New AEFI mandate: Ettore Riello confirmed as Chairman
Ettore Riello, President of Veronafiere, has again received a mandate as AEFI Chairman, for the next four years. This decision was made in the Assembly of the Italian Exhibition and Trade Fair Association for the next four-year period, concluding at the end of 2018.
The Association represents 35 trade fair districts, which each year contribute to organising more than 1,000 exhibitions over a total exhibition space of 4.2 million square metres, drawing in 22 million operators from all over the world and attracting 200 thousand participating businesses.
Ettore Riello thus enters into his second mandate, after that of 2010–2014, which saw the Association at the forefront in constant dialogue with the Institutions, intended on one hand to position the trade fair sector in its deserved role of instrument to support the country’s industrial policy and on the other to support operators in their activity.
At the same time, the following were nominated Vice Presidents and members of the Executive Board: Lorenzo Cagnoni, Chairman of Rimini Fiera; Franco Boni, Board Member of Fiere di Parma; Duccio Campagnoli, Chairman of Bolognafiere; Giovanni Laezza, General Manager of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi. These are joined by the following Board Members: Vincenzo Alfonsi, General Manager of Investimenti Spa-Roma; Luca Bagnoli, President of Firenze Fiera; Giovanni Ciceri, Chairman of LarioFiere; Luisa De Marco, Chair of Udine e Gorizia Fiere; Matteo Marzotto, President of Fiera di Vicenza; Ugo Patroni Griffi, Chairman of Fiera del Levante.
The Associates Assembly also nominates Raimondo Ursitti, Secretary General of Fiere di Foggia, as Treasurer. The structure is completed by AEFI Secretary General Loredana Sarti.
“I thank all members for their continuing confidence. For me it’s an important recognition of the work carried out by the outgoing Executive Board, by the Commissions and by all the members with whom I have had the honour of sharing decisions, interventions and guidelines over these four years. I am glad of the opportunity to continue working, uninterruptedly, to support the Italian trade fair sector, in which I have great faith. A complex and comprehensive sector, which though it reflects the difficulties of a country still suffering from its economic situation, is full of life, with a great capacity for innovation, as demonstrated by the numbers of our Observatory. With this certainty, my intention and that of the Executive Board is to continue dialogue with the Institutions, to work together with increasing integration to provide solid support to the country’s industrial system,” declared Ettore Riello, AEFI Chairman.
Ettore Riello, aged 58, with a degree in business administration from the Cà Foscari University of Venice, is Chairman and CEO of Riello Group Spa and, since 2009, President of Veronafiere, and since 2010 AEFI Chairman. Moreover, since June 2011, Riello has been Vice President of the EHI (European Heating Industry Association) and since 2013 has covered the role of Vice President of the EMECA-European Major Exhibition Centres Association.
AEFI – the Italian Exhibition and Trade Fair Association – was set up in 1983 with a view to generating synergies between the most significant Italian exhibition districts. Specifically, AEFI would like to be seen as a privileged partner for operators and institutions alike, and its role is to support members through the development of activities and programmes in the sphere of training, marketing and promotion plus research, as well as to provide services for trade fairs through the activities of its Committees: the Exhibition Hub Technical Committee, the Administrative-Legal Committee, the Trade Fairs Network Committee, the IT and Technical Innovation Committee, and the new Initiatives and Programmes Committee.
On an international scale, AEFI represents Italian trade fairs in UFI-Union des Foires Internationales. Chaired by Ettore Riello, AEFI includes 35 member exhibition districts, which organise over 1,000 events a year over an overall exhibition area of 4.2 million square metres.
Most international trade fairs, and 85% of all trade fairs, which take place each year in Italy are held in AEFI-member exhibition districts.