IWFI - President

Lucio Caputo, President

Lucio Caputo is the president of the International Trade Center of New York, a promotions and public relations company created to expand the presence of Italian products and services in the U.S.A, the former Italian Trade Commissioner in New York, and an expert in international trade and marketing. Dr. Caputo's background includes considerable experience in the field of journalism, economics and law.

Dr. Caputo is the founder and president of the Italian Wine & Food Institute, a non-profit organization established in 1984 to promote and further improve the image of Italian wines and foods in the United States. Dr. Caputo is also founder and president of the GEI (Gruppo Esponenti Italiani), an association of major Italian businesses in the U.S.; Chairman of the "European Wine Council"; V. Chairman and member of the Executive Committee of the "National Wine Coalition"; Chairman of the "Italian Business Advisory Council"; member of the board of the Association of the Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations and President and member of the board of the American Society of Italian Legions of Merit; member of the Advisory Committee of the Princeton University.

In recognition of his outstanding work in favor of Italy in all his activities, the President of the Italian Republic awarded Dr. Caputo with the title of "Cavaliere Ufficiale" in 1972, "Commendatore" in 1981,and "Grande Ufficiale" in 1996 and of Cavaliere di Gran Croce in the Order to the Merit of the Italian Republic in 2003. Dr. Caputo also has received many other awards and recognitions from private and public organizations both from Italy and the United States and is an honorary member of numerous associations.

Born in Monreale, Italy, Dr. Caputo received a doctorate in Law followed by a degree in Journalism and a doctorate in Political Science from the University of Palermo. He was an editor of the Giornale di Sicilia, one of Italy's major daily newspapers, and was a correspondent for numerous other newspapers and magazines in Italy.

He completed special courses in public relations, was admitted to the bar, and began a legal career with a major law firm. After attending the Air Force Academy in Florence and completing his tour of service as a lieutenant in the Italian Air Force, he joined Italy's Foreign Trade Institute in Rome. He initially conducted market surveys in foreign countries such as Cyprus and Libya and then served as managing director of the magazines, Italy Presents and Quality.

In 1964 he was appointed deputy director of the London office of the Institute. In 1967 he lead a year-long study and market research mission in Southeast Asia, spending much of his time in Hong Kong. He has also traveled extensively throughout Africa and Europe. During this period, Dr. Caputo's abilities as a negotiator were put to the test when he was selected to head the Italian team in a political and trade dispute. The "Liming" ship case threatened to jeopardize trade between Italy and the People's Republic of China; however, he was able to diffuse the situation and was responsible for the two nations signing a mutually beneficial agreement. In October of 1967, Dr. Caputo was appointed Italian Trade Commissioner in Philadelphia, the youngest government official to serve in such a position abroad.

In 1972, he was appointed Italian Trade Commissioner in New York where he opened the new office. Under Dr. Caputo's guidance the New York office became the largest Italian government commercial office in the world.

While serving as the Italian Trade Commissioner in New York for more than a decade, he developed extensive promotional activities and made large contributions to enhancing the recognition and understanding of Italian products in the American market.

In 1975, he founded the Italian Wine Center. Dr. Caputo led the center in conducting massive marketing, advertising and promotional efforts, which saw the wines of Italy come to dominate the market for imported wine in the United States within the very short time frame of a few years.

He started the Italian Tile Center in 1979 to educate Americans about the quality and versatility of ceramic tiles from Italy, and followed this with the Italian Fashion Center, the Italian Jewelry Center and the Italian Shoe Center. In 1981 Dr. Caputo opened the Italian Trade Center, located in an elegant building designed by the Architect Pei at 499 Park Avenue in New York City, which was the largest trade center of any foreign country in the United States. The premises included an exhibition hall, an Enoteca, a business center, meeting and conference rooms with audio-visual and many other facilities, all designed to encourage trade between the United States and Italy. The Italian Trade Center designed by the Architect Piero Sartoro of Rome and furnished with modern, elegant furniture was inaugurated with a lavish reception attended by Italian and American government officials, actors and actresses and numerous personalities from the world of trade and finance as well as from the Media. As a sign of appreciation, the Italian producers donated the famous painting "Le Muse Inquietanti" by Giorgio De Chirico to be exhibited in the Enoteca.

In 1982 Dr. Caputo became president of Ital Trade USA corporation, an American Society for the promotion and sale of Italian products in the USA and reorganized and expanded its activities. In 1984, Dr. Caputo founded the Italian Wine & Food Institute, a non-profit corporation established to promote and further improve the image of Italian wines and foods in the United States. As president of the Institute, Dr. Caputo planned and coordinated for ten years the "Gala Italia", a star studded, headline-winning occasion that brought together some of the world's most illustrious names in Italian Wine, Food, Fashion and Entertainment. The members of the Institute include the most important Italian wine makers.

In 1987 Dr. Caputo became president of the International Trade Center, an American public relations company that organizes promotional events for Italian companies. As the official North American representative for the "Ente Autonomo Fiere di Verona" he has been active for over ten years in the promotion of numerous Italian business sectors, and has been organizing study and information visits for large groups of American businessmen and journalists to Italy.

For more than three decades Dr. Caputo has been active in the industry; he has traveled widely in the United States promoting Italian products and establishing numerous contacts with personalities and authorities in business, the media, and in journalism. He is also active on the lecture circuit as a specialist on economic topics and as a spokesperson for hundreds of radio and TV programs. He served as executive chair on numerous committees in charge of organizing the programs for visits of foremost Italian Government representatives to the United States, among them the Italian Premiers and the Presidents of the Italian Republic, Pertini, Cossiga, Scalfaro and Ciampi. Dr. Caputo has been listed for many years in the "Who's Who in the World" and "Who's Who in Finance and Industry"; he is a member of many organizations and has traveled through Europe, Africa, America and Asia, meeting with economic, business and press representatives in order to promote the image of Italy and Italian products all over the world.

On the morning of 09/11 Dr. Caputo was inside his office on the 78th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center from where he was able to reach safety (www.google.com, search: Lucio Caputo). Even though he lost his office and all of his working records, Dr. Caputo was able to immediately restart his activities by openng a new office in the prestigious Lincoln Building in Midtown Manhattan.

Italian Wine & Food Institute

Lucio Caputo, President

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