Biography

Davide is from Cuneo, a town in Northern Italy surrounded by the Alps where AGC has a flat glass plant.

He studied nuclear engineering in Turin and joined the glass plant as engineer.

After a few years he was asked to join the European headquarters in Brussels, within the procurement department. Afterwards he was back as the Cuneo plant manager and country manager in Italy to then return to the European headquarters as strategy director. The next assignment was in Brazil, as CEO of AGC Vidros do Brasil, which involved the set up of the whole organization from scratch and developing the market in South America for both the automotive and construction segments. The next post was vice president for the business unit processed glass in Europe, followed by the function of regional president for the Americas for AGC Automotive in the United States.

Davide completed in these years an MBA at Solvay Business School and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Since 2022 he is President of the architectural glass business of AGC in Europe and the Americas and as senior executive officer also a member of the AGC Group’s global executive committee.

Since March 2024 he is Chairman of the Board of Glass for Europe, the association of the European flat glass industry.

Presentation

Challenges and Opportunities for the European Flat Glass Industry in the Sustainability and Energy Transition

The flat glass industry is navigating an increasingly delicate balance between reducing CO₂ emissions and maintaining competitiveness. Decarbonization introduces significant technological challenges, requiring a shift away from well-established, highly optimized combustion-based processes. The primary alternative involves increasing the direct or indirect use of electricity, which raises both capital intensity and operating costs. At the same time, growing regulatory focus on energy efficiency of buildings, along with an emerging demand for low-carbon construction materials, is likely to create new market opportunities. Will these opportunities offset the additional costs and risks?