“Giorgio Squinzi was one of us”: how staff remember him

“I first met Mr Squinzi in March 1989 at a job interview for Mapei. It was a small company at the time and we were one big family. Mr Squinzi was a kind of “father” figure, always ready to encourage us and teach us something new. He was always extremely respectful and kind. I can remember Mr Squinzi consoling and supporting me when my father passed away. I admired his great sincerity and his attention to people, and I feel very lucky to have known him”.

Roberta Corti. Secretary, R&D Laboratory, Mapei SpA

“For years I was Mr Squinzi’s personal driver after being his mechanic. Right until the very end he always had a smile on his lips, was ready to give advice and was always friendly with everybody, despite his busy schedule. He never made me feel different from him, because he always made everybody feel at ease through his kindness and simplicity. We often spoke about football and he promised me we would watch the Sassuolo-Inter Milan match together but, unfortunately, he did not make it. He was a wonderful person and I will miss him”.

Luciano Consolo. Giorgio Squinzi’s personal driver

Mr Squinzi was a special man and I spent almost half my life with him: I set off on a wonderfully exciting business journey with him 32 years ago (developing and launching Mapei’s line of products for the building industry all over the world), during which I learnt so much. As our relationship became closer, I got the chance to admire his humanity and humility, qualities which, alas, are rare in many of us, but not in him and his family. He was a great boss who became a friend and who always found time to listen to me. It only took a few words or just a look in his eyes, a smile or a frown, for me to realize whether what I had in mind was a good idea or not. Even now, when I go up to the sixth floor of Mapei SpA’s offices, I cannot help looking over to the left towards his office. His armchair is, alas, unoccupied. I think about him every day. We have lost a great man who taught me so much. I will always remember him.

Pasquale Zaffaroni. Product Manager, Mapei Building Line.

I had the great fortune to spend over 40 year working alongside Mr Squinzi. I joined the company in 1973 as a chemical analyst with expertise in gas chromatography. In 1980 Mapei began researching into different types of cement and I gained plenty of invaluable experience. Under Mr Squinzi’s guidance we achieved remarkable results developing what were then innovative high-speed products.

How could I ever forget those meetings about international standards, when, due to my non-existent knowledge of English, I used to whisper the results of the work carried out in the laboratory, so that Mr Squinzi could simultaneously translate them as if he had been directly involved in the work himself?

And then there was his love of cycling. I vividly remember Mr Squinzi taking me on board the team car during a cycling race in the United States: it was a real treat for a great cycling fan like me. And cycling did not just mean sharing those incredible achievements of great champions but also our Sunday rides around the hills of Brianza. It was during one of these rides that Mr Squinzi acted as “my personal mechanic” to solve a problem that had forced me to stop and get off my bike.

He knew the names of all his staff, both in Italy and abroad, and when the opportunity presented itself, he would chat with everybody, always remembering to ask them about their families. More recently he told me of his frustration about not knowing all the new employees personally, due to how big the company had grown. His office door was always open ready to listen to both business and personal problems, always ready to help solve either, even just by taking time out for a simple chat.

Vittorio Riunno. Research & Development Lab, Mapei SpA

I am honoured to be a member of his staff, because he was an exceptional person, a man with a big heart I always respected, liked and was grateful to, as if he were a father. He made us feel important, always asking how we were, how our work was going and often saying “thanks for everything”. When he came to visit us at the plant in Mediglia, he would eat with the workers and was always pleased to see us. He was always smiling, and you could tell from his smile just how honest he was.

Ivo Cremaschini. QC Laboratory, Mapei plant in Robbiano di Mediglia (Italy)

Mr Squinzi was always kind and polite, showing an interest in us as people and not just our work. He was a stickler for working the best way possible and was always pleased if we had any suggestions that might boost our efficiency. I remember once we were making boxes that were not perfectly straight when they came out of the machine. After I mentioned it, he immediately got somebody to call the supplier, who came over within the hour to solve what might have seemed an insignificant little glitch but was extremely important to Mr Squinzi. He was also very understanding when it came to our mistakes: a mistake was an opportunity to improve and learn more. He knew how to get the best out of people.

Ruggiero Dimiccoli. Operator in the powdered products department at the Mapei plant in Robbiano di Mediglia

I have always felt a real sense of belonging to the company ever since I first joined Mapei and met Mr Squinzi for the first time. That was back in Christmas 1995 when he and his family came over to wish me the season’s greetings while I was busy at work. Mr Squinzi always tried to interact with the workers and often asked technical questions. He was an enlightened person, who built a company in which I did not just grow professionally but also as a person. He has always felt a very powerful sense of sharing, both in his work and also as for the firm’s business successes.

Giuseppe Iannaccone. Head of the warehouse for finished products at the Mapei plant in Robbiano di Mediglia.

The first time I met Mr Squinzi was way back in 1983, just a few days after I was hired by his father Rodolfo. When I told him that the interview ended with his father saying in the Milanese dialect ’ches chì l’è un brav fiò” (this one is a good lad), he started laughing and immediately began helping me take my first steps in the company. I soon realised I was part of a huge enterprise that was run like a family business.

The company had just been fitted out with its first Computer Centre and at the end of the week I created histograms on graph paper. Mr Squinzi always turned up to check on the sales figures. The thing that struck me most was his incredible capacity to assimilate and memorize an unbelievable amount of information in a very short space of time. He could remember details about building operations and practices from decades earlier even more accurately than I could, and I had followed them in person.

Mr Squinzi always showed a great interest in his fellow workers and was never short of a smile or a pat on the shoulders. I even got my ears pulled a few times, but these warnings were always instructive and given in a firm, clear voice. It only took a few words from him to motivate us with his favorite saying: “never stop pedalling”.

A few decades ago, during the Cersaie exhibition, I was told I would be sharing a room with him. I had not been at the company for very long and I was a bit apprehensive. Mr Squinzi immediately made me feel at ease and we ended up chatting and exchanging views on the book he was reading.

These are just a few stories that are close to my heart, and I will always be endlessly grateful to him for these and many  others like them.

Paolo Giglio. Technical Services, Mapei SpA

My career working for Mapei began after a job interview with Mr Squinzi way back in 1987. At the time he was the President of a European Standards Committee for adhesives for ceramics and we travelled frequently to meet leading manufacturers in the industry: the esteem and respect with which he was greeted at every meeting with his leading competitors always amazed me.

His humanity and ability to convey enthusiasm and love for this company have certainly made Mapei one big family from which it is hard to be separated.

Thank you, Mr Squinzi!”

Manuela Orlando. Corporate Marketing Activities and International Fairs Manager, Mapei SpA