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GEI Luncheon in honor of Dott. Simone Crolla, Managing Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy (AmCham)

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Remarks by GEI President Lucio Caputo:

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Today I am very pleased to welcome to GEI Dr. Simone Crolla, Managing Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy.

Dr. Crolla received his Degree in Political Sciences from the University of Milan in 1997. He then furthered his education in the Government and Policy Making at the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General at the United Nations. In 1998 he received his post-graduate degree in International Law from the University of Helsinki.

In the past, he served as Advisor for external and institutional relations for various Italian multinational groups. He was a representative of Bacardi Group within “Federvini.”

From October 2003 to May 2006, he assumed the position of Deputy Head of the Office of the Prime Minister at Palazzo Chigi in Rome. In this position, he advised the Prime Minister on all current government affairs involving – as counterparts – other offices, Italian and foreign institutional investors and business communities.

In January 2007, he joined Weber Shandwick – one of the largest public relations firms worldwide – as Senior Vice President for Public Affairs. He also serves as Senior Advisor at Lincoln International in Milan, a global investment bank, and is on the Advisory Board of Banca Prossima, also in Milan.

In January 2009, Dr. Crolla was appointed Managing Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy. Founded in 1915, AmCham is a private non-profit organization which aims to facilitate the development of economic and political relations between the U.S. and Italy. Among his many achievements as Managing Director, he has ensured financial-sounding management that allowed for the expansion of the chamber’s activities and the number of staff.

From February 2012 to March 2013, he was a Member of Parliament, involved in the foreign affairs committee. From November 2012 to March 2013, he served as President of the foreign sub-committee “Italiani nel Mondo.” As a Member of Parliament, Dr. Crolla presented a bill regarding the “Prestito d’Onore” (Honorable Loan), with the aim of favoring higher education opportunities for young Italian talents.

Recently, with AmCham Italy, he was one of the founders of the USA Pavilion at Expo 2015, after being awarded, in association with other US organizations, the request for Proposal of the US Department of State. As Director of Italian Relationships, he was responsible in Italy for the fundraising necessary to build the official US Pavilion, the Pavilion’s activities and operations, with specific focus on institutional relations.

Dr. Crolla’s activities have been very successful and range across several sectors before joining the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy. To welcome Dr. Crolla to GEI, we have organized a Chamber of Commerce summit today. We have members of the Italy America Chamber of Commerce with its president Alberto Milani, the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce President Mark Jaffe, and the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy President Simone Crolla, as well as, of course, members of GEI and their guests.

Therefore, I am pleased to present Dr. Simone Crolla, on behalf of GEI, with the “GEI FRIENDSHIP AWARD” in recognition of  his many accomplishments.

The luncheon was held on January 12, 2016 in the Stella Private Room

of Le Cirque restaurant in New York City.