The Lifetime Achieve ment Award recognizes the most innovative professional or business founder nominated from throughout the entire global beauty industries.
The award is given to a distinguished change maker who have demonstrated risk-taking talent and tenacity to reshape our sector. The Lifetime Achievement Award is given on occasion to an individual whose achievements tower as an example of entrepreneurship and social responsibility.
The winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award 2020 is…
DARIO GIANANDREA FERRARI
Founder&Chairman, Intercos Group
Dario Gianandrea Ferrari was bom in Milan in January 1943.
After the Diploma at Liceo Scientifico Leonardo da Vinci of Milano, he enrolls into Politecnico di Milano to start his studies in chemical engineering.
During his University years, he moves to London where he works as a Key Account in an advertising firm. This first experience with strong exposition to customers and brands, interpreting their needs and requirement will later represent one of the corner stones of his future entrepreneurial history.
Once back from London, in the early 70s, Ferrari starts to work in the Cosmetics industry, initially as a Sales representative of a Swiss Skin Care Brand, Arval, which was owned by his mother.
In 1972 he funds his first company, BBC Srl, the first seed of the future Intercos Group, focusing on production and sale of cosmetic products for face
Soon the scope of activities broaden towards the formulation and production of cosmetics for existing brands with the idea of applying to the wortd of make up all the innovative marketing ideas he had learned during his experience in Lordon.
In the 80s, Intercos-under the leadership of Ferrari-continues its growth as a strategic partner for all the most relevant brands in the global cosmetic industry. During these years Ferrari defines the mission of the Group as the most innovative player in the industry, focusing Intercos in the research. development and production of color make up cosmetic products, initially for European prestigious brands and then for an always increasing number of brands, channels and markets.
In the 90s, the Group starts its international expansion, establishing a company in the USA (Intercos America) which will allow the Group to start new partnerships with local customers and brands; nowadays the US market is still among the most important for the Company. The growth then continues with the creation of Interfila, focused on cosmetics pencils and delivery systems and later-in 1997-with Intercos Asia Pacific, based in Malaysia which becomes the first Intercos Company in Asia.
The years 2000 start with the opening of the new plant of Intercos America in Congers(NY) and then three years later with the first plant in China, in Suzhou (Intercos Cosmetics). The whole decade, despite the economic crisis is characterized by the efforts of Ferrari in the direction of a global footprint for both the production and the R&D of Intercos. The presence in China increases by three plants with the creation of Intercos Technology in Suzhou and of Interfila Shanghai, a new compay specialized in skincare (CRB) opened in Switzerland and-in 2009-two R&D laboratories are opened in Maastricht(CRB Benelux) and Naples (Vitalab). Moreover in 2004, Intercos installs the newest ard biggest plant in Intercos in Dovera, which is still today the largest production site of the Group.
The last decade continues to see a similar pace with the installment of an R&D center and a production site in South Korea in 2016 and with the acquisition in 2017 of Cosmint, an ltalian company specialized in the production of Hair and Body care products, with plants in ltaly and Poland.
Today Intercos, of whom Dario Gianandrea Ferrari is Chairman of the Board and majority shareholder, is a group with 15 production sites in three continents, serving more than 450 customers and brands with 5611 employees and a turnover of around 700 million euro.
Dario Ferrari works at Intercos Group together with his wife Madina Ferrari as Art Director, Arabella Ferrari with the role of Global Sr VP of Color Make Up Business Unit and Gianandrea Ferrari as VP Strategic Marketing Europe.
All the passions that Dario Gianandrea Ferrari has cultivated in his life are similarly lead by the concepts of Beauty, Design and Competition. In youth, he has been racing with cars, in Formula 3 as well as prototypes and rallies and he has always been a passionate and fierce chess player. In the last thirty years, he has been competing with sailing boats, winning a Race to Bermuda with his first boat Cannonball in 1989, a Fastnet in 1997 with the Farr 50 Madina Milano.
In the last years, he has returned to competitions with the Maxi 72 Cannonball, which has reached important results in 2019 winning the Copa Del Rey and Maxi 72 World's regattas.
In his never-ending search for beauty, Ferrari is also a passionate art collector with a strong focus on post war and contemporary Italian and Americans artists.
With his wife Madina, his family and his company, Ferrari is involved in several charities and associations. Merging his passion for the sea and the ocean with his attention to sustainability, he has pushed Intercos to join-since its very beginning-the activities of One Ocean Foundation.
(The Award Ceremony will be held on Friday, March 13 at 5.00 p.m. at the Service Center of Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna.)