Label industry mourns Dr Vittorio Ratto

Finat has announced the death of Dr Vittorio Ratto, a widely respected figure in the Italian and international label community, at the age of 90.

Ratto spent his professional career in the label sector, including a long tenure at Avery Dennison, before retiring to mentor a new generation of label entrepreneurs and executives through Gipea, the Italian label association. Those he guided became known informally as 'Vittorio's Class', with several going on to serve on Finat and Gipea boards and committees, including Andrea Vimercati, Elisabetta Brambilla, Alfredo Pollici, Alberto Quaglia and Domenico Tessera Chiesa. Vimercati later served as Finat president.

Ratto championed the importance of international connections for Italian family businesses, accompanying his mentees to Labelexpo shows and Finat events and encouraging them to take active roles in association leadership.

'Vittorio will be greatly missed,' said Jules Lejeune, managing director of Finat. 'On behalf of the Finat community, I wish his family, relatives and especially his bonus kids from Gipea the strength to cope with this loss.'