EURATEX is pleased to announce the launch of a new strategic course to strengthen the voice of the European textile and apparel industry with the European policy institutions in Brussels as well as governmental bodies and partner organisations around the globe.
Over the last 10 years, the EU Textile & Clothing industry, representing an annual turnover of over EUR 171 billion, some 178000 companies and 1.7 million workers, has been able to modernise and reinvent itself into a forward-looking, innovative and export-oriented sector.
To better reflect its members’ objectives and priorities, which in addition to trade and industry policies encompass policy areas such as sustainability, innovation and skills, the Board of Directors of EURATEX has decided to undertake a comprehensive strategy review.
This process will be concluded at end of 2018, and will be led by three newly appointed Policy Directors Ms. Isabelle Weiler (Trade and Industry), Mr. Lutz Walter (Innovation and Skills) and Mr. Mauro Scalia (Sustainable Businesses).
At the same time, the Board of Directors of Euratex and its long-serving Director General Mr. Francesco Marchi have decided in mutual agreement to end the collaboration.
After graduating in Economics from the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), Francesco Marchi started his professional career as Marketing Researcher and Assistant Product Manager in 1983 in, one of the three largest Belgian textile groups (nv UCO sa). He joined EURATEX (the European Apparel and Textile Confederation) in 1996, where he was designated Director of the Economic Affairs, and responsible for several issues in the field, including the economic department, in charge of economic publications; the monitoring of the EU trade and industrial policy for the sector, with a particular focus on WTO rules, rules of origin, market access problems, etc. That same year, he was also appointed as the representative of the Clothing industry and the Knitting industry interests within the EURATEX body.
He took over the position of General Director of EURATEX in May 2009, an office he continued to hold until shortly. Besides this, Marchi is also board member of the following: International Apparel Federation (IAF); European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and Clothing; Textile-Clothing-Leather-Footwear European Skills Council; Centre d’Information Textile-Habillement (CITH); Advisory Board of Texprocess Fair (Messe Frankfurt). Also, he is member of the Alliance for a Competitive European Industry.
Klaus Huneke, President of EURATEX stated “Our industry has undergone a dramatic transformation and the priorities of our companies are broader and their visions more far-reaching than ever. Our representative organisation in Brussels is crucial to safeguard the interests of our industry and to engage with EU policy makers and other key stakeholders in new ways. I have full confidence in our broadened leadership team and its reinforced staff in the Brussels office to deliver on our ambitious programme. I would like to thank Francesco Marchi for the professionalism and dedication with which he served the organization in over two decades. We wish him all the best for his personal and professional future.”