Curriculum Vitae Silvia Nicolis
Silvia Nicolis – President of the Nicolis Museum.
Silvia Nicolis, is President of the ‘Museo dell’Auto, della Tecnica e della Meccanica’ in Verona, today one of the most important private museums with an industrial matrix on the international scene. In 2018 she won the prestigious Museum of The Year at The Historic Motoring Awards in London and in 2021 she will win the coveted ‘Best in Classic’ award from Ruoteclassiche in Italy as best museum of the year.
She matured her professional activity in the Gruppo Lamacart, a family business, leader in the recovery and processing of waste paper. The industrial experience, started by Nicolis more than 80 years ago, has enabled her to acquire solid managerial professionalism and business skills at an international level. The group boasts an important position in the global market, virtuously develops the circular economy model and is a benchmark of the green economy. Silvia Nicolis and her brother Thomas are partners in Lamacart. The company was the first in Italy to receive the prestigious Papyrus Award from the BIR – Bureau of International Recycling in 2012.
A talented entrepreneur, she works successfully in the world of culture and business economy. She holds prestigious positions in public institutions: she is vice president of Museimpresa, the association that belongs to Assolombarda and Confindustria for the valorisation of the Italian industrial history heritage; she is also a member of the Gruppo Tecnico Cultura di Confindustria nazionale and Commissione Nazionale Storia e Musei ASI Italian Historical Automobile Club. She was a member of the Board of the Verona Chamber of Commerce for the Industry sector with delegated responsibility for tourism, a member of the Board and Vice President delegated to the marketing of Confindustria Verona.
The Museo Nicolis, inaugurated in 2000, crowns the dream of his father Luciano Nicolis, an entrepreneur with a very selective passion for collecting art, which allowed him to perceive the value of refined products of ingenuity that had been forgotten at the time, in a tireless research project that took him around the world to track down and recover vintage cars and other countless precious artefacts to restore them: a passion that has restored to history a heritage that would otherwise have been lost, which has given rise to the eight collections of the Museum, now exhibited in 6,000 square meters at the disposal of the community. Silvia Nicolis, who has always shared a passion for cars and engines with her father Luciano, has been able to reconcile her industrial activity with her commitment to the Museo Nicolis, taking over as its director from the very beginning, to turn it into a cultural enterprise of excellence, destined to make the Italian manufacturing tradition of mechanics and our innate vocation for art and beauty known throughout the world, while at the same time consolidating the process of internationalization. An objective pursued thanks to a development model based on entrepreneurial vision, cultural content, innovative services and relations with the territory. Today, the Nicolis Museum is universally recognised as an established Museo d’Impresa, capable of effectively promoting the sought-after ‘cultural product’ generated by industry, as well as the territory, to the vast and varied Italian and international public. The beating heart of the industrial group’s relations, it fully expresses its Founder’s vocation in both realities: ‘the passion for recovery in all its forms’. Alongside the museum activities, an ultra-modern Congress Centre has been developed, today a privileged meeting point for the Business Community, a Bookstore that is one of the most complete on the international motoring scene, collaborative relations with the world of media and entertainment, and cultural and training programmes for the school world.
There are countless activities promoted by Silvia Nicolis, for example, the Premio Museo Nicolis to Veneto Entrepreneurship, the superlative thematic exhibitions, the routes and activities to enhance the territory. She has received several awards for this, including the ‘Premio Nodo d’Amore’ for the cultural-tourist enhancement of the area, the ‘Captains of the Year Veneto Award’ that recognises the ideas and determination of entrepreneurs, the ‘Premio Giulietta’ in recognition of women who have distinguished themselves in their field, thanks to their professional commitment, the ‘Premio internazionale Profilo Donna’ for entrepreneurial commitment, the ‘Premio AIV Impresa Lavoro’, the ‘Parksmania Awards’ for the success of the Vespa Exhibition and many others. She was also designated ‘Nobilissima Castellana delle terre di Suavia’ and ‘Ambassador of Bardolino’ by the Bardolino Chiaretto DOC wine Confraternity for her commitment to promoting and enhancing the territory. Silvia Nicolis was received in audience by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, to mark the 20th anniversary of Museimpresa, an important recognition that underlines the profound value of Enterprise Culture in our country.
Equally important are the exclusive prizes awarded to the superb vintage cars stored in the Museum at international events and Concours d’Elegance. Visited every year by thousands of Italian and foreign tourists, the Nicolis Museum now boasts an international dimension and profile; it participates as a protagonist in the most prestigious events in Italy and around the world.
