Veronafiere: Bricolo president. Danese toward CEO role

Change at the board of Veronafiere, one of Italy’s most important exhibition players, and organizer of, among others, Vinitaly, the world’s No. 1 Italian wine event, and Fieragricola, Italy’s longest-running trade fair in the sector. The shareholders' assembly, which met today in Verona, appointed Federico Bricolo, a former senator of the Lega (and very close, according to rumors, to the Minister of Economic Development, Giancarlo Giorgetti, and the Minister of Tourism, Massimo Garavaglia, both in the Lega quota, ed.), as president. Also approved were the financial statements of Veronafiere Spa, which closed at 73.6 million euros in turnover, 18 million euros in ebitda and 4.2 million euros in profit, and elected the new Board of Directors, which is composed of Romano Artoni, appointed vice-chairman, a former director of the trade fair company since 2017 and vice-chairman from 2017 to 2019, and chairman of UniT, an IT company of the Unicredit group; Maurizio Danese, at the helm of Veronafiere Spa since 2015 and for two terms, president Aefi (Association of Italian Exhibitions and Fairs) and vice president Pregis Spa; Matteo Gelmetti, confirmed vice president and vice president Ptscas Spa; Alberto Segafredo, ad Ven-to, financial analyst and member of the Finance Committee of Fondazione Cariverona; Alex Vantini, president Coldiretti Verona; and Mario Veronesi, president of Gruppo Veronesi Spa. From the meeting, according to information, the figure for the CEO also took shape, which should be identified, shortly, in the person of the outgoing chairman, Maurizio Danese. A major change in the governance of Veronafiere Spa, with the City of Verona as the first shareholder, with 39.4%, followed by Fondazione Cassa di Verona, Vincenza, Belluno and Ancona, at 24%, and then Verona Chamber of Commerce (14.3%), Banco Bpm Spa (7 percent) Cattolica Assicurazioni (6 percent), Agenzia Veneta per l’Innovazione nel Settore Primario (5.3 percent), Province of Verona (1.4 percent), Intesa Sanpaolo Spa (1.3 percent), Banca Veronese Cooperativo di Concamarise (0.6 percent), Immobiliare Magazzini srl (0.18 percent) and Regione Veneto (0.11 percent). For a fair that is looking more and more to the future, as explained by general manager Giovanni Mantovani (who, Verona’s “tam tam”, would give out of the official position as of June 30, 2022, with the concrete prospect of remaining as a consultant to the fair, with a focus especially on Vinitaly, but not only, ed.): “strong focus on the redesign, also innovative, of the events and all the products in the portfolio with careful cost management. Important cost containment operation. In 2022 we are fully restarted, despite the stop and go of the first two months, with all the exhibitions scheduled on the calendar and focusing through the Restart Plan on relaunching and strengthening the “core” products of the Veronafiere Group”, the route drawn by Mantovani himself. “I am leaving the presidency of a fair that today presents itself on the market totally renewed in form and objectives”, comments Maurizio Danese, “and for this I thank the management, the entire operating team and the shareholders who, in these two terms, have not failed to trust and support me. Starting with the first great challenge of the transformation of the fair into a joint-stock company launched when I took office in 2015 and materialized between November 2016 and February 2017. The 2021 financial statements approved today”, Danese continues, “give us back an economic-financial snapshot of a trade fair group that, thanks to the 30-million-euro capital increase subscribed by all shareholders and the 31.2 million euros in relief received from the government at Aefi’s instance, can finally turn its back on the crisis it has experienced over the past two years, the most serious since its establishment. I am confident that the new president, Federico Bricolo, will be able to guide Veronafiere toward increasingly competitive goals in Italy and abroad. Despite the fact that the global scenario has changed profoundly, the Verona Fair confirms itself as a strategic asset for the promotion of the main Made in Italy supply chains represented in the 70 events organized directly at the fairgrounds and in the 20 in the main demand markets”. “I thank the outgoing president Maurizio Danese for the important results achieved and for having led the Fair with firmness, courage and undeniable entrepreneurial ability even in the most difficult times; as well as the general director, Giovanni Mantovani, the managers and all the employees for their great commitment during a very complex period”, says Federico Bricolo, from today president of Veronafiere Spa. “His confirmation on the board of directors, together with that of Matteo Gelmetti, guarantees business continuity. I am picking up an important and exceedingly challenging baton in terms of the competitiveness of Italy’s fourth largest exhibition industry, the internationality of Veronafiere-branded events and the potential of a company that has become over time a true promotional brand in the global market. Consolidation and growth of Veronafiere, as well as innovation and renewal, will be the focus of my term of office and the action of the high-profile Board of Directors elected today by the shareholders, to whom I express my gratitude for the appointment entrusted to me”.