01  /  About

Julia Kallas.

Born in Brazil.
Shaped in New Zealand.
Based in Milan since 2011.

Independent judgement. Earned on every side.

Twenty years learning how things are really sold, across four continents.

On a shop floor in New Zealand I coached a sales team and won the company’s Platinum, Gold and Silver Sales Excellence Awards. In New York I reported from the United Nations for Inter Press Service. In Milan I worked in trade promotion and banking, then spent a decade inside fashion: at Trussardi, turning sell-out data into action plans for each account, and at a European fashion marketplace, building retailer partnerships.

So when a store isn’t performing, I look at everything: the product, the market, the customer you speak to, and how your team is trained to sell.

Growth is rarely only about selling more. It is about creating enough value for both sides to want to stay at the table.

Today I work independently, with no platform or partner to sell you. That means I can tell you what I actually think, including, sometimes: not yet. I use AI-assisted research tools where they add value; every source is checked, and the judgement stays mine.

Julia Kallas

Founder & Principal, Julia Kallas Advisory

Languages

Portuguese, native · English, fluent · Italian, fluent · Spanish, basic

Education

MA Communication for International Relations, IULM Milano · BA International Relations and Postgraduate, International Studies, International Pacific University, New Zealand

Recent learning, 2026

Mindvalley AI for Founders Summit, October 2026 · Mindvalley University, Tallinn, July 2026 · Expert to Authority Summit, September 2026

02  /  Career, 2006–today

Experience, earned.

From a shop floor in New Zealand to fashion distribution in Milan. Every step taught me something I still use with clients.

  1. 2026–

    Independent advisor

    Julia Kallas Advisory · Milano, working worldwide

    Founder & Principal, Julia Kallas Advisory. Strategic advisory on market expansion, sales diversification, distribution, stock, stores and AI for luxury and premium fashion brands, boutiques, retailers and manufacturers.

  2. 2022–2026

    International Partnerships Manager

    Miinto · DACH, Scandinavia, Central-Eastern Europe

    Some fifty retailer partnerships developed, from the first call to the signed contract and the first order shipped, including enterprise partners integrating by feed and API.

  3. 2016–2022

    Wholesale assistant to Area Manager, International Wholesale

    Trussardi · Milano

    Three roles in six years: International Wholesale Assistant, International Key Account Manager, then Area Manager from 2018. Around one hundred doors in Austria, Poland, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Spain and Portugal, across department stores, multi-brand retailers and e-commerce partners.

  4. 2014–2016

    Trade promotion and corporate banking

    Brazilian Consulate General · Banco do Brasil · Milano

    Trade promotion between Brazil and Italy at the Consulate, then two years in corporate banking: clients doing business between Italy and Brazil, and credit applications presented to the Credit Committee.

  5. 2013–2014

    International Sales Officer, then Executive Assistant to the CEO

    Two Italian companies · Milano

    Sales across South America and other Portuguese-, Spanish- and English-speaking markets; then, alongside the CEO, the negotiation and closing of a distribution deal in São Paulo.

  6. 2012

    Journalist, Inter Press Service

    United Nations Headquarters · New York

    Awarded an IULM scholarship to report from the UN: seventeen published articles on development, human rights, gender equality and security, covering the General Assembly and the Security Council. Selected articles: an interview with UN Women’s Lakshmi Puri · investment policy for sustainable development.

  7. 2011–2013

    MA, Communication for International Relations

    IULM · Milano

    With a study tour in Washington and New York (World Bank, United Nations, Italian Embassy) and ISPI’s Winter School on international development cooperation.

  8. 2009–2011

    Retail Assistant Manager

    Max Fashions · New Zealand

    Running the store in the manager’s absence, and Platinum, Gold and Silver Sales Excellence Awards: my first lesson in what really sells. Alongside it, business development support for Vision Manawatu.

  9. 2006–2011

    BA International Relations & Postgraduate, International Studies

    International Pacific University · Palmerston North

    Arrived on a Rotary Youth Exchange in 2006, then completed both degrees on tuition scholarships.

03  /  Selected experience

Inside the work. Not beside it.

Work I did inside fashion companies, as an employee, not as a consultant. Companies and partners are not named.

Europe

The year-long signature

Challenge
A large fashion e-commerce business, complex requirements on both sides, many rounds of revision.
My role
Led the commercial negotiation from first contact to signature; worked with the technical teams on feed and integration.
Outcome
Agreement signed after more than a year of negotiation.

Several markets

From signature to first order

Challenge
Retail partners in different countries, each with its own systems, assortment and digital readiness.
My role
Coordinated commercial, integration and operations teams on product data, pricing and readiness until partners were trading.
Lesson
Readiness decides whether a partnership works.

Central-Eastern Europe

Live on Black Friday

Challenge
A premium retailer going live just before the busiest weekend of the year, with operational details still to fix: pickup address, company details, order labels.
My role
Escalated, coordinated the teams involved and kept the retailer informed until everything was resolved.
Outcome
Live on Black Friday; open issues closed within days, before they could turn into fulfilment penalties.

Six European markets

A hundred doors, many retail cultures

Challenge
A wholesale portfolio across six European markets, each with its own retail structure, agents and distributors.
My role
From wholesale assistant to Area Manager: buying campaigns, budgets, sell-out analysis and negotiations.
Lesson
Every market rewards different partners.

04  /  Recommendations

In their words. People I worked with.

Julia is a strong and determined woman with a proactive and positive attitude. She is a super good Area Manager, able to work with people coming from different backgrounds and geographic areas.
Giulia Faoro · Business Development Consultant, marketplaces · worked with Julia at Trussardi
A brilliant, concrete person to whom important tasks can be entrusted, confident of a positive outcome.
Selenio Rosselli · former Head of Corporate Division, Banco do Brasil · Julia’s manager · translated from Italian
A natural leader, fair and firm, with an extraordinary ability to connect with people.
Rebecca Alberts · worked with Julia at Max Fashions
A person of great substance. A tireless worker… Respected by clients and colleagues. A manager in every sense.
Massimo Della Rocca · Commercial Director, fashion and luxury · translated from Italian

From recommendations on LinkedIn.

05  /  Contact

Your next decision. Let’s look at it together.

Tell me where your business is today and where you would like it to be.

Book a first conversation

juliakallas1@gmail.com
LinkedIn · Milano, working worldwide
English · Italiano · Português

Your message comes straight to me, and your details are used only to reply to you. Prefer email? Write to juliakallas1@gmail.com.