Last night the fifth episode of Think Big aired, featuring Diego Pisa, CEO of Teleperformance Albania. A Neapolitan with a rebellious and visionary spirit, Pisa saw Tirana differently back in 2007, when—alongside Romania and Argentina—he was exploring new territories for the group. Albania won because, as he recalls: “I saw in Albanians the same fire I had inside me. A young, ambitious population with a great desire to be rewarded.”
Since then, Teleperformance Albania has grown from zero to more than 3,500 employees and is today one of the largest and most trusted employers in the market. Pisa humorously remembers the beginning: “In 2007 I was developing three parallel projects: Albania, Romania, Argentina. When I came here, I fell in love and asked the group to invest in Albania.” Time proved him right.
Beyond the classic “call center”
Pisa is clear when explaining what Teleperformance is not: “In Albania, unfortunately, there’s a tendency to think we are a typical call center doing telemarketing. We stopped that back in 2014. Today we provide assistance, client consultancy, and digitalization for large international companies.”
He highlights that Teleperformance’s services range from multichannel interactions (phone, chat, email, WhatsApp) to software development and AI integration.
Added value, not just cost
At first, Albania attracted investors because of its low labor cost, but Pisa explains this isn’t sustainable: “The biggest challenge for a country is to position itself in high value-added services. For this, you need skills, knowledge, and competence.” Referring to Albanians themselves, he adds: “Albanians are proud and honest. When they have a problem to solve, they take it personally until it’s solved.”
“People first” as a culture
One of the elements that differentiates Teleperformance is its people-centric approach: “The employee is at the center of attention. We have a structured organization, with about 10% of staff dedicated only to organization and development. This is why we have been certified for years as a ‘Great Place to Work.’” Pisa adds: “As soon as you’re part of Teleperformance, you are no longer just in Albania, Italy, or France—you are in TP. It’s as if you are in all 90 countries where the company operates.”
AI: artificial confusion, but also opportunity
Talking about artificial intelligence, Pisa stresses: “For years we’ve been hearing that the future is catastrophic and people will be replaced. Today we are in a moment of ‘artificial confusion,’ with thousands of applications whose real use isn’t yet clear. It’s true that low-value services are being replaced, but the world is becoming increasingly complex, and that brings anomalies that only humans can solve.”
He adds optimistically: “AI is democratic, because anyone can use it. But the way you ask a device, which is the fruit of your experience, determines the quality of the answer.”
Albania as a security hub for Europe
A key moment in the interview was when Pisa revealed that the European cybersecurity center is based in Tirana: “The IT manager of the European network is Albanian. The head of security assessment is also here, in Albania. This clearly shows the level of competence the country offers.”
Pisa is convinced that the future of young Albanians shouldn’t necessarily mean emigration: “In a global world, it’s not strange that people leave. What’s not good is if they are forced to leave. We need to create conditions for them to build careers here. We have grown local managers, and this is the healthy path.”
This episode of Think Big not only showcased the story of a successful company but also delivered a clear message: Albania can become a center of excellence for technology, security, and high-value services. For young people, the inspiration is evident: “If you have fire, ambition, and integrity, you can build a career here, just as anywhere else in Europe.”
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