Originally from Naples in Italy, Diego Sabella is a Safety Manager at Amazon’s Fulfilment Centre in Tilbury. Diego’s passion for safety started at university, where he studied Mechanical Engineering. While at university, he worked two different jobs to earn some extra cash to fund his degree.

Diego carved his way around campus handing out safety-related flyers and also worked in McDonald’s as a sandwich designer. It was at McDonald’s where he really hit his safety stripes. There, he introduced food safety training for the first time and helped his manager build a training programme and safety-first culture across nine restaurants in the Rome area.

Getting into the role of Safety Manager

Diego had always wanted to live in England and decided to leave Italy in 2014: “I absolutely love England, even more than Italy sometimes! People are polite here and are really happy to help. I love the cultural quirks as well. I will always try to sneak in some fish and chips on a Friday.”

In the UK, he first joined Amazon as a Picker but soon asked his General Manager whether he would be able to join the safety team.

I remember I said to my manager, ‘I need one shot to prove to you that I can do this’. I really wanted this job, I wanted to prove I could make a difference and thankfully he gave me the opportunity.
Diego Sabella

Flying up the ranks

Since then Diego has flown up the ranks, being promoted to Safety Specialist and then again to Safety Manager at Tilbury. He says he is proud to have progressed his own career, but more than anything he enjoys supporting new talent as they progress through the organisation.

Looking to the future, Diego says that technology is helping to improve feedback loops with employees, “from orders coming through our doors right to the last mile of delivery, we are able to gather feedback on every step of the chain and take action quickly.” That minute-by-minute feedback means everyone at Amazon also benefits from Diego’s passion for minute-by-minute.

You can learn more about Health and Safety at Amazon here. If you want to come and see what it’s like to work in an Amazon Fulfilment Centre, you can register for a tour at www.amazonfctours.co.uk