Autogrill chairman Gilberto Benetton receive the Premio Tiepolo 2011

Milan , 14 September 2011 - Autogrill president Gilberto Benetton and Antonio Vázquez, chairman of the airline company Iberia, have been given the Premio Tiepolo for 2011, at the 16th edition of the Awards.

A Jury of journalists from the main Spanish media and Italian journalists working in Spain cited the development of the two companies over the last year and highlighted how they provide fine examples of dedication to work and dynamic spirit, two qualities needed to combat the negative effects of current economic problems.

With privatisation and management under the Benetton family, Autogrill carried through a process expansion and diversification in just a few years: the Company now operates in 35 countries and generates 80% of its sales outside Italy (as opposed to 5% in 1996); the airport channel accounts for 60% of its business. The Group’s intense strategy of international development and its cosmopolitan identity have succeeded in creating value out of the diversity characterizing the markets it operates in. Its sales reached euro 5.7 billion in 2010.