Meet the team

Paola Tess

Although Paola is 100% Italian, she only spent the first two months of her life living in Italy. Her formative years were divided between boarding school in the UK and various countries in the Far East, the Middle East and Africa.

In 1983 Paola graduated from London University, where she read Italian and French. It was here that she met her long-time friend and partner in crime and business, Mirella Hogan.

Between 1983 and 1989 Paola worked for the Swedish Embassy in Nigeria as assistant to the Commercial Attaché promoting Swedish products. 1989 saw her return to the UK at a small advertising agency where she met up with Mirella again, and by the end of 1990, Mother Tongue was a reality.

Paola speaks English, Italian and French with a smattering of West African pidgin!