Veronafiere – AGM: Federico Bricolo elected new President. New Board of Directors Appointed: Romano Artoni (Vice-President), Maurizio Danese, Matteo Gelmetti (Vice-President), Alberto Segafredo, Alex Vantini and Mario Veronesi.

Danese: "My presidency comes to an end with Veronafiere fully updated in terms of form and objectives." Bricolo: "The new BoD boasts undisputed entrepreneurial skills in the name of business continuity."

Verona, 17 May 2022. Federico Bricolo is the new president of Veronafiere S.p.A. for the three-year period 2022-2025. The election took place today during the AGM which, after approving the final balance sheet of the Veronafiere Group for 2021, also elected the seven members of the new Board of Directors, in accordance with the provisions of the Statutes approved last 18 February, and the two vice presidents. In addition to Federico Bricolo, the Board of Directors now comprises: Romano Artoni, appointed vice president, already a director of Veronafiere since 2017 and vice president 2017-2019, as well as president of UniT, the IT company of Unicredit Group. Maurizio Danese, President of Veronafiere S.p.A. since 2015 and for two mandates President of AEFI (Italian Exhibition and Trade Fair Association) and Vice President of Pregis S.p.A. Matteo Gelmetti, confirmed as vice president and also vice president of PTSCLAS S.p.A. Alberto Segafredo, CEO of Ven-to, financial analyst and member of the Cariverona Foundation Finance Committee. Alex Vantini, president of Coldiretti Verona. Mario Veronesi, president of the Veronesi S.p.A. Group.

“I finish my presidency of Veronafiere today, with the group on the market fully updated in terms of form and objectives,” said Maurizio Danese. “In this context, I would like thank the management, the entire operational team and the shareholders who, during my two mandates, have always provided me with trust and support. Starting off with the first major challenge of converting Veronafiere into a joint stock company launched at the start of my presidency in 2015, that came to fruition between November 2016 and February 2017. The 2021 budget approved today,”  Danese went on, “gives us an economic-financial snapshot of an exhibition Group which, thanks to the increase in equity capital of €30 mln subscribed by all shareholders and government support funds totalling €31.2 mln received thanks to the efforts of AEFI, can finally leave behind it the crisis experienced over the last two years- the most serious since its foundation. I am certain the new president, Federico Bricolo, will be able to guide Veronafiere towards increasingly competitive goals in Italy and abroad. Although the global scenario has changed profoundly,” Maurizio Danese concluded, “Veronafiere has confirmed is status as a strategic asset for the promotion of the main Made in Italy supply chains represented by the 70 events organized directly in our Exhibition Centre and 20 others in the main demand markets.”

“I would like to thank the outgoing president, Maurizio Danese, for the important results achieved and for having guided the Veronafiere with firmness, courage and undeniable entrepreneurial skill even in times of huge difficulties; not to mention the CEO, Giovanni Mantovani, management and all employees for the impressive commitment made in such very complex times,” said Federico Bricolo, as of today the new president of Veronafiere S.p.A. “Confirmation of Danese on the Board of Directors, together with Matteo Gelmetti, ensures business continuity. I take over at an important and extremely challenging time in terms of the competitiveness of the fourth trade fair centre in Italy, the international status of Veronafiere-branded events and the potential of a company that over time has become a full-scale promotional brand on global markets. Consolidation and growth of Veronafiere, as well as innovation and upgrading, will be at the heart of my mandate and the efforts of the high-profile Board of Directors elected today by the Shareholders, to whom I express my gratitude for the appointment entrusted to me.”

Federico Bricolo in July 2020 became Director of Catullo Airport serving the city of Verona.

Born in Verona itself in 1966, Bricolo boasts a long institutional career behind him, which has seen him hold top positions even at Government level, such as Undersecretary for Infrastructure and Transport, as well as in Parliament.

As a Member of Parliament, in fact, Bricolo was Secretary of the Bicameral Anti-Mafia Commission of Inquiry, member of the Justice Commission, the Defence Commission and the Environment and Public Works Commission, as well as Vice-President of the Parliamentary Group of Lega Nord.

In the Senate, he was the President of the Group of Lega Nord Senators, a member of the Foreign Affairs-Emigration Commission and the RAI Supervisory Commission.

He has also held positions in international organizations: he was a member of the delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of OSCE-Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and was Vice-president of the delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Western European Union. As a parliamentarian, he also took part in various missions abroad, meeting government representatives and diplomats, from the USA to Afghanistan.

For five years he was the Chairman of the Board of Editoriale Nord and subsequently Head of the Political Secretariat and Legislative Office of Lega Nord.

Veronafiere S.p.A. equity structure: Verona City Council (39.483%), Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Verona, Vicenza, Belluno & Ancona (24.078%), Verona Chamber of Commerce (12.985%), Cattolica Assicurazioni (7.075%), Banco BPM Spa (7.009%), Agenzia Veneta per l’Innovazione nel Settore Primario (5.379%), Province of Verona (1.401%), Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (1.354%), Banca Veronese Cooperativo di Concamarise (0.883%), Immobiliare Magazzini Srl (0.188%) and Veneto Region (0.161%).