Amorim Cork Italia: Carlos Veloso dos Santos steps down as CEO, handing over to Daniele Stangherlin

Amorim Cork Italia has announced a change at the top from January 2027: after 28 years, Carlos Veloso dos Santos is stepping down as managing director, handing over to Daniele Stangherlin, currently the sales and marketing director.

The handover

With this handover, Amorim Cork Italia is entering a new phase in its journey, drawing on Stangherlin's in-depth knowledge of the company, the market and its customers as he takes the helm, bringing with him experience gained directly within the organisation and a well-established knowledge of its people, business model and development prospects. At the same time, the transition represents recognition of the path built by Carlos Veloso dos Santos and an evolution in continuity for the company: a new chapter that begins on solid foundations.

The figures

In 2000, Amorim Cork Italia sold just over 80 million corks, and today it sells 650 million to more than 3.700 wineries. Behind these figures are people, values and relationships built over time: this is where the company is starting again. From January 2027, with Daniele Stangherlin at the helm, a new chapter begins, rooted in the same culture and looking ambitiously towards the challenges of a changing market.

The comments

"Daniele has been working with me for 16 years," says Carlos Veloso dos Santos. "He will have his own style, but we forged this company's culture together. That is why I know that the continuity of Amorim Cork Italia is in excellent hands. Since 1990, at Amorim, I have been fortunate enough to build a decisive part of my story in Italy; I have had the opportunity to fall in love with the culture, the atmosphere and the people. It is together with these people and the wineries that placed their trust in us that I have been able to work with passion and spread good practices, sustainability for example. Now it is time to return to Portugal, close to my and my wife's family of origin: this is not a farewell to work, but the beginning of a new cycle, in which I will continue to focus on what I am passionate about, namely developing talent and supporting generational succession in companies."

The incoming managing director, Stangherlin, gives an overview of some of the company's next steps: "I have been with Amorim Cork Italia since 2010: sixteen years working side by side with Carlos, during which the company has tripled its volumes and turnover. Ours was a natural partnership between two different styles, united by the same focus on creating value and on people. I inherit a solid organisation, founded on the values of innovation, well-being, sustainability, pride and ambition, in a wine industry context radically different from the one in which I started, and therefore with complex challenges. We will continue to be the benchmark in natural cork closures, making our processes even more efficient and guided by two principles: Amorim Care, attention to the customer, and Amorim Precision, a presence closer to the local area and increasingly specific consultancy for oenology. I proudly take on a legacy whose values will endure over time."

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.