Andrea Prete is the new president of Unioncamere, the body that represents the Italian Chamber of Commerce system. The current president of the Salerno Chamber of Commerce was unanimously elected by the assembly and succeeds Carlo Sangalli, who has reached the end of his mandate.
Priest, born in 1956, engineer, has been managing a company specializing in the production of electric cables for industrial automation and instrumentation for over thirty years. Vice president of Unioncamere since 2018, he is president of the Salerno Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the national council of Confindustria in 2006-2009 and held the position of President of Confindustria Salerno (between 2003 and 2007 and between 2017 and 2021).
“The three years of my mandate have been very demanding, marked by the drama of the pandemicSangalli said. “Even in this situation, however, the Chambers of Commerce have shown that they are quick and efficient, managing to respond to the needs most felt by our businesses. Since I accepted the request from the business world to take on the leadership of Unioncamere, I have strengthened the conviction that the Chambers of Commerce have a fundamental role of support and assistance, especially for small businesses. And this all the more now that the production system will have to face the challenges of the digital and ecological transition".
Sangalli recalled the reorganization process carried out in recent years. “Three years ago we were still in midstream. Today I can say that I am satisfied with the work done and the results obtained. We have safeguarded the centennial history of solidarity and service to the companies of the Chambers of Commerce and we are able to contribute, with people, projects, tools and skills, innovative capacity, to build a future of well-being and development of our country".
“Italy will have to face and complete in the coming years an evolution of the economy and society which will go through a triple transition: digital, ecological and administrative”, underlined the new president Andrea Prete. “In this context, we must build the chambers of the future, focusing on a few priorities: the valorisation of our assets, such as the local network, telematics and economic observatories, the strengthening of the Chambers in a European dimension and the partnership with business associations, central administrations and the Regions. But the real game is that the Chambers, between now and 2026, can make a valuable and concrete contribution to the Government in implementing the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, carrying out support functions for small and medium-sized enterprises with extraordinary support programs focused on information, training, technical assistance. In other words, the Chambers can perform a function similar to that of the US 'Small Business Administration' and prove extremely useful to the Government and the Regions because they are a self-governed and self-managed reality, strongly rooted in the territory”.
The Assembly of Presidents also nominated the eight vice presidents who will work alongside Priest over the next three years. The new deputies, all at the top of a chamber of commerce, are: Klaus Algieri (Cosenza); Leonardo Bassilichi (Florence); Tommaso De Simone (Caserta); Giorgio Mencaroni (Umbria); Antonio Paoletti Deputy Vice President (Venezia Giulia); Mario Pozza (Treviso-Belluno); Giuseppe Riello (Verona); Gino Sabatini (Marches).
