Mapei are sad to
announce the loss of Dottoressa Adriana Spazzoli, Marketing and Communication
Director for Mapei Group, who passed away on the evening of 21st
November, 2019 in Milan.
Born in Forlì in 1948, Adriana
Spazzoli graduated in Political Science, with a major in Economics, at the
University of Bologna. She went on to specialise in Marketing and Corporate
Communications thanks to her master’s degree and her experience in journalism.
In 1985 she became
Marketing and Communication Director for Mapei, coordinating the image of the
company and its communications tools, from technical and corporate
documentation, to trade fairs, promotional work and sponsorships.
It was while she was in
this role that she identified various channels that could be used as a
communications vehicle to strengthen the company brand at a global level, and
particularly:
– sport, initially
through an international cycling team that managed to maintain its top ranking
for 9 years, and then by sponsoring the UCI Road World Championships.
Soccer was another
important communications vehicle, first by using her intuition to sponsor the
Italian national team that went on to win the World Cup in 2006, and then as
Vice President of the Sassuolo Calcio team which won promotion from C2 to the
Serie A, where it is currently playing its seventh successive season;
– music and opera, which
was an important vehicle towards growth and loyalty in leading theatres – Mapei
has been a Founding Member of the Scala Opera House since 2008 and a Founding
Member of the Santa Cecilia Academy since 2015, as well as sponsors of events
such as Celebrity Fight Night and the concerts for the Italian Red Cross, where
music acts as a support to promote a better quality of life;
– art, particularly in museums of excellence, such as the
bond consolidated over the years with the Guggenheim in Venice and New York, as
well as various other initiatives launched all around the world;
– sustainability, with
national and international projects where the design and construction industry
has developed a culture of living in line with the most far-reaching principles
of sustainability, such as energy savings or the removal of architectural
barriers in favour of eco-sustainable products.
Adriana Spazzoli was
always highly committed to her charitable work and sponsored various
initiatives to promote social responsibility focused on providing support for
the young and those less well off, such as the Lega del Filo d’Oro, the Arché
Foundation, Cascina solidale Le Vele, Casa Don Guanella in Lecco, San
Patrignano and Exodus. She also offered her support to other charitable
organisations involved in the construction of various types of structure for
local people by providing Mapei solutions and know-how, such as the Centre of Excellence
in Paediatric Surgery in Uganda, designed by Renzo Piano for Emergency.
Since July, 2016 she was
President of the Sodalitas Foundation, the reference organisation in Italy for
the promotion of Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility.
In January, 2019 Adriana
Spazzoli became a member of Soroptimist International of Italy, an association
that promotes women, women’s rights and the condition of women in general.
Adriana Spazzoli will be
lovingly remembered by her children, Veronica and Marco, who have been working
in the company for a number of years; Veronica as Global Development Manager
and Marco as Director of Research and Development for Mapei Group, who were
also nominated joint CEO’s in July of this year.