Made In Italy champion Vito Artioli dies
Footwear industry leader Vito Artioli has died. He was 85 years old and had spent a lifetime in the shoe sector, inheriting the running of his family footwear business from its founder, his father Severino, and providing high-end artisan shoes to popes, politicians and film stars.
Vito Artioli came to international prominence when he took up the presidency of the main footwear industry body in Italy, ANCI (later Assocalzaturifici) in 2007. He also served as president of the footwear industry’s representative body to the European Commission, CEC.
Towards the end of the first decade of this century, the footwear industry in Europe won a hard-fought battle to have antidumping duties imposed on shoes imported from Vietnam and China. There was considerable reluctance inside the European Commission to do this, but Vito Artioli’s hard work, perseverance, diplomacy and leadership played a crucial role in winning the argument for Europe’s shoe manufacturers.
