# Vito Pertosa

Vito Pertosa (April 22, 1959, Monopoli, Bari) is an Italian entrepreneur, chairman of MERMEC (since 2006), and founder and chairman of Angel Holding (since 2008). He is a scientific expert on technological innovation at the Ministry for Business and Made in Italy (MIMIT), and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Sustainable Mobility Foundation (MOST).

## Biography

Vito Pertosa is the son of Angelo Pertosa, founder of Meridional Meccanica S.a.s. and dealer of Lamborghini Tractors. Vito began working formally in the family business in 1980, after graduating as a mechanical industrial expert and teaching at ENAIP. In 1997, together with other entrepreneurs, he founded the Sviluppo Polis Association, which gathered more than two hundred companies, assuming the role of its President.
Upon joining Meridional Meccanica, Pertosa began a process of transforming the business toward the railroad sector, which led to the establishment of MERMEC S.p.A. in 1988. In 2006, Pertosa became president of MERMEC.
In 2007, he became Regent with the function of Censor for the Bari Branch of the Bank of Italy. In 2008, he founded Angel Holding, a parent company of companies specializing in the research and development of technologies in different sectors, such as rail, aerospace, and digital mechatronics, which are active in 73 countries worldwide. From 2012 to 2014, Vito Pertosa was a board member of the Italian Space Agency.
In 2012, he founded SITAEL, an aerospace company with entirely private capital operating in the LEO satellite market and space electric propulsion.
He was a member of the National Technical Committee for Innovation and Research of Confindustria and CEO of Centro Laser S.c.ar.l. (scientific research).
Also, Vito Pertosa is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Sustainable Mobility Foundation (MOST).
Pertosa was chairman of IMAGEMAP Inc.(USA – West Columbia, SC); vice president of the Tecnopolis Science and Technology Park; vice president of the Procomp Research Consortium, sole director of ITEL Italiana, and president of the Argenta Group, CEO of the South Space Consortium; and sole director of the 2M CLIV Consortium.
As the President of MERMEC, in June 2023, he participated in the G7 Transport International Summit in Japan. In April 2024, he participated at the G7 Transport Summit in Milan. During this event, MERMEC expressed support for the railways in Ukraine. In May 2024, he participated for the fourth time to Choose France 2024, the annual event organized by President Emmanuel Macron to attract the world's leading companies to France. In June 2024,he attended the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Berlin. In July 2024, he participated in the G7 Industry Stakeholder Conference in Reggio Calabria, Italy, on the occasion of the G7 Trade Ministers' Meeting.

## Awards and honours

| Year | Ribbon | Class | Name of the Order | Title |
| 2009 | | Knight | Ordine al Merito del Lavoro | Cavaliere del lavoro |
| 2022 | | Knight Grand Cross | Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana | Cavaliere di Gran Croce |
| Entrepreneur Of The Year in the 'Innovation' category. - ribbon for ordinary uniform | Entrepreneur Of The Year in the 'Innovation' category |
| Entrepreneur Of The Year in the 'Innovation' category. - ribbon for ordinary uniform | — Ernst & Young — 2009 |
* Photonics Prism Award for 'Detectors, Sensing, Imaging, and Cameras' San Francisco, USA
* — 2012
* The NIAF Leonardo da Vinci Award in Technology, Washington, DC, USA
* — 13 October 2018
* Roma Award for Country Development - Economy, Corporate and Social
* — 6 December 2018
| Honorary Degree in Automation Engineering - ribbon for ordinary uniform | Honorary Degree in Automation Engineering |
| Honorary Degree in Automation Engineering - ribbon for ordinary uniform | — Polytechnic University of Bari — 23 May 2019 |