Virtuosi Voices

Antonio Lucio on Fortifying Resilience Through Vulnerability and Support

Written by Nadine Dietz | Sep 4, 2025 6:50:00 PM

What I’ve Learned

Antonio Lucio has lived the glamorous highs of global leadership—but he’s equally candid about its toll.

“Leadership is hard. There is no other way to say it. Things that matter are hard.”

He calls it the “dark side of leadership”: the loneliness of being at the top, the gnawing self-doubt, the fear of failure, and the constant temptation to compromise values for convenience. He determined that resilience doesn’t mean denying these struggles—it means naming them, and building systems of support to withstand them.

“There is strength in vulnerability.”

How I’ve Sharpened

Antonio fortified resilience through intentional practices:

  • Therapy as a tool. He turned to psychotherapy to process the pressures of leadership, normalizing it as a resource.
  • Build a personal board of directors. He surrounded himself with trusted advisors who provided perspective, feedback, and accountability.
  • Make vulnerability a habit. By sharing his struggles, he modeled psychological safety and gave his teams permission to be honest.
  • Hold values as guardrails. He drew resilience from refusing to trade integrity for expedience.
  • Recognize the toll. He reminded leaders that acknowledging the cost of leadership is not weakness—it’s wisdom.

Why It Matters

Resilience is not toughness. It is the ability to sustain leadership by embracing vulnerability, building support systems, and refusing to compromise values. Antonio’s story reminds us that the leaders who last are not the ones who look invincible, but the ones who remain authentic and supported.

“The leaders who last are the ones who accept the weight, but don’t carry it alone.”

About Antonio Lucio



Antonio Lucio is the Global Chief Marketing and Corporate Affairs Officer at HP, former Global CMO of Visa, HP, and Facebook, and Chairman of the Virtuosi LEAP Advisory Board. He is celebrated for fortifying resilience by naming the hidden struggles of leadership and modeling vulnerability, integrity, and authenticity.