New president for the Salone del Mobile

Maria Porro is the Salone del Mobile.Milano’s new president. The Federlegno Arredo Eventi Board of Directors has elected the former President of Assarredo to helm the world’s pre-eminent international design event. "I and the entire Board of Directors will be working to ensure that, as a unique and indispensable design showcase, the Salone rises to meet future challenges regarding sustainability, digitalization, research, innovation, creativity and inclusiveness, as ever maintaining the highest quality," Porro says of her new role.

Gianfranco Marinelli, President of Federlegno Arredo Eventi, in an official press release:

"The decision to invest in a young, driven President is part of a strategy to consolidate the event’s leading international role during a period of profound change. Maria Porro may count on the support of the entire Federlegno Arredo Eventi Board as, with determination, she continues Salone del Mobile.Milano’s journey along a pathway of growth and renewal."

Born in 1983, in 2015 Maria Porro became marketing and communications director at historic Italian design brand Porro S.p.A. After serving on the Executive Board at Assarredo, in September 2020 she was unanimously elected President of the trade association for Italy’s furniture manufacturers. In 2019, she became a Board member of the Altagamma Foundation. With a degree in Set Design from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, before devoting herself wholly to design, she spent a decade working in the theatre, arts and major events as a designer, organizer and curator, working on events around the world. All the while, she maintained her ties with the family business, working with her father Lorenzo Porro and architect Piero Lissoni on style-led research, developing new products, and being part of the firm’s Salone del Mobile presence.