Who are the most successful Italians in the UK today? With an official population of 250,000 (but a real one of 500,00, more than Bologna and Florence) to choose from, it must be a daunting task to choose the best of the best. But Primi Dieci Society (founded by Riccardo Lo Faro in the US in 2011 and planning an expansion in Latin America and across Europe) has put together a pretty stunning panel. For its British première will award 10 amazing people who contributed to spread the excellence of Italy in the UK.
The 10 Best Italians, who will be awarded on 3 May at London Bafta during a Gala Dinner, are people from the field of culture such as the director of The Royal Opera House Antonio Pappano, the actress Greta Scacchi and the writer Simonetta Agnello Hornby, people from the business world, such as the CEO of Vodafone Group Vittorio Colao, the CEO of Citigroup Francesco Vanni d’Archirafi and the couple Stefano Pessina and Ornella Barra of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Massimo Tosato from Schroders, entrepreneurs such as Riccardo Zacconi, the inventor of Candy Crush, Toni Mascolo, founder of Tony and Guy, and academics such as the director of the Cambridge Grapheme Centre Andrea Ferrari.
They are, according to a jury, the best of the best Italy has to offer to this country. Someone might notice the absence of the most mentioned Italian of this year, the manager of Leicester Football Club Claudio Ranieri. But the committee must be a little superstitious and maybe decided to wait until the very and of the Premier League before awarding him.
