Marco Righi is the new Chief International Business Unit Officer.
Federico Menta is the new Chief Research&Development Officer.
Sassuolo, 23 January 2025 – Kerakoll Group appoints two new managers and thus completes the new top team within its organisational structure. The appointments involve the two figures respectively heading the International area and the Research & Development area, responding to the objective of giving further impetus to the Group’s growth path.
In particular, Marco Righi has been appointed as the Group’s new Chief International Business Unit (CIBUO), whose main responsibility will be to develop and coordinate the activities of the seven new regions in which Kerakoll operates (APAC, UK/NL/Nordics, DACH, West Europe, MEA & GCC, East & South, Brazil). The creation of the newborn division will boost the internationalisation process with the aim of consolidating and strengthening Kerakoll’s presence in international markets, which in 2023 accounted for 41% of total revenues, amounting to € 316 million.
Federico Menta, on the other hand, has been called upon to take on the role of new Chief Research&Development (CR&DO), with responsibility for guiding research, development and quality control activities, fundamental pillars for a Group like Kerakoll that makes innovation and sustainability two of the hallmarks of its DNA and invests 2.6% of turnover in R&D and technical assistance. The company, at Group level, has 69 lines with a total of over 6,000 references of products for Laying, Building and Surfaces.
“We are thrilled to welcome two professionals of the calibre and experience of Marco and Federico to our team”, said Marco Zini, Group CEO of Kerakoll. “With their entry and the contribution they will be able to make in terms of vision and management skills, Kerakoll further strengthens its managerial structure and its identity as a Group that aims to have an increasingly important presence in international markets and which, also in line with its being a B Corp certified Benefit Company, renews its growing commitment to innovation and sustainability”.
Marco Righi, graduated in Structural Civil Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano, MBA from SDA Bocconi and Program International Leadership at INSEAD, has gained many years of experience in positions of responsibility at an international level in the building materials sector.
After starting his career in consulting and then in the Oil & Gas sector, in 2002 he joined Lafarge Roofing, now BMI Group, where he held the position of Sales & Market Development Director USA, Asia, South Africa and Russia and participated in several M&A projects. Also at BMI (formerly Braas Monier), from 2008 he held the position of Sales & Marketing Director Italy and then became CEO Monier Roofing Components in Germany. Since 2013, in the same BMI Group, he took on the role of Regional President Asia Pacific and CEO Malaysia, based in Kuala Lumpur, where he was part of the IPO team for the Group’s listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Since 2018, he has been Regional President Asia Pacific and Managing Director China and Malaysia for Hilding Anders International AB, a Swedish company part of the portfolio of the KKR investment fund.
Federico Menta, a graduate in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Parma, has had a path of increasing responsibility at PPG, a leading American multinational paint developer and manufacturer. After starting at Intercast Europe as R&D Leader, in 2011, after the acquisition by PPG, he was promoted to Associate Director R&D in the US, in Pittsburgh, leading global teams in the development of polymers and optical coatings. In 2014, he returned to Italy as Global Director Dispersion Science for Automotive Refinish Coatings and, from 2019, Global Technical Director for paints, adhesives and sealants in the Automotive OEM sector. Since 2023, he has held the position of Director of a segment of the Automotive Business, gaining further experience in product portfolio management and innovation projects.