Pitti Immagine has announced a new Board of Directors. The new Board of Directors of Pitti Immagine meets for the first time under the presidency of Antonio De Matteis (pictured right), who will remain in office for the three-year term 2026–2028: Ivano Cauli (pictured center) appointed Chief Executive Officer, Raffaello Napoleone (pictured left) appointed Board member in charge of International and Institutional Relations.
The new Board of Directors of Pitti Immagine was installed under the presidency of Antonio De Matteis. The board, increased by two members compared to the previous one, following the resolution adopted last week by the Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting, is composed as follows:
Giovanni Basagni (confirmed), Stefano Borsini (confirmed), Laura Bosetti Tonatto (new appointment), Ercole Botto Poala (confirmed), Paolo Carrai (new appointment), Ivano Cauli (new appointment), Antonio De Matteis (confirmed President), Marco Landi (confirmed), Antonella Mansi (confirmed Vice President), Niccolò Moschini (confirmed), Raffaello Napoleone (confirmed), Lorenzo Nencini (confirmed), and Marco Palmieri (confirmed).
The Board of Statutory Auditors, entirely confirmed, is composed of Massimo Bianchi (President), Deborah Sassorossi, and Guido Ceron. Alternate auditors are Giuseppe Cristiani and Roberto Vanni.
“I would first like to thank the Centro di Firenze per la Moda Italiana (CFMI) and Confindustria Moda,” stated Antonio De Matteis, “for their demonstration of confidence in both myself and the Board: complex years lie ahead, but we are ready to make our contribution in support of Pitti Immagine’s trade fair initiatives, which represent excellence not only for Florence but also for the various sectors they serve. I would also like to extend my best wishes for success to the outgoing board member Niccolò Ricci, newly appointed President of Polimoda, and to warmly welcome the new board members Laura Bosetti Tonatto, Paolo Carrai, and Ivano Cauli.”
The Board appointed Ivano Cauli, currently the company’s General Manager, as Chief Executive Officer, and subsequently appointed Raffaello Napoleone, Board member in charge of International and Institutional Relations.
“In these recent months,” De Matteis continued, “we have worked closely with the shareholders, providing them with all the elements necessary for the strategic reflection that has now taken shape in the guidelines for the coming three-year period, including that dynamic balance between continuity and discontinuity that is the true hallmark of this transition. Evidence of this can be seen, on the one hand, in the expansion of the Board to include entrepreneurs from sectors that are now firmly part of our product portfolio (high-quality food and niche perfumery), and on the other, in the new structure of the top management. There is no doubt that the dual responsibility placed on Ivano Cauli – who has been with the company for four years – carries significant weight, but his entrepreneurial experience, ability to manage innovation, and knowledge of the company structure offer ample guarantees. He will be able to rely on the valuable contribution of Raffaello Napoleone, who has made himself available in a spirit of teamwork, as well as on a managerial structure in which experienced figures such as Agostino Poletto and Lapo Cianchi – Directors of Corporate Strategy and Corporate Communications, respectively – will support the necessary emergence of the new generation.”
“I am convinced that the future of Pitti Immagine and the CFMI Group, and I am referring to the next 10–15 years,” added Antonella Mansi, “is being shaped now, meaning in these two or three years. Even as we seek to leave behind what we have experienced so far, we are immersed in an industrial transition which, at the European level and within individual countries, including Italy, must be managed with great care and without ideological risks. There is a serious crisis in the international order, which is clearly reflected in the economy and particularly in trade and global mobility: we see its impact clearly, especially in the fashion sector. In the trade fair sphere, all this is translating into changes in the way operators participate and into a consequent reduction in operating margins, inevitably leading to the need to control costs while seeking new opportunities. Florence itself is undergoing a complex transformation of its infrastructure system. Our responsibility, as representatives of the shareholders, has always been to equip the Group with what is necessary to best face the many challenges we encounter each day. It is work that has deep roots and is entirely centered on the strength of people, their ideas, and their expertise. Today more than ever, standing still is not an option: Pitti’s fairs are an essential reference point for international economic operators, for our territory, and for our companies, and we intend to support them with the fullest measure of talent and knowledge we can bring to bear. This transition further strengthens us and allows us to look to the future with greater confidence.”
After renewing the current Supervisory Body, the Board also resolved on appointments to the governing bodies of its subsidiaries: Poletto was confirmed as Sole Director of Stazione Leopolda srl, and the Board of Fondazione Pitti Discovery was confirmed (Mansi as President, with Cauli, De Matteis, Moschini, and Napoleone as board members), along with the General Secretary (Cianchi).
Images courtesy of Pitti Immagine
