Page 12 - Demo

12|January 2023
NSI Announces New Board Members
SlIppery rock GazeTTe
New Products from Arizona Tile
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The Natural Stone Institute will welcome two individuals to its board of directors in January 2023:
Restoration & Maintenance Sal Banchitta, Simple Stone Care
Sal Banchitta graduated from Hunter College with a Bachelors in geology and served in the Natural Stone Industry for over 35 years in diverse capacities. Sal’s unique concept of a “one-stop shop- ping” business model created Stone Boss Industries in 1991. Sal’s interna- tional start-up partnerships with Akemi GmbH and Bellinzoni SRL successfully branded these products in the USA and was his incentive to create Simple Stone Care, a made-in-the-USA manufactur- ing company, that today offers a quality product line for the care, restoration, and maintenance of natural stone. Sal estab- lished a network of made-in-the-USA raw material suppliers and developed proprietary formulations in collaboration with other cleaning supply manufactur- ers and Fortune 500 chemical compa- nies. Sal currently serves as a technical consultant for large companies in build- ing management and restoration. His expertise is often sought out by stone workers and executive management alike as an advisor and problem solver.
Global (International) Irini Papagiannouli,
John Papagiannoulis Bros SA
Irini Papagiannouli is currently part of the third generation of John Papagiannoulis Bros SA and a proud ambassador of nat- ural stone and timeless Greek marble. She has a background in public relations, event management, marketing and com- munications, and the nonprofit sector and has 10 years of experience in high-im- pact projects before joining the family business. She is a board member at the Greek Marble Association (GMA) work- ing on strategic partnerships, marketing of natural stone, and being a liaison to the Natural Stone Institute. Irini is a partici- pant of the Women in Stone program and is passionate about sustainability, digital transformation, design and architecture, international collaborations, and the posi- tive impact companies and sector associa- tions can have on a local and global level.
Banchitta and Papagiannouli will be formally welcomed to the board during the first meeting of 2023 at StonExpo. The Natural Stone Institute would also like to thank their outgoing board mem- bers: Ali Kader (Egy-Mar International) and Michael Picco (PICCO Engineering) will conclude their board service at the January 2023 board meeting.
The Natural Stone Institute is a trade association representing every aspect of the natural stone industry. The current membership exceeds 2,000 members in over 50 nations.
Visit www.naturalstoneinstitute.org. to learn more.
Sal Banchitta, New NSI Board Member, Restoration and Maintenance
Irini Papagiannouli, New International NSI Board Member
“I’m sick of following my dreams, man. I’m just going to ask where they’re going and hook up with ’em later.” –Mitch Hedberg