FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:   Elissa Ruffino (NIAF) 202/939-3106 or elissa@niaf.org

*Italian Industrialist Paolo Scudieri and Santo Versace at Gala*

*President of Italy Hon. Giorgio Napolitano Invited to Attend*

Emma Marcegaglia,, president of Confindustria and CEO of Marcegaglia S.p.A., will be honored at the National Italian American Foundation’s (NIAF) 36th Anniversary Awards Gala in Washington, D.C. Marcegaglia will receive the NIAF Special Achievement Award in Women’s Leadership on October 29, 2011, at the Washington Hilton. The black-tie event begins with a 6 p.m. reception followed by dinner and an awards ceremony.

Honorees from Italy joining Ms. Marcegaglia include Claudio Bozzo, president of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (USA) Inc., Italian industrialist Paolo Scudieri, CEO of Adler Plastic S.p.A. and Hon. Santo Versace, president of Gianni Versace S.p.A. and chairman of the Board of Fondazione Operation Smile Italia Onlus.

NIAF will also honor Hon. Capri Cafaro, minority leader of the Ohio Senate; Dion DiMucci, rock and roll hall of famer; Hon. Frank J. Guarini, former U.S. congressman and NIAF chairman emeritus; and Frank G. Mancuso Sr., former chairman and CEO of the Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio.

Ms. Marcegaglia, nicknamed “Steel Lady,” according to The Economist’s Headline, is at the top of the Italian industrialists’ power structure as president of Confindustra, a trade organization representing 146,046 manufacturing and service companies with more than 5 million employees. She is the first woman appointed to this position, although she has already served as its vice president of Energy and Industrial and Environmental Policies Coordination, vice president for Europe, and national president of its Young Entrepreneurs.

In addition to her position at Confindustria, Ms. Marcegaglia is at the helm of her family’s company Marcegaglia S.p.A., which specializes in the manufacture and distribution of steel products with a consolidated turnover of $3.822 million, 50 production plants all over the world and 6.231 employees.

Headquartered in Mantova, Italy, the company also has a branch in Munhall, Pa., just outside of Pittsburgh, whose turnover last year exceeded $80 million. Employing more than 130 workers in Munhall, the branch’s yearly output capacity is more than 40,000 tons of stainless steel tubes and pipes as well as galvanized tubes. Ms. Marcegaglia is also president of the Areté Onlus Foundation, a permanent member of the Enterprise Policy Group, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Aspen Italia Institute. She was the first woman to serve as the president of YES Young Entrepreneurs for Europe.

Ms. Marcegaglia attended Bocconi University in Milan, where she completed an undergraduate degree in business economy, as well as New York University, where she received a Masters in Business Administration. In 2010, Ms. Marcegaglia topped the Financial Times’ ranking of the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in World Business. She’s the only Italian on the list.

The President of Italy Hon. Giorgio Napolitano has been invited to join United States House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as well as senior White House and Administration officials, including the President’s Cabinet members, at the NIAF gala. Maria Bartiromo, Emmy Award-winning journalist and a member of the NIAF Board of Directors, will serve as the gala’s mistress of ceremonies.

The NIAF gala is one of the premier annual events in the nation’s capital, attracting more than 3,000 guests from the United States and Italy. Tickets to Saturday’s gala begin at $400 per person. Proceeds benefit NIAF’s educational programs.

For tickets or sponsor information, contact Jerry Jones at 202/939-3102 or jerry@niaf.org, or register online at www.niaf.org/gala.

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the heritage and culture of Americans of Italian descent.