Born in Sicily to Bengali parents, Urmi Hossain is an Italian national with Bengali heritage. She currently works in the financial services industry in Montreal, Canada. As a polyglot, self-published author, blogger, speaker, and mentor, Urmi loves learning, immersing herself in different cultures, and empowering young women to reach their personal and career aspirations.
Urmi Hossain grew up in the cities of Palermo, Vigevano, and Milan, Italy. Her family moved to London for one year before moving back to Italy where they then settled in Milan. She then moved to Montreal, Canada to pursue an undergraduate degree in finance. Upon completion, she stayed in Montreal to begin her career and still resides there.
In her book, Discovering Your Identity, a Rebirth from Interracial Struggle, Urmi expounds on the reality of being a “third culture kid.” Being a mix of Italian and Bengali culture, Urmi has struggled to find which nationality she identifies with.
Growing up in Italy, Urmi has always felt more Italian than Bengali as she considers Italy as “home.” Despite London having a large community of Italians and Bengalis, to her, it never quite felt like home. It wasn’t until arriving in the melting pot of Montreal Canada, she began to discover her true cultural identity.
Urmi loves volunteering as she believes in the power of giving back to her community. As the leader and social media manager of the Women in Leadership Organization Victoria Chapter, Urmi advocates for women’s empowerment and is very passionate about serving as a teacher and mentor for young women. Urmi also serves as the VP of Education for Toastmasters and a bucket list goal of hers is to deliver a TED talk.
Urmi has been all over Italy and the go-to cities to visit are Rome and Venice. Outside of Italy, she enjoys Barcelona, Spain, and Switzerland. In North America, Urmi’s favorite US cities are New York and Boston, and she loves the tropical oases of Cancun, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. She wishes to travel to Peru, Bali, South Africa, Brazil, Morocco and the Maldives.
Alongside finance, public speaking, writing, mentoring, blogging, and travel, Urmi has many hobbies, which include reading 12 books each year, baking and pasta making, practicing Muay Thai, and watching Korean soap operas and Bollywood movies. Urmi fluently speaks Italian, Bengali, English, and French and she is currently working to master Spanish. She loves pasta, chocolate, and coffee from around the world.
Any activity that is high intensity or that involves learning, Urmi is up for it. As a “student of life,” Urmi is constantly hungry to learn and curious about all things.
