Nov. 29, 2023 — The National Association of Optical Goods Manufacturers (ANFAO) has elected its first woman president, Lorraine Berton, who will lead the association for the next four years. Formerly ANFAO vice president in charge of industrial relations, Berton succeeds Giovanni Vitaloni, who served as president since 2017.
 
Berton was appointed at the association’s end-of-year meeting held at the Scuola Grande della Misericordia in Venice, along with the new board comprising vice presidents Sabrina Paulon and Massimo Barberis of the ANFAO Lens Group; Davide Degl'Incerti Tocci, president of the ANFAO Youth Group; Nicola Belli; and Michele Gasparini. Additionally, Enrico Tormen, Renato Sopracolle, and Paolo Pettazzoni were confirmed on the Technical Commission, Eurom1, and Sight Protection Commission, respectively.
 
Berton has extensive experience in the sector as the co-owner, along with her sister, Elena, of Arlecchino SRL, a producer of glasses for 35 years. She is also the current president of Confindustria Belluno Dolomiti, the Ente Bilaterale Occhialeria, and the ANFAO Trade Union Commission. ANFAO shares that Berton extended her experience to the association “out of a spirit of service and [awareness] that she can do an important job.”
 
Berton shares some words regarding her new role in the association:
 
“Transparency, involvement, innovation, and quality are the key values of the presidents who preceded me, and they have been part of my experience in Confindustria since the start. My mission is to continue along this path of excellence, reinforcing these concepts and adapting them to the challenges that our industry and the world in general [have] and will place before us over the next four years. The program of the team I will be leading is the result of an in-depth analysis of what we have experienced and faced in the recent past. We have learned that the market pace is no longer the only element to be considered; we have to deal with the 'stability of uncertainty' and recognize the increasingly evident connection between the environment, economy, politics, and society. In this context, we must seriously engage in a steady transition towards sustainable development.”
 
Past president Vitaloni will continue to be responsible for the association’s commercial operations including Mido and DaTE.
 
“I am very happy that, for the first time, there is a woman president of ANFAO and, in particular, that this woman is Lorraine Berton,” he says. “I believe that for ANFAO and for the entire Association she is a truly valuable resource as president today, as the high level of the team she has formed clearly demonstrates.”