s important to make sure our business is sustainable.
Data is essential because it’s the foundation of informed decision-making. Robust data allows us to deliver value in a market that is increasingly driven by analytics and evidence-based insights. In our complex, global environment, accurate and reliable data allows us to identify claims trends and design tailored employee benefits programmes for our multinational clients. Data also enables us to provide transparency and clarity to our clients and partners, helping them understand the drivers of their performance and optimise their global strategies. Internally, it’s crucial for analysing our portfolio, identifying areas for improvement and shaping our overall business strategy.
I’ve always dreamed of living in London, and I’m really happy with my decision to move here this summer. When I was younger, I used to come to London every year for a couple of weeks to study English. I fell in love with the city, so it feels exciting to finally make living here a reality. I haven’t had much time to explore yet, as over the past few months I was preparing for a finance exam alongside work. But now I’m looking forward to discovering more of what London has to offer and really experiencing the city.
The MAXIS MeetUp internal conferences have been a huge highlight of my time at MAXIS. I was lucky enough to go to Rotterdam in 2023 and then Baveno this year. Having the chance to spend three days with colleagues from all over the world is something special, and I don’t take it for granted, because not every company does this 
kind of thing. Baveno was even more memorable for me as it took place in my home country, near to where I grew up, and the sun gave us all a final taste of summer. Because I was close to home, I got to spend the weekend before with my family, which is always a great idea.
I believe the most valuable aspect of MAXIS’ culture is its genuine diversity and inclusivity. Diversity at MAXIS doesn’t come across as something we highlight just to appear a good company – instead, it’s a shared value that we all live and reinforce every day. What really stands out to me is the wide mix of nationalities, backgrounds and languages among us all – some of the team speak more than seven languages, which I find incredible! Walking through the corridors of the London office, you immediately sense this diversity, but what’s even more impressive is how natural it feels. That authenticity is what makes MAXIS a truly diverse company.
My favourite way to spend the weekend is travelling. I feel lucky to live somewhere where we can so easily hop on a flight to another country, and I enjoy visiting my friends who live across Europe to spend quality time together. I really enjoy exploring new cities, or revisiting my favourite ones, like Berlin or Rome. I like to immerse myself in the local culture, try regional foods, visit museums and monuments, and enjoy the nightlife of the city.
Wine has always fascinated me and is a big hobby of mine. My dad is a wine enthusiast, and since childhood I’ve enjoyed visiting vineyards and meeting producers with him. After the lockdown in 2021, I enrolled in a wine course in Luxembourg, which was one of the few social activities available at the time. That first course was just the beginning: I went on to complete three levels and even attended a wine academy in Italy. I have two favourite wines - one is Pinot Noir, from Burgundy. The other is Nebbiolo, from Piedmont. It’s all about the quality!