Sponsorship Sold Out for 15th Annual Business Excellence Awards Honouring Canada 150

TORONTO, ON – May 2, 2017 – The Italian Chamber of Commerce Ontario (ICCO) is pleased to announce that its corporate sponsorships are sold out for the 15th annual Business Excellence Awards (BEA), honouring outstanding leaders during Canada’s 150th anniversary. The celebration will take place on Thursday, May 25, 2017 at Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex.

“It is wonderful to see a spectrum of companies appreciating the tremendous value that Canadians of Italian origin bring to Canadian history and economy,” said Corrado Paina, Executive Director of ICCO. “ICCO is extremely grateful to our longstanding and new partners that help to recognize Italian-Canadian leaders in business, arts, science, culture and community building.”

This event boasts more than 10 major corporate partners including new title sponsor, Closing the Gap Healthcare, along with Air Canada, RBC, Scotiabank, KPMG, Jan K. Overweel Ltd., Unico Primo Ltd., PwC, City of Vaughan, Masters Insurance, Liberty Entertainment Group, Royal LePage, Pizza Nova, Centennial College, City of Toronto and C Milano.

“As a recipient of the Businesswoman of the Year Award in the recent past, I am honoured that Closing the Gap Healthcare is the title sponsor for the ICCO Business Excellence Awards’ 15th Anniversary,” stated Connie Clerici, CEO of Closing the Gap Healthcare. “This important anniversary coincides with Canada’s 150th birthday. I don’t see this as merely coincidental: Canadians of Italian origin are an important part of the economic fabric of our country.”

This year’s event is even more relevant given the upcoming G7 summit in Sicily. Moreover, it was announced on April 21 that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Minister of International Trade, will be leading a Canadian business delegation to Italy with the support of the Italian Chambers of Commerce in Canada (Québec, Ontario and Canada West), promoting Canadian innovation and know-how to prospective Italian trade partners.

“What an honour to be spearheading the Italy-Canada trade mission with the federal government to enhance commerce between the two nations,” added Paina. “The ICCO BEA exemplifies how this bi-lateral and mutually beneficial relationship can have a lasting impact for both countries.”

SPONSORSHIP SOLD OUT FOR 15TH ICCO BEA HONOURING CANADA 150

Many of the 2017 ICCO BEA award winning organizations already integrate this bilateral relationship as part of successful business practices, including CHIN Radio, Thor & Partners, Italian Contemporary Film Festival and George Brown College’s Institute Without Boundaries.

The complete list of ICCO BEA 2017 distinguished winners are as follows:

• ICCO Business Excellence – Lenny Lombardi, President & CEO, CHIN Radio
• PwC ICCO Next Generation – Mike Soragnese, Creative Director & Producer, Render Media Inc.
• RBC ICCO Businesswoman of the Year – Vivian Risi, Broker/President, Royal LePage Your Community Realty, Brokerage
• ICCO Italy-Canada – Nicola Capomasi, Vice President, Thor & Partners Inc.
• KPMG ICCO Community Building – Daniele Zanotti, President & CEO, United Way Toronto & York Region
• City of Vaughan ICCO Arts, Science and Culture – Cristiano De Florentiis & Maurizio Magnifico, co –founders, Italian Contemporary Film Festival
• Scotiabank ICCO Environmental Leadership – Luigi Ferrara, Dean of the Centre for Arts, Design & Information Technology, George Brown College

The 15th Annual ICCO BEA will commemorate Canada’s Sesquicentennial with an interactive cocktail reception, gourmet dinner, spectacular awards ceremony and live entertainment. Guests can reserve tables and tickets by visiting www.italchambers.ca, via 416-789-6179 x210 or events@italchambers.ca.

ICCO Board of Directors
Tony Altomare, Alberta Cefis, Connie Clerici, Enrico De Pasquale, John Fabbro, Greg Farano, Corrado Paina, Giuseppe Pastorelli, Patrick Pelliccione, Marisa Piateli, Ron Sedran, Vittorio Turinetti

ICCO BEA 2017 Selection Committee
Luigi Derose, John Fabbro, Sandro Giannini, Corrado Paina, Pat Pelliccione, John Porco, Domenic Primucci, Pat Zane

Media Contact:
Tanya Phillipps | ICCO BEA 2017 Event Producer
647-927-9329 | marketing@italchambers.ca | Twitter & Insta: @italchambers