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Giovanni Colavita on Working Hard to Build a Food Empire

Giovanni Colavita grew up in southern Italy’s Molise region. It was there that the Colavita brand was born out of the family’s generation’s old olive mill, which evolved into the worldwide brand it is today. During his childhood Giovanni was surrounded by the family business and participated in all aspects of bottling and production from a young age. With the future of the family business in mind, Giovanni earned a bachelor’s degree in Law from Rome’s La Sapienza and went on to earn an MBA from SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan. He soon became national sales manager and export manager at Colavita SpA, where he gained the valuable experience that led to his current position as CEO and President of Colavita USA, the company’s USA branch, and President of a new venture, Italynthebox.

Giovanni and his family relocated to the United States from his home in Italy in 2008. Today they live in New York City, where his daughter Lidia and son Leonardo both attended La Scuola d’Italia Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian-English bilingual grade school. Leonardo and Lidia enjoy frequent trips to Italy throughout the year spending time with aunts, uncles and grandparents during the summertime and holidays.

Today, Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil is present in over 80 countries and is recognized worldwide as the #1 authentic Italian extra virgin olive oil. A pioneer in introducing authentic Italian extra virgin olive oil to North America, the Colavita brand leads the premium extra virgin olive oil, Italian pasta, and Italian vinegar categories in the USA in both the retail and foodservice industries.