Background
Giovanni Ravazzotti, an immigrant to Johannesburg from Italy, saw the need back in 1969 for affordable tiles and ceramic products in an increasingly urban South Africa.
CEO company owner non-executive chairman
Giovanni Ravazzotti, an immigrant to Johannesburg from Italy, saw the need back in 1969 for affordable tiles and ceramic products in an increasingly urban South Africa.
He began importing and retailing them through a company he founded, Italtile. Ten years later, with the first hints that there would be trade sanctions against South Africa in the wake of the 1976 Soweto uprising, he began manufacturing ceramic tiles domestically. In 1992, his retail company Italtile and manufacturer Ceramic Industries were listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Ravazzotti keeps a very low profile, especially since his son and heir Gian-Paolo Ravazzotti died in a plane crash in February 2011. He has maintained dual South African and Italian citizenship. He has been chairman of the Italian South African Chamber of Trade and Industries and in 2009 was decorated Cavaliere in the Order Al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.