Milano , 19 December 2001 - Giorgio Manfredini is to be the new Vice President for Strategic Marketing at the Autogrill Group. Having begun his professional career in Unilever, Manfredini subsequently joined the GS Group (one of Italy’s top mass merchandising organisations), where he was responsible for the highly successful development of the Burghy fast-food hamburger restaurant chain. He was later appointed to head Blockbuster’s launch in Italy, creating a still growing network of approximately 200 outlets, which has won outright leadership of the sector.