«What am I most proud of? Of space. They are today's borders, the new realities." Thus Gianfranco Zoppas, president of the Zoppas Industries Group, winner of the 2024 Fuoriclasse Award, created by the Treviso grappa entrepreneur Roberto Castagner, awarded with this motivation: «Man and manager endowed with great natural talent, able to make easier and simpler the most difficult undertakings, even those considered impossible by others. Tenacity, vision, leadership are the qualities that the entire business world recognizes in him and which make him a constant source of inspiration for the younger generations too." The fourteenth edition of the award took place on Friday evening among the stills of the Castagner Distillery which hosted the gala dinner organized by the restaurants L'Alchimia (1 Michelin star - Milan), Da Celeste (Venegazzù - TV), Da Gigetto (Miane - TV) coordinated by the event planner Nicola Tonon and accompanied by the impeccable service of the FIS sommeliers. In a room colored by the yellow of mimosas, almost 300 guests, including entrepreneurs, politicians, athletes and friends of the Castagner family, participated in the evening opened by the notes of the Italian anthem sung by the tenor Francesco Grollo. «Distilling means bringing out the best», said Roberto Castagner on stage together with his two partners, Bernardo Piazza and his nephew Carlo Castagner, thus summarizing the meaning of the Fuoriclasse Award which gives recognition every year to Italian personalities who, thanks to their ingenuity , enrich society by becoming new points of reference for the community in various fields: art, communication, catering, fashion, entrepreneurship, sport and scientific research.
Born in 1943 in Conegliano, Gianfranco Zoppas «uses WhatsApp, reads the newspaper on the iPad and reads up on YouTube» as he said during the interview with Angela Pederiva. «I saw ox carts, the first airplanes, cell phones» and today Zoppas Industries is redefining thermal management for the space sector. «I am truly honored to receive this prestigious recognition - declared the president of the Zoppas Industries Group -, above all because it comes from people and colleagues who I respect and therefore has a double value. For me, the deepest essence of doing business is always looking ahead and anticipating times and solutions, because it's not enough to be in the right place at the right time, but you need commitment, intuition and resourcefulness: being ready and able to draw inspiration and teaching from people who meet and know how to choose the right travel companions to manage complex situations, rejoicing in successes and learning from critical issues. I never gave up and today I continue to face the challenge of global competition, looking ahead with enthusiasm and confidence. I am very attached to and proud of my roots: a territory capable of distilling the desire to always do more and better and which I am happy to have contributed to growing and prospering. A drive that continues to accompany me every day and which I would like to be an example for the younger generations too."
Gianfranco Zoppas donated the check received from Castagner to the AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research.
During the evening, Roberto Castagner remembered Giorgio Cecchetto «who left us a few months ago», as well as Emanuele Da Dalto «friend of the Fuoriclasse Award and our esteemed collaborator» and Piero Angela, awarded in 2020 and who passed away two years ago at the age 93 years old.
During the talk show hosted by the deputy director of Radio24, Sebastiano Barisoni, the president of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Docg Consortium Elvira Bortolomiol took to the stage, leading an all-female winery together with her 3 sisters, the entrepreneur in the construction sector Paola Carron who with the brothers manages the family business respecting the 3 fundamental cornerstones of the company which are «roles, method and values», the president of Confindustria Veneto Est Leopoldo Destro who praised the new generations defining them «much more open, with a less conflictual and more managerial than the previous ones", the president of the Ice agency (Italian Trade & Investment Agency) Matteo Zoppas who spoke about generational transition and the economic situation, the founder and president of Texa Bruno Vianello who with the motto "we simplify the present , let's anticipate the future" is predicting the changes in the car sector in view of 2035 and Giovanni Rana, founder of the Pastificio Rana group who from a journeyman has become a great entrepreneur chasing his dreams. His advice for the new generations: «The only thing I tell young people is to specialize».
The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the Solidarity Award to Stefania Sartor of "Let Disability be Friend" by Silvia Castagner and the Olympic ski champion Manuela Di Centa. Finally, Anna Fendi took to the stage to present the Best Foreign Agent Award to Maurizio Pellitteri and the Best Client Award to Cinzia Cella.
A perfect end to a spectacular evening was the Fuoriclasse Leon Riserva 7 years and the Amaro Leon from the Castagner Distillery accompanied by the dessert from the Marcandole restaurant in Salgareda and the Easter focaccia from the Fabris patisserie in Fontanelle.
Present at the event were the mayor of Vazzola Giovanni Domenico Zanon, the Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio, the Councilor for Tourism of the Veneto Region Federico Caner, the deputy mayor of Cortina Roberta Alverà, the vice prefect of Treviso Antonello Roccoberton, the head of the department for Immigration Laura Lega, the president of the Association for the Heritage of the UNESCO Hills of Prosecco di Conegliano and Valdobbiadene Marina Montedoro and the general director of Confindustria Veneto Est Gianmarco Russo. Also in the room were Gianfranco Zoppas' sons, Matteo and Federico. Among the entrepreneurs who participated in the evening were Andrea Tomat, Giuseppe De Longhi, Riccardo Illy, Massimo Colomban and Piero Garbellotto, as well as the artist Red Canzian.
