Natural Stone Institute: New Board Members
OBERLIN, Ohio – Sal Banchitta and Irini Papagiannouli will join the board of directors of the Natural Stone Institute next month.
Banchitta, of Simple Stone Care in Glen Cove, N.Y., will represent Restoration and Maintenance of the board. Papagiannouli, of John Papagiannoulis Bros SA in Tavros, Greece, will sit as a Global (International) member.
Banchitta, with more than 35 years of experience in the natural-stone industry, conceived the “one-stop shopping” business model in founding Stone Boss Industries in 1991 and providing U.S. branding for international product lines such as Akemi and Bellizoni.
He now operates Simple Stone Care, a made-in-the-USA manufacturing company, offering a quality product line for the care, restoration, and maintenance of natural stone. He also serves as a technical consultant for large companies in building management and restoration
Papagiannouli is currently part of the third generation to lead the family owned stone company and is an ambassador of natural stone and timeless Greek marble. She has a background in public relations, event management, marketing and communications, and the nonprofit sector and has 10 years of experience in high-impact projects before joining the family business.
She is a board member at the Greek Marble Association (GMA) working on strategic partnerships, marketing of natural stone, and being a liaison to the Natural Stone Institute (NSI). Papagiannouli is also involved in the Women in Stone program and is passionate about sustainability, digital transformation, design and architecture, international collaborations, and the positive impact companies and sector associations can have on a local and global level.
Banchitta and Papagiannouli will be formally welcomed to the board during the first meeting of 2023 at StonExpo.
The Natural Stone Institute would also like to thank their outgoing board members: Ali Kader of Egy-Mar International and Michael Picco of PICCO Engineering will conclude their board service at the January 2023 board meeting.
